A sonic exploration and tonal analysis of contemporary creative music in a myriad of improvisational/composed settings, textures, and expressions.
Welcome to Sound Projections
I'm your host Kofi Natambu. This online magazine features the very best in contemporary creative music in this creative timezone NOW (the one we're living in) as well as that of the historical past. The purpose is to openly explore, examine, investigate, reflect on, studiously critique, and take opulent pleasure in the sonic and aural dimensions of human experience known and identified to us as MUSIC. I'm also interested in critically examining the wide range of ideas and opinions that govern our commodified notions of the production, consumption, marketing, and commercial exchange of organized sound(s) which largely define and thereby (over)determine our present relationships to music in the general political economy and culture.
Thus this magazine will strive to critically question and go beyond the conventional imposed notions
and categories of what constitutes the generic and stylistic definitions of ‘Jazz’, ‘classical music’, ‘Blues.’
'Rhythm and Blues’, ‘Rock and Roll’, ‘Pop’, ‘Funk’, ‘Hip Hop’, etc. in order to search for what individual
artists and ensembles do cretively to challenge and transform our ingrained ideas and attitudes of what
music is and could be.
So please join me in this ongoing visceral, investigative, and cerebral quest to explore, enjoy, and pay
homage to the endlessly creative and uniquely magisterial dimensions of MUSIC in all of its guises and expressive identities.
Saturday, October 9, 2021
Chico Freeman (b. July 17, 1949): Outstanding, versatile, and innovative musician, composer, arranger, ensemble leader, cultural activist, producer, and teacher.
Chico Freeman is a composer, bandleader, educator, and multi-reedist from Chicago. The scion of the late saxophonist Von Freeman, he has issued dozens of recordings as a leader, and played on hundreds more. While a member of Elvin Jones' group, he issued his debut album, Morning Prayer, for Japan's WhyNot label, and then signed to India Navigation for 1977's Chico, the first of a handful of now-classic albums for the label. Freeman's
tenor tone is gritty and exuberant, yet intimate and resonant, capable
of anguished cries and tender affirmations inside a moment. His music
has been informed by the Chicago blues he played in clubs as a teen, bop
and hard bop played by his dad, and bandleaders he served -- including Charles Mingus and Dizzy Gillespie -- John Coltrane's modal inventions, and the AACM's
free excursions. Further, he learned about the interplay of Afro-Latin
rhythms from Latin bandleaders he worked for including Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Ray Barretto, Chucho Valdes, and Celia Cruz, to name scant few. Freeman's seminal Tradition in Transition was issued in 1982, after he played a major role in the famed Central Park Young Lions concert and film. He later played R&B with Michael Jackson and Earth, Wind & Fire, among others, and founded the Leaders, a jazz group of top-flight jazz composers and soloists. In 1990, he co-founded Roots with Nathan Davis, Sam Rivers, and Blythe, and played with smooth jazz, world fusion collective Brainstorm. In 1996, he issued the influential The Emissary, a post-bop world jazz outing. Freeman released a series of acclaimed albums during the 21st century including 2002's Out of Many Comes the One, 2012's Elvin, and 2015's Spoken Into Existence.
Freeman
was born Earl Lavon Freeman, Jr., and nicknamed "Chico" by his dad. He
started playing piano at age five, and began playing trumpet at ten,
inspired by seeing his father sit in with the Miles Davis Quintet in Chicago. Though he was exposed to jazz early on, many of Freeman's early professional gigs were in Chicago clubs as a teen with blues artists including Memphis Slim and Lucky Carmichael.
He switched to tenor sax while at Northwestern University, where he
studied math, advanced composition, and theory. While studying for his
master's in composition and theory at Governor State University with Muhal Richard Abrams, Freeman taught at the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians' (AACM) music school. He also played and studied with Fred Anderson, Adegoke Steve Colson, and his uncle, jazz-funk guitarist George Freeman.
As a graduate student, he was the principal soloist in the university's
big band and toured Brazil with them during the '70s. He won awards at
the Notre Dame Jazz Festival in 1973.
The year 1982 proved seminal in the saxophonist's
career. He was part of the then-controversial Columbia album Fathers & Sons; he and Von were showcased on one side while Ellis and Wynton Marsalis led the other. Freeman played a major role in the filming of the Young Lions event that year in Central Park, showcasing the talents of rising jazz stars that included Bobby McFerrin, Marsalis, Paquito D'Rivera, Kevin Eubanks, and Anthony Davis at the dawn of the "new traditionalists" era. Freeman, always influenced by jazz history, reflected it and his new discoveries on the acclaimed Tradition in Transition for Elektra Musician and The Search, his final outing for India Navigation.
From the beginning of the new century, Freeman was a resident of the European Union, though he visited the States often to tour. His first date as a leader in the 21st was Oh, By the Way by Chico Freeman y Guataca, a Latin jazz ensemble he assembled with old friend Hilton Ruiz on piano. In 2003, Freeman returned the favor; he played on the pianist's acclaimed Enchantment, while the other tenor player on the session was Joe Henderson. A new incarnation of the Leaders released the widely acclaimed Spirits Alike for Double Moon Records in 2006. It featured trumpeter Eddie Henderson replacing the deceased Bowie, drummer Billy Hart, alto saxophonist Bobby Watson, and pianist Fred Harris; only McBee and Freeman remained from the original lineup. That year also saw the release of Out of Many Comes the One, with the saxophonist leading a post-bop-cum-world-jazz quintet that featured Russian pianist Misha Tsiganov.
In early 2016, Chico Freeman guested on Greek fusion guitarist Lefteris Christofis' ManTis
as part of an international quartet. That same year, Dawid Kostka
Quartet & Chico Freeman, Live at Aquanet Jazz Festival, Poznań was
released on Poland's Era Jazzu label. In 2018, Freeman played in the large studio band that Kip Hanrahan assembled for the American Clave release Crescent Moon Waning.
In March 2020, Freeman
caught the last flight out of Moscow before the borders closed due to
COVID-19; however, he had no way of traveling to the U.S. Locked down in
Europe and self-quarantined, he watched the pandemic's effects unfold
across the globe. Desiring to contribute in some way, he reached out to
his online musical family to do something to help heal and inspire. Freeman chose the Bill Withers' song "You Just Can't Smile It Away." He enlisted Texas gospel singer Yatron in Texas, keyboardist Jeremy Mage in Switzerland, and synthesist Jan Pulsford
in London. After cutting the track, Merlyn Bruce mixed it at London's
Mothership Studios for release by Efficacy Recordings. The label and Freeman designated all proceeds from the track be donated to the charity Chicago HOPES for Kids.
Heralded as one of the most important saxophonists of our time,
musician, composer and producer Chico Freeman marked his return to the
United States after more than a decade living and working in Europe with
a new album and a new group in 2016.
In the early 2000s, with
dozens of recordings as a leader, Freeman moved from New York to Europe
to start a new chapter of chico2011exploration by focusing on his own
self-improvement and self-reflection. His thirst to immerse himself in
his music, his curiosity to explore working with different musicians and
living in different cultures and challenging himself to be better than
he was, all prepared Freeman for this new stateside chapter of his life.
“As
much as I’ve travelled and on the road playing with such masters as
McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Jack DeJohnette, Sam Rivers, Sun Ra, Dizzy
Gillespie and so many jazz greats, as well as leading my own groups
including founding “The Leaders” and the group “Roots,” an inner voice
was telling me, you need to go to another level both musically and
personally,“ Freeman explains. “You need to work with other musicians
from different cultures and create new avenues of expression.
As
part of the Freeman family legacy of Chicago; his father, legendary NEA
Jazz Master saxophonist Von Freeman; his uncles, guitarist George
Freeman; and drummer Bruz Freeman, Chico amassed a diverse résumé of
performing R&B to blues, hard bop to avant-garde. His collegiate
studies in Advanced Composition and Theory at Northwestern University
led him to teach composition at the AACM (Association for the
Advancement of Creative Musicians) Music School, and while attaining his
Masters in Composition and Theory at Governor State University, he
studied composition with NEA Jazz Master Muhal Richard Abrams.
Although jazz was the first music Freeman was exposed to, many
of his early professional gigs were at Chicago clubs with such blues
artists as Memphis Slim, and Lucky Carmichael. Freeman went on to play
with pop and R & B greats The Temptations, Michael Jackson, The Four
Tops, Jackie Wilson, The Dells, The Isley Brothers, and The Eurythmics.
After
arriving in New York, he immediately began working with Jeanne Lee,
Mickey Bass, John Stubblefield, and Cecil McBee. Through apprenticeships
in New York and abroad with such innovators as Elvin Jones, Don Pullen,
Sam Rivers, Sun Ra, and Jack DeJohnette, Freeman developed his own
group and rapidly rose to prominence with his energetic and exploratory
style.
Few artists can equal his list of musical associations:
Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Charles Mingus, Jack
DeJohnette, Art Blakey, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Hank Jones,
Freddie Cole, Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, Roy Haynes, Von Freeman,
Arthur Blythe, Billy Hart, Lester Bowie, Famadou Don Moye, Cecil McBee,
Kirk Lightsey, John Hicks, Mal Waldron, Earth, Wind & Fire, The
Eurythmics, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Sting, and many others. From
South America to Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic, Freeman
has performed and recorded with such Latin greats as Chucho Valdes,
Tito Puente, Machito, Irakere, Arturo Sandoval, Celia Cruz, Giovanni
Hidalgo, Paulinho DaCosta, Nana Vasconcelos, Ray Barretto, Eddie
Palmieri and Puerto Rico’s famous El Gran Combo.
A legendary
concert at Lincoln Center, by The Young Lions, a group critics hailed as
the brightest hopes of jazz in the 1980’s — Chico Freeman, Wynton
Marsalis, Paquito D’Rivera, Kevin Eubanks, and others — produced an
album on which Freeman plays nearly every cut. His 14-minute composition
“Whatever Happened To The Dream Deferred?” was called “one of the best
of the album” by the New York Times.
When superstar bands were
being organized by promoters in Europe, Freeman brought together The
Leaders — an all-star sextet of internationally recognized bandleaders.
The group, consisting of Cecil McBee, Kirk Lightsey, Lester Bowie,
Arthur Blythe, and Famadou Don Moye, set the standard for eclectic and
innovative music from a band comprised entirely of composers.
During
the 150 year anniversary celebration of the invention of the saxophone
by Adolphe Sax, the band Roots was formed. This band consisted of
internationally known saxophonists Nathan Davis, Benny Golson, Arthur
Blythe, and Chico Freeman. Adding Buster Williams (bass), and Winard
Harper (drums), this band toured the world, and delighted audiences with
their unique arrangements, and brilliant improvisation.
With his
latest album Spoken Into Existence on Jive Music, Freeman served notice
that he is still a force to be reckoned with. He addresses a cohort of
beautiful melodies framed within a diverse array of styles (hip hop,
funk, bebop, post-bop, the blues, melodies conjured from African and
Asian scales) and renders them on tenor and soprano saxophones with keen
intention, authoritative execution, and tonal control that transforms
his metal instruments into analogue for the human voice.
While he
was dubbed a “young lion” three decades ago for his participation on the
1982 recording with other stars-to-be Wynton Marsalis, Kevin Eubanks,
Paquito D’Rivera, Bobby McFerrin, Freeman now merits being called a
“master on his instrument.”
Spoken Into Existence is Freeman’s
third release on the Austrian imprint Jive Music, and the first to be
released in the U.S. It follows The Essence of Silence, from 2010, and
Elvin: The Elvin Jones Project, from 2012, on which Freeman, joined by
an A-list American rhythm section (George Cables, piano; Lonnie Plaxico,
bass; Winard Harper, drums) and, on two selections, Joe Lovano. The
group plays repertoire associated with Elvin Jones, the iconic drummer,
who hired Freeman in 1976, soon after he moved from his hometown Chicago
to New York, and sponsored Freeman’s second leader recording, Beyond
The Rain, on Contemporary Records.
Freeman elaborates, “First
comes expression, and when you find yourself in need of being able to
express more, you develop the technique in order to accomplish that
objective.” For Freeman, Spoken Into Existence manifests in notes and
tones the meaning of Michael Jordan’s dictum, “You have to see it to be
it” (or, as Freeman puts it, that “you can manifest what you want to
achieve or materialize it if you can see it clearly”) and the aphorism,
“words are things.”
Freeman has perfected an immediately
recognizable approach to music and composition, blending what he has
experienced from his past and providing fluidity into a future of
infinite musical possibilities.
PHOTO: Saxophonist Chico Freeman carries forth the legacy of his father, tenor saxophone giant Von Freeman. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
It would be difficult to overestimate how much the Freeman family has
given to jazz in Chicago and, really, the rest of the world.
Most famously, leonine tenor saxophonist Von Freeman remains a symbol
of the music even after his death here in 2012, at age 88. His name
towered on the signage at the Von Freeman Pavilion during the recent
Chicago Jazz Festival, and his legacy resonates in the work of proteges
such as MacArthur Fellowship winner and saxophonist Steve Coleman,
revered drummer Jack DeJohnette, Cassandra Wilson music director/bassist
Lonnie Plaxico and scores more.
Like Freeman, his brother – guitarist George Freeman – played alongside
Charlie Parker back in the day. At 92, George Freeman is enjoying wider
recognition in concert and on recordings than ever before. Add to this
the work of the late drummer Eldridge “Bruz” Freeman, and you have a
remarkable trio of siblings whose histories go back practically to the
dawning of jazz in Chicago.
For when Louis Armstrong moved here from New Orleans in the early
1920s, he became friends with the Freemans’ father, a Chicago police
officer and amateur musician. The two duetted informally during off
hours, the young Freeman brothers growing up within earshot of Satchmo,
who to this day remains the global face of jazz.
Which brings us to powerhouse tenor saxophonist Chico Freeman, who has
received less attention in the United States than he deserves for a
particular reason: Until three years ago, he had been based in Europe
for more than a decade. But when you add Chico to the Freeman lineage,
you have a regal jazz family that bears comparison to the Marsalises of
New Orleans (Ellis, Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo and Jason) or the Joneses
of Detroit (Elvin, Thad and Hank).
For anyone who has heard Chico Freeman during his periodic visits to
Chicago, there’s no question of his stature, which is documented on
recordings such as “Fathers and Sons” (1982, featuring the Marsalis and
Freeman families) and “All in the Family” (2015, spotlighting George and
Chico Freeman).
So Chico Freeman’s return here from his current base in New York for a
four-night run at the Jazz Showcase starting Sept. 26 comes as welcome
news to anyone who values fiery jazz improvisation in the Freeman family
tradition.
“Some people say it’s like royalty in Chicago, and that’s great,” says
Chico Freeman. “My dad, he got his play, and now my uncle George is
enjoying his time in the sunlight.
“But there’s somebody that we never shined the light on: my uncle
George’s mom and my dad’s mom (Chico’s grandmother). She was a gospel
singer, sang with Mahalia Jackson, with the Clara Ward Singers.”
To bring attention to this lesser-known side of the Freeman family,
Chico Freeman has been developing a jazz-gospel project that will tour
Switzerland in November and, he hopes, the United States next year. It’s
an intriguing way of further illuminating the Freeman story.
When Chico Freeman was visiting here over the summer to develop the
venture, he dipped into the local scene and was struck by what he heard.
“It’s good to see there’s such good musicians there these days – I was
real pleased when I heard Thaddeus,” says Freeman, referring to
vibraphonist Thaddeus Tukes, who will join him at the Showcase.
“I went to see (guitarist) John McLean and (singer) Dee Alexander. They
had this drummer with them, Charles Heath – he really could play.
Really good time.”
Because Freeman still travels between the States and Europe so often,
he can’t help but notice the difference in how he feels on either side
of the Atlantic. So much so, that whenever he returns to America he
considers it “a double-edged sword.”
“It’s great to come back, and the best part is playing with the guys,
and playing the way we play, the way we do things,” says the
saxophonist.
“The politics and all the other crazy stuff that goes on – I’m always
on guard, because of the nature of things, which I don’t have to do in
Europe. I’m more relaxed over there.
“In Switzerland, a couple of times I’ll hear the police sirens –
they’re not looking for me. They’re not looking for anybody that looks
like me. That’s a relief.
“When I come back to the States, I don’t feel that ease. That’s a fact.”
Yet Freeman is quick to point out that he benefited enormously from
growing up in Chicago in the presence of his grandmother, father and
uncles, their music shaping his understanding of the art of jazz. And
though Von Freeman wasn’t doctrinaire about music, he imparted lessons
that have guided Chico Freeman ever since.
“He wasn’t a pro-active teacher – that wasn’t his thing, but he never let me go down the wrong road,” says Chico Freeman.
“For instance, he would tell me: ‘Your sound is the most important thing.’
“He would say: ‘Your sound is you. We all play the same notes, but the
only thing that makes you different from me, and me different from
everyone else, is your sound, your voice.’
“He’d say: ‘You can play a thousand notes, and if you don’t have a
sound, no one will know you. But you can play one note, and if you have a
sound, everyone will know you.’”
That certainly applied in Von Freeman’s case, his keening tone and
sometimes ever-so-slightly-flat pitch distinguishing him from anyone who
ever brought reed to lips. Chico Freeman, too, sounds like no one else,
the heft and grit of his sound quite far from that of his father.
“The other thing he would say: ‘Saxophone players, our beat is in our fingers, that’s where we keep time,’” adds Chico Freeman.
“And he’d say: ‘People say (that) practice makes perfect.’
“He’d say: ‘No, that’s not true. Perfect practice makes perfect.’
“And I’ve been living that way. You play things slow enough so you can
play it perfectly. Otherwise you’re just practicing your mistakes.”
Listeners may not realize it, but Freeman was classically trained at
Northwestern University, where he started as a math major but switched
to music. Contrary to popular wisdom, the worlds of classical music and
jazz have more similarities than differences, thanks to the complexity
and depth of the work, which does not easily lend itself to radio
airplay or pop-culture approval.
But when Freeman was studying at Northwestern, in the late 1960s and
early ’70s, the perceived gulf between jazz and classical was wider than
today, as he learned the hard way.
After numerous rehearsals in a classical saxophone quartet at NU, the
young Freeman would head to the South Side for jam sessions led by his
father and featuring some of the greatest tenor players in a city famous
for them.
“So I get up on stage with Clifford Jordan, and I start playing whatever song we’re playing,” remember Chico Freeman.
Compared to tenor master Jordan, “My sound was paper-thin and terrible.
I was embarrassed. My dad was embarrassed. So I got offstage.
“At the end of the night, I was getting ready to go back to school, and my father said, ‘Come home with me.’
“He gave me his mouthpiece and said, ‘Try this.’
“My sound was changed. Like boom!”
At the next classical saxophone quartet rehearsal at Northwestern,
Chico Freeman played just a few notes before his professor called him
out.
“He said: ‘Oh no, what happened, what’s going on?’” recalls Freeman.
“I said, ‘I’ve got this new mouthpiece. Isn’t this great?’
“And he said: ‘You’re playing classical music! We don’t want this!’”
The Freemans, however, had the last laugh.
In 2003, Northwestern awarded an honorary doctorate degree to the jazz
musician who had transformed Chico’s Freeman’s sound and influenced
generations: his father Von.
Chico Freeman plays Sept. 26 through 29 at the Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth Court; $20-$40; 312-360-0234 or www.jazzshowcase.com.
THE New Jazz
series at the Public Theater, which was dropped five months ago, started
up again over the weekend with three performances on Friday and
Saturday by a father-and-son team of tenor saxophonists, 58-year-old Von
Freeman and 31-year-old Chico, backed by Kenny Barron, piano; Cecil
McBee, bass, and Jack De Johnette, drums.
Chico
Freeman is already a well established member of the contemporary jazz
scene in New York but his father was making his New York debut.
If
anyone expected extremes of old and new styles, they would have been
disappointed. True, the elder Mr. Freeman gave some evidence of his
roots in rhythm and blues both in his playing and in his jaunty attitude
on stage. And Chico's association with the avant-garde was pointed up
occasionally in stretched lines and phrases colored by rasps and
squeaks.
But both Freemans converged
comfortably on a broad middle ground, which enabled them to show that
they were not limited by period or stylistic fetishes. Von Freeman, for
example, played ballads with the big-toned swagger of the descendants of
Coleman Hawkins but he colored them with some of the musical vocabulary
of contemporary saxophonists.
The
real surprise, however, was the unadvertised appearance of a singer,
Valerie Lee, who, in the scope of two songs, showed an unusual ability
to project a strong, openly emotional quality and, in contrast, to
deliver a rhythmic pop song with a light, swinging emphasis.
A version of this article appears in print on April 6, 1981, Section C, Page 12 of the National edition with the headline: JAZZ: VON AND CHICO FREEMAN. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper
Chico Freeman (born Earl Lavon Freeman Jr.; July 17, 1949)[1] is a modern jazz tenor saxophonist and trumpeter and son of jazz saxophonist Von Freeman. He began recording as lead musician in 1976 with Morning Prayer, won the New York Jazz Award in 1979 and earned the Stereo Review Record of the Year in 1981 for his album The Outside Within.[2][3
Early years
He was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States.[1] Freeman was introduced to the trumpet by his brother Everett, who found a trumpet in the family basement.[2] Freeman began playing, inspired by artists such as Miles Davis. He went to Northwestern University
in 1967 with a scholarship for mathematics and played the trumpet in
the school, but did not begin playing the saxophone until his junior
year.[1]
After practicing eight to ten hours per day and trying out for the
saxophone section, Freeman quickly changed his major to music, and
graduated in 1972. By that time he was proficient in saxophone, trumpet,
and piano.
After graduation, Freeman taught at the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians School of Music in Chicago,[1] and started taking classes as a graduate student at Governors State University, earning a master's degree in composition and theory. Although most of Freeman's musical upbringing had been in jazz, at this time he began getting involved in blues music as well. He began playing at local Chicago clubs with artists such as Memphis Slim and Lucky Carmichael.
Career
Chico Freeman - Portrait by Gert Chesi
1976 saw the release of Freeman's first album as lead musician, Morning Prayer. The next year he moved to New York City, and widened his musical influences. The following years would be the most productive of his career, producing albums such as No Time Left, Tradition in Transition, and The Outside Within; the last of which earned him Record of the Year from Stereo Review.
He came to prominence in the late 1970s as part of a movement including Wynton Marsalis of modern players steeped in the traditions of jazz, recording for independent labels like India Navigation and Contemporary Records. Freeman's albums contain standards and compositions by modernists like John Coltrane as well as new tunes by Freeman and his contemporaries such as bassist Cecil McBee.[1] The line-up on his 1981 album Destiny's Dance includes Wynton Marsalis, Bobby Hutcherson,
Cecil McBee (these two contributing compositions), with Freeman playing
tenor saxophone and bass clarinet. Freeman formed the band Guataca and
released Oh By the Way... in 2002. Freeman has toured internationally, both with his band as well as with Chaka Khan, Tomasz Stanko, Celia Cruz and Tito Puente. Members of Guataca include Hilton Ruiz, Ruben Rodriguez, Yoron Israel, and Giovanni Hidalgo.
In 1989, he put together an electric band called Brainstorm,
consisting of himself, Delmar Brown (vocals and keyboards), Norman
Hedman (percussion), Chris Walker (bassist), Archie Walker (drums).[4]
JAZZ has evolved
at such a rapid pace that father-and-son teams have been something of a
rarity; all too often, the generation gap cannot be bridged. But the
tenor saxophone team of Von Freeman and his son Chico is unique. The
father often improvises as freely and adventurously as an avant-gardist
half his age, and the son tempers his own exploratory inclinations with
warm, melodious ballad playing. Their affinity for each other renders
generational boundaries irrelevant, and at the Public Theater this
weekend they will be supported by a rhythm section that should be able
to follow them anywhere - Kenny Barron on piano, Cecil McBee on bass and
Jack DeJohnette on drums.
The
58-year-old Von Freeman, who has spent most of his musical life playing
in small nightclubs on Chicago's South Side, has been called ''a real
master'' by jazz critics, largely on the basis of three startlingly
original but hard-to-find albums. One of his most devoted fans is the
31-year-old Chico, who himself has been recognized as one of the most
versatile and original young saxophonists in New York. In fact, Chico is
better known here than his father, having made six albums of his own
and performed in groups led by the celebrated drummers Elvin Jones and
Mr. DeJohnette.
''Von is just
incredible,'' Chico said the other day, ''and I'm not saying that with
bias. Those albums he made don't begin to do him justice. When we toured
Europe together recently, he came up with some things that sent me
right back to the woodshed.'' A First in New York
Tonight
and tomorrow night, for the first time in New York City, Von and Chico
Freeman will be playing together. Their three concerts (tonight at 9,
tomorrow at 9 and 11) mark the resumption of Joseph Papp's New Jazz at
the Public concert series after a five-month hiatus. The series at the
Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, has been one of the city's
outstanding forums for contemporary jazz since it began three years ago.
It has often featured Chico Freeman, both as a group leader and as a
soloist with the bands of others. But this will be Von Freeman's first
New York appearance in 15 years. Tickets are $7.50; the number to call
for more information is 598-7150.
Since Chico
Freeman grew up in his father's formidable shadow, one might expect him
to sound like a carbon copy. But nobody sounds like Von Freeman, not
even his son. Von Freeman grew up in the thrall of the swing era's
swaggering, big-toned saxophonists - Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster. He
learned from the most advanced players of succeeding generations while
developing a quirky rhythmic sense of his own, and a vocabulary of
sounds that range from the delicately breathy to the wrenchingly
violent. He also acquired a mastery of harmony that few horn players can
match. When he plays a standard tune (for example, ''Time After Time''
on his album ''Serenade & Blues,'' issued by Nessa Records of
Chicago), he thoughtfully sizes up its melody, takes aim and shoots it
full of keening sighs, lowerregister brickbats and unexpected holes.
Chico
Freeman grew up in a small house on Chicago's Calumet Avenue with the
sound of his father's playing, and he also listened to his father's
brothers, the guitarist George Freeman and the drummer Bruz Freeman. But
he was not encouraged to study music, and when he showed an aptitude
for mathematics he was enrolled in an accelerated high school program
that helped him win a math scholarship to Northwestern University. It
was only after several years of study there that he decided he wanted to
be a musician after all, and he started at a disadvantage. His first
instrument had been the trumpet, and it was only after he began majoring
in music at Northwestern that he picked up a saxophone. Surprise for
Father
During the years when Chico
Freeman was still playing the trumpet, his father was off on the road,
principally with the Milton Trenier Band. The father returned to find
his son, who had been an indifferent trumpeter, turning into a
first-rate saxophonist.
''Von was a
big influence on me,'' Chico Freeman recalled, ''because even when I was
playing trumpet I would listen to him practicing. He turned my ear
toward the outer reaches, but he never formally taught me. He let me go
my own way, and if he saw me falling into any kind of trap, then he
would intervene. He knew it would mean more to me if I reached inside
myself, so basically he taught me how to listen, simple harmony, the
kind of tools that would help any musician. He didn't want me to sound
like him, and he didn't want me to sound like anybody else.''
In
1976, Chico Freeman visited New York, intending to stay for three days,
and immediately found work with Jeanne Lee, Mickey Bass and a group led
by the bassist Cecil McBee. He was so busy that he wasn't even able to
return to Chicago to collect his belongings for several months.
For
the next few years he led groups of his own, often in Lower Manhattan
loft concerts, and because he had been associated with Muhal Richard
Abrams and other members of Chicago's avant-garde jazz community, he was
classified as a ''free jazz'' player by most critics. He rejected the
categorization (''Until I came to New York, I thought free jazz was
playing and not getting paid,'' he once remarked), and in 1979 he
recorded ''Spirit Sensitive,'' a lyrical, utterly traditional album of
ballads and jazz standards.
This
weekend's concerts also will be a reunion of Von Freeman and Mr.
DeJohnette, who played some of his first engagements in the elder Mr.
Freeman's bands. ''Actually,'' Chico Freeman noted proudly, ''Herbie
Hancock, Ahmad Jamal, Andrew Hill and a lot of other musicians played
with him, too. Just about anybody in jazz who's come through Chicago has
come through Von.''
A version of this article appears in print on April 3, 1981, Section C, Page 26 of the National edition with the headline: POP JAZZ; FREEMANS, FATHER AND SON, ON SAXOPHONE. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper
Chico Freeman will release Spoken Into Existience, his first domestic release in nearly a decade, on May 13 (Photo: Marcel Meier)
After living and working in Europe for the last decade,
saxophonist and AACM member Chico Freeman will return to the United
States in May. To mark his homecoming, the former Elvin Jones
collaborator will celebrate with the domestic release of a new album, Spoken Into Existence, on May 13.
On the album, Freeman is joined by his international quartet, with which
he’s worked regularly since 2013 (Italian pianist Antonio Faraò, Swiss
bassist Heiri Känzig and American drummer Michael Baker). The program,
consisting of mostly originals, spans an array of styles, ranging from
hip-hop to funk to bebop and the blues.
Released by the Viennese label Jive Music, the album also features
compelling arrangements of Miles Davis’ “Seven Steps To Heaven,” as well
as Stanley Turrentine’s “Soft Pedal Blues,” from the 1962 Blue Note
recording That’s Where It’s At.
Freeman, who grew up in Chicago (his father was the celebrated hard-bop
saxophonist Von Freeman), noted that the criteria for selecting material
for his new album were demanding.
“I’ve played standards, but contrary to my father, that’s not the meat
on my improvisational plate,” Freeman said. “Standards were my dad’s
self-expression; they emerged from his life and environment. The
standards I choose to play are ones that touch me, and they’re usually
written by jazz musicians with some exceptions. Most of my work is about
presenting original material.”
Upon his return to the States, Freeman will also introduce audiences to a
new ensemble, The Chico Freeman Plus+tet, featuring pianist Orrin
Evans, bassist Kenny Davis, drummer Nasheet Waits and percussionist Reto
Weber. The group will hold its debut performance at Dizzy’s Club
Coca-Cola in New York on May 19.
For more information on the album, visit the Jive Music website. To read a 1974 DownBeat interview with AACM member Lester Bowie, click here.
An
excellent tenor saxophonist and the son of Von Freeman, Chico Freeman
has had a busy and diverse career, with many recordings ranging from
advanced hard bop to nearly free avant-garde jazz. He originally played
trumpet, not taking up the tenor until he was a junior in college.
Freeman graduated from Northwestern University in 1972, played with
R&B groups, and joined the AACM. In 1977, he moved to New York,
where he worked with Elvin Jones, Sun Ra, Sam Rivers' big band, Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition, and Don Pullen,
in addition to leading his own groups. He recorded a dozen albums as a
leader during 1975-1982. Starting in 1984, Freeman has played on a
part-time basis with the Leaders, he has recorded on a few occasions
with his father and in 1989, he put together an electric band called
Brainstorm. Chico Freeman has recorded through the years as a leader for
Dharma, India Navigation, Contemporary, Black Saint, Elektra/Musician,
Black Hawk, Palo Alto, Jazz House, and In & Out.
Please
note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia
City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City
Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8,
2015.
August 3–10, 1995
disc quicks|jazz
Roots, Chico Freeman, Don Pullen & the African Brazilian Connection
Stablemates (IN & OUT Records)
Focus (Contemporary Records)
Live...Again (Blue Note)
The evolution of the post-Coltrane generation of jazz innovators is
documented on these three new recordings. Roots is an all-star ensemble
dedicated to interpreting the jazz saxophone tradition. Supported by
the late pianist Don Pullen, bassist Santi Debriano, and drummer Idris
Muhammad, saxophonists Arthur Blythe, Nathan Davis, Chico Freeman, and
Sam Rivers play tunes associated with or inspired by masters of the
instrument, such as Eric Dolphy, Johnny Hodges, and Archie Shepp. Oliver
Nelson's "Stolen Moments" is performed in a lovely arrangement for four
soprano saxes and "Ah, George, We Hardly Knew Ya", Pullen's elegy to
his departed musical partner, George Adams, features moving statements
by Blythe and Pullen. This German CD may be hard to find, but it will
reward your search.
Where Roots is a saxophone summit, Chico Freeman's quintet is an
intimate gathering of creative musicians. Blythe and Debriano are again
on board, along with the marvelous George Cables on piano and Yoron
Israel on drums. The combination of Freeman's tenor sax and Blythe's
alto is remarkably smooth despite the differences in their individual
sounds. Chico's robust honks complement Arthur's slinky cries in their
interchanges and simultaneous improvisations, but they breathe together
on the ensemble parts. They are especially interactive on the two Monk
tunes (listen to the cat-and-mouse intro to "Rhythm-A-Ning") and
especially poignant on two ballads, Freeman's "To Hear A Tear, Drop in
the Rain" and Pullen's "Ah, George, We Hardly Knew Ya."
The live performance by Don Pullen's African Brazilian Connection
was recorded at the 1993 Montreux Jazz Festival, long before the pianist
was diagnosed with the lymphoma to which he succumbed this past April.
On the five lengthy selections (none is shorter than ten minutes),
Panamanian-born alto saxophonist Carlos Ward, Brazilian bassist Nilson
Matta, Senegalese percussionist Mor Thiam and the two Americans, J. T.
Lewis on drums and Pullen on piano, explore the common roots of the
music from their respective heritages with an amazingly unified sound.
Pullen combines sensitivity and explosiveness in his playing, as he
punctuates his chiming lines with literally arm-length sweeps. This band
reveals the universal connection of music to all humanity; Pullen's
death was a loss to all of us.
Chico
Freeman’s swings sassy and hard, and yet the tone and manner of his
playing gets so mystical in slower movements of his pieces that you can
feel that he has entered into the realm of the Divine. This is nothing
new. I have a vivid memory of his 1979 India Navigation vinyl Spirit Sensitive
with a mighty band that included Cecil McBee, John Hicks, Billy Hart ,
Don Moye and Jay Hoggard that was both magical and supernatural and
drove me, like many others, I’m sure, to ecstasy. And that was not all; Sweet Explosion
(In+Out, 1990) was no less heady and numinous. Having ‘descended’
directly from the line that produced not only his father, Von Freeman
but John Coltrane, this might come as no surprise. However Freeman has,
for years, been a singular voice, a struggler in the desert lit by a
fiercely glowing sun.
Spoken Into Existence
is more than a Holy Communion with the spirits up above. Chico Freeman
plays his heart out on the path that takes him there. You rarely hear a
voice that is born of such feeling and emotion, such sensuality as to
caress each note as if he were drawing the line of a human body. This
comes from having a natural rapport with the instrument, which, in turn
enables him to take on a ballad and imbue it with the sheen of glorious
almost ‘string’ tine. Listen for the tiny murmurs of his soprano
saxophone on ‘N’tiana’s Dream’ one of five elegiac pieces he has written
for each of his daughters. His notes describe his feelings of love for
his children, but none of the words can capture the sense of heartfelt
beauty of that relationship better than the music.
There is, of course, a lot more going on here. Freeman is not all
softness and balladry. His murmuring saxophone is put to the grind as he
shouts the blues on Stanley Turrentine’s ‘Soft Pedal Blues’ and he
wails mightily on Antonio Faraò’s ‘Black Inside’ a dark and melancholic
piece that appears to have been written in a shadowy, crepuscular mood.
Freeman also swings ebulliently. This is something that he does from the
get go as he leaps out of the gate playing Victor Feldman’s ‘Seven
Steps to Heaven’. This piece is a lovely arrangement – not quite as
clipped as the one Miles Davis played on his album of the same name –
but reverent and freely interpreted at the same time.
Clearly Chico Freeman belongs to ‘the tradition’. But he also makes
things new as did the best of the preceding generation and his as well.
HIS compositions come from a very different end of the musical spectrum,
one where the great Ben Webster and Gene ‘Jug’ Ammons once held sway.
Today, it’s Freeman-time and his formidable command of the textures and
timbre of the tenor (and soprano) saxophones give him the explosive
whimsy that he uses to light up his music with the joyous evocation of
spring. That together with his über-inventiveness of the ballad enables
him to reign supreme in a cluttered world of largely under-achieving
musicians. Not to be forgotten are the rest of the members of this fine
band: Swiss bassist Heiri Känzig together with the rest of Freeman’s
elegant rhythm section including pianist Antonio Faraò and drummer
Michael Baker. Their contribution is invaluable to yet another
unforgettable Chico Freeman album.
Track List: Sever Steps to Heaven; Free Man; India
Blue; Black Inside; Dance of Light for Luani; Nia’s Quest; N’tiana’s
Dream; Lara’s Lullaby; Erika’s Reverie; Soft Pedal Blues; Niskayuna; The
Crossing; Ballad for Hakima.
Personnel: Chico Freeman: tenor and soprano saxophones; Heiri Känzig: upright bass; Michael Baker: drums; Antonio Faraò: grand piano.
Label: Jive Music Release date: May 2016 Running time: 1:10:38 Buy album on:amazon
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Raul
da Gama is a poet and essayist. He has published three collections of
poetry, He studied at Trinity College of Music, London specialising in
theory and piano, and he has a Masters in The Classics. He is an
accomplished critic whose profound analysis is reinforced by his deep
technical and historical understanding of music and literature.
Chico Freeman in Chicago Jazz Magazine: In His Own Words
Thanks Mike Jeffers and everyone at Chicago Jazz Magazine for
honoring me with your cover and one of the most in-depth interviews I’ve
done!
In 1982, Chicago saxophonist Chico Freeman was a key member of the
legendary “Young Lions” concert at Lincoln Center that included other
stars-to-be Wynton Marsalis, Kevin Eubanks, Paquito D’Rivera, and Bobby
McFerrin, among others. Today Freeman merits being called a “master on
his instrument,” and has perfected an immediately recognizable approach
to music and composition, blending what he has experienced from his past
and providing fluidity into a future of infinite musical possibilities.
Freeman amassed a diverse resume, performing R&B, blues, hard
bop and avant garde. His collegiate studies in Advanced Composition and
Theory at Northwestern University led him to teach composition at the
AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) Music
School, and while attaining his Masters in Composition and Theory at
Governor State University, he studied composition with NEA Jazz Master
Muhal Richard Abrams. Through apprenticeships in New York and abroad
with such innovators as Elvin Jones, Don Pullen, Sam Rivers, Sun Ra, and
Jack DeJohnette, Freeman developed his own group and rapidly rose to
prominence with his energetic and exploratory style.
Chico is a member of the Freeman family, Chicago’s First Family of
jazz. His father is the legendary saxophonist Von, and his uncles
include guitarist George and drummer Bruz. Although Freeman has adopted
the instrument of his father, it was not his first instrument, as he
reveals in this exclusive CJM interview.
Chicago Jazz Magazine: Talk a little about what it was like growing up with your father, Von Freeman, and what the jazz scene was like back then.
Chico Freeman: When I was young we had lots of kids
on my block. We had one family with fifteen kids, which was great
because you hardly had to leave the block to play. During summer, my dad
would have rehearsals. He had the piano in the living room, so when on
the front porch you could sit and actually look inside the house through
the window and see the piano. I remember seeing people like Leroy
Vinnegar, Malachi Favors and Andrew Hill. Other Chicago musicians would
come and play with the Freeman Brothers band. The band included my uncle
George on guitar and my uncle Bruz on drums. They’d set up in the
living room and have a rehearsal. We’d have all the windows open because
we didn’t have air conditioning and they would start playing. Within
minutes, the front porch was filled with kids; we’d have a big party
outside with all my friends. The funny thing is, Richard Davis, the bass
player, lived across the street from us, and down the street was Frank
Leslie, whose auntie was Abbey Lincoln from Chicago. There was always
somebody famous hanging around the house. I was just used to musicians
coming over. It was really fun. They were just people that I knew as a
kid, with my brother and two sisters at the time. That’s what my dad
did. My mom took me to the Regal Theater when I was five––it was kind of
like the Apollo of Chicago. She took me to see my dad play with Miles
Davis, and that was the band with Coltrane, “Cannonball” and Paul
Chambers. I remember him standing next to Miles and Coltrane, playing.
I’ll never forget that; I can see it clear as day. Ironically, John
Coltrane died on my birthday, so there’s kind of a connection there
that’s really unique.”
In
1982, Chicago saxophonist Chico Freeman was a key member of the
legendary “Young Lions” concert at Lincoln Center that included other
stars-to-be Wynton Marsalis, Kevin Eubanks, Paquito D’Rivera, and Bobby
McFerrin, among others. Today Freeman merits being called a “master on
his instrument,” and has perfected an immediately recognizable approach
to music and composition, blending what he has experienced from his past
and providing fluidity into a future of infinite musical possibilities.
Freeman amassed a diverse
resume, performing R&B, blues, hard bop and avant garde. His
collegiate studies in Advanced Composition and Theory at Northwestern
University led him to teach composition at the AACM (Association for the
Advancement of Creative Musicians) Music School, and while attaining
his Masters in Composition and Theory at Governor State University, he
studied composition with NEA Jazz Master Muhal Richard Abrams. Through
apprenticeships in New York and abroad with such innovators as Elvin
Jones, Don Pullen, Sam Rivers, Sun Ra, and Jack DeJohnette, Freeman
developed his own group and rapidly rose to prominence with his
energetic and exploratory style.
Although
jazz was the first music Freeman was exposed to, many of his early
professional gigs were at Chicago clubs with such blues artists as
Memphis Slim, and Lucky Carmichael, and Freeman’s broad list of credits
includes many high-profile jazz, pop, Latin and R&B artists: Dizzy
Gillespie, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Charles Mingus, Jack DeJohnette,
Art Blakey, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Hank Jones, Freddie
Cole, Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, Roy Haynes, Von Freeman, Arthur
Blythe, Billy Hart, Lester Bowie, Famadou Don Moye, Cecil McBee, Kirk
Lightsey, John Hicks, Mal Waldron, Earth, Wind & Fire, the
Eurythmics, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Sting, Chucho Valdes, Tito
Puente, Machito, Irakere, Arturo Sandoval, Celia Cruz, Giovanni Hidalgo,
Paulinho DaCosta, Nana Vasconcelos, Ray Barretto, Eddie Palmieri and
Puerto Rico’s famous El Gran Combo.
Chico
is a member of the Freeman family, Chicago’s First Family of jazz. His
father is the legendary saxophonist Von, and his uncles include
guitarist George and drummer Bruz. Although Freeman has adopted the
instrument of his father, it was not his first instrument, as he reveals
in this exclusive CJM interview.
Chicago Jazz Magazine: Talk a little about what it was like growing up with your father, Von Freeman, and what the jazz scene was like back then.
Chico Freeman:
When I was young we had lots of kids on my block. We had one family
with fifteen kids, which was great because you hardly had to leave the
block to play. During summer, my dad would have rehearsals. He had the
piano in the living room, so when on the front porch you could sit and
actually look inside the house through the window and see the piano. I
remember seeing people like Leroy Vinnegar, Malachi Favors and Andrew
Hill. Other Chicago musicians would come and play with the Freeman
Brothers band. The band included my uncle George on guitar and my uncle
Bruz on drums. They’d set up in the living room and have a rehearsal.
We’d have all the windows open because we didn’t have air conditioning
and they would start playing. Within minutes, the front porch was filled
with kids; we’d have a big party outside with all my friends. The funny
thing is, Richard Davis, the bass player, lived across the street from
us, and down the street was Frank Leslie, whose auntie was Abbey Lincoln
from Chicago. There was always somebody famous hanging around the
house. I was just used to musicians coming over. It was really fun. They
were just people that I knew as a kid, with my brother and two sisters
at the time. That’s what my dad did. My mom took me to the Regal Theater
when I was five––it was kind of like the Apollo of Chicago. She took me
to see my dad play with Miles Davis, and that was the band with
Coltrane, “Cannonball” and Paul Chambers. I remember him standing next
to Miles and Coltrane, playing. I’ll never forget that; I can see it
clear as day. Ironically, John Coltrane died on my birthday, so there’s
kind of a connection there that’s really unique.
Chicago Jazz Magazine: When did you decide you were interested in playing jazz and picking up the saxophone?
Freeman:
Having all this music around me did create a desire to be in the
industry, but at first I wanted to do it as a singer. In grammar school,
I was always in the talent shows and school plays and concerts, and I
sang in the choir. I started taking piano lessons when I was five. One
time, my brother and I went searching in the basement through my dad’s
old Navy stuff that he’d packed away. We found a trumpet and a
saxophone. My brother took the saxophone and I took the trumpet. When my
dad told the story he would say the sounds we made were “bleep” and
“blat” because we were trying to play something. Anyway, he came down
and saw the mess we made. Because of that, I ended up joining the school
band on trumpet. At the same time I was singing in groups, trying to
sound like the Drifters and Motown, things like that. The Temptations
were my all-time favorite group, so I kept joining singing groups all
through grammar and high school. Then I went to one of my friend’s, Soji
Adebayo (Anthony Porter’s) house––his father had an incredible
wall-to-wall jazz collection in his living room. The funny thing was,
this introduced me to the music of Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy and guys
like that. Later on I was introduced to Coltrane’s music, even though I
already knew of Coltrane when I saw my dad playing with him. But it was
Soji and his father who really pulled me to the records, because my dad
didn’t have a lot of records––he was practicing all of the time and not
really listening to music. When you’re growing up listening and learning
to play and really getting into it, you do a lot of listening. But once
you start playing and the artist in you kicks in, you do less listening
because you’re trying to be original and don’t want to be too overly
influenced. I think that’s where my dad was at that point. I’m sure he
kept up with what things people were doing, but he was about being an
original, so he didn’t buy a lot of records. I didn’t grow up in my
house listening to them. The audience has the time to sit back and
listen to those kinds of recordings. Artists have to shape their craft
and forge their voice.
Chicago Jazz Magazine:
You’re known for practicing all the time. When you’re not practicing or
playing gigs you kind of want to listen to something other than music
because it isn’t relaxing. You’re always analyzing it.
Freeman: After I’m done practicing I want to sleep! [laughs]
Chicago Jazz Magazine: You attended Northwestern University on a scholarship that surprises most people.
Freeman:
I received a scholarship to Northwestern in mathematics because I was
good at math. That’s how I got into Northwestern. My life took a big
change when I got there. I joined the marching band. They wanted you to
have some kind of athletic endeavor and, surprisingly, the marching band
was considered athletic, so I joined. The other interesting thing was I
played basketball. In the marching band I played trumpet, and because
it was a Big Ten school and I got to do a lot of traveling. We’d march
during halftime at football games, so that was fun! Then I decided I was
going to go into computer programing as well. They gave you two
directions you could go in mathematics: the more practical direction as
an engineer or a similar career, or a more theoretical route. I got
excited over the theoretical things because that was stuff that
ultimately shaped the future of space travel and other things.
Mathematics is far ahead of science. Science discovers areas that will
become future uses for mathematics, but science is still behind math. I
was actually recruited by the space program. They wanted me to come down
and join them at Cape Canaveral and work when I graduated. Because I
was in programing, IBM tried to recruit me as well, and another company
at that time, Data Control. Three companies were romancing me.
Chicago Jazz Magazine: You had some significant options.
Freeman: It’s
interesting, because that’s the time I met Fred Anderson. Adegoke Steve
Colson, Neil Tesser and I were in school together at Northwestern.
Adegoke and I met Fred, and he sort of took us under his wing there in
Evanston. He started a chapter of the AACM up there, and that’s how I
met Billy Brimfield, Hamid Drake and Gene Anderson, Fred’s son. We used
to hang at Fred’s and he’d play Charlie Parker records. Sometimes we
would spend the night and sleep on the floor after listening to music,
playing and practicing on the weekends or whenever. The three of us
started a band, Life and Death Situation, and we had a drummer named
Anthony (Tony) Boykins. Adegoke was on piano and I was playing trumpet,
but I also began playing saxophone at that time. I was starting to take
trips to the South Side to hang with my dad at the jam sessions. I’d
just go down there and listen to Clifford Jordan, Sonny Rollins and John
Stubblefield. They would come into the Jazz Showcase, and if they had
time they’d hang out with my dad at the jam sessions.
Chico and Von Freeman at the Nîmes Métropole Jazz Festival in Paris in the 1980s.
I
met a lot of people down there and would hang out at the sessions with
Jesse Taylor and Jordan, you know, Chicago guys who were in town. That’s
when I started really getting into it.
Chicago Jazz Magazine: So you decided not to go with IBM or NASA?
Freeman:
The music bug bit me. And with Fred’s encouragement, I decided to go
into the music school. I joined the band on trumpet—a concert band, not
the marching band. I wanted to transfer into the School of Music at
Northwestern, but I did keep a minor in mathematics. In music education,
you had to learn something about each instrument so you could teach it.
I was in the woodwind class. I picked the alto saxophone because it was
available. One-quarter of the class was playing the alto just to learn
about it, and I really liked it. I had to give the horn back at the end
of the class, and when I was putting it back in the closet I saw a tenor
saxophone in there. It was spring break, so I asked the teacher if I
could take the tenor home for the next two weeks and play it. Everyone
else in the class was going to Florida, but I decided to stay in
Evanston and practice ten to twelve hours every day. The tenor sax just
seemed like it was my voice. One of the reasons was because I was
studying with this great classical trumpet player. Then I got excited
when I discovered Miles’ Kind of Blue album. I thought it was great and
remember taking the record to the classical trumpet player. I thought
he’d be thrilled about it, but he was a harsh critic of Miles and said,
“Oh, he doesn’t play in tune; he’s cracking a lot of notes.” You know,
for him, Miles wasn’t “great”—I was crushed. [laughs] I did like this
guy, but I couldn’t get Miles out of my head as far as the trumpet. His
sound and his choice of notes just got to me. It was going to be very
hard for me to be original, because there were no other trumpet players I
found on a high enough level for me. So, instead, for two weeks I
practiced tenor sax. That was it for me––I realized I should’ve been
playing the saxophone years earlier. After the two weeks I went to the
concert band director and said, “I’d like to join the concert band.” His
name was Tex Suthers—he was from Texas or something—and looked at me
like I was crazy. He said, “You’re already in the band.” I said, “Yeah,
but I want to join the band on saxophone.” He looked at me again and
said, “How long have you been playing saxophone?” I said, “Two weeks.”
He got really angry! He said, “Are you crazy? This is Northwestern
University—these people have been playing for years and you think you
can come here in two weeks…?!” And blah, blah, blah. Oh, he just really
went off on me. I wasn’t sure if he was angry or maybe he had a little
racism in him, but he wasn’t happy. I told him, “You’re right, but the
truth is you have to give me an audition. You can say no, but you can’t
deny me the audition.” He agreed and I auditioned. And, to his
surprise, I passed the audition. He was shocked, and I joined the band
on tenor saxophone. Of course, now I’m in the school and my instrument
is saxophone, so I have to join a saxophone quartet. I studied with a
teacher named Fred Hemke—great guy. Rico even named a reed after him:
the Hemke Reed for soprano. So I began playing classical music on tenor
and then one day I went down to see my dad. [laughs]
Chicago Jazz Magazine: Did Von know you were playing saxophone at that point?
Freeman: Not
really. I can’t remember if I called him and told him, or if he found
out when I went to Betty Lou’s to sit in with him. I remember I took my
girlfriend at the time and I think Clifford Jordan was there with Jessie
Taylor. I brought the horn with me and told them I wanted to sit in. I
had learned some stuff, at least. Of course everyone was looking at me
because I’m Von’s son. When I finally got up on the bandstand my sound
was terrible! I was playing on a classical mouthpiece, which was fine in
the saxophone quartet at college, but now I’m down there playing and
Clifford is standing next to me. Clifford had this big Chicago sound and
I sounded like someone tearing a piece of paper. [laughs] I think my
dad was embarrassed and went, “Oh my God.” After the session I was about
to leave and head back up to Northwestern, and my dad goes, “Wait a
minute. You gotta come with me.” He took me upstairs to his room and
pulled out a drawer that was full of mouthpieces. He went rummaging
through them and came up with one. He says, “Here, try this.” I put it
on the sax and I was like, Wow! It was night and day. He said, “You take
that. It’s yours now. I was working on it for me, but you need it more
than I do.” [laughs] So I went to my saxophone quartet rehearsal the
next day with my new mouthpiece. I was all excited about it, but as soon
as Mr. Hemke counted off the piece we were playing, I started playing a
booming, boo, boo ba dee boo! He said, “Oh Lord!” He put his hands to
his head and yelled, “What’s going on!?” [laughs] I said, “I got a new
mouthpiece! Isn’t it great?” [laughs] He says, “No it’s not! This is
classical! Do you still have the other mouthpiece?” I did and I ended up
having to switch back over. When I went to practice on the weekends I
put my dad’s mouthpiece on the sax. When I was in the saxophone quartet I
used the other one. The next time I went back home to sit in with my
dad he was so proud of me. I graduated from Northwestern with a major in
music and a minor in math. I did take the knowledge from math and used
it in my compositions. The compositions came later as I met Muhal
Richard Abrams. I did my first professional job with a guy named
“Duck”––Hamid Drake was in the band. That was my very first professional
job that paid. It was an R&B band. After I graduated, Fred told
Adegoke and me about Muhal, so we went down to join the AACM. I started
attending the AACM School of Music and studying composition and music
with Muhal. I became a part of his big band and met George Lewis,
Anthony Braxton, Amina Claudine Meyers, Gerald Donovan, Donald Myrick,
Louis Satterfield and Michael Harris, who ultimately became the horn
section for Earth, Wind & Fire. I got involved playing blues, fusion
with Kestutis Stanciauskas, who led the band Street Dancer. I was
playing everything I could. I met Buddy Guy and played with Jesus Wayne,
and we opened for Earth, Wind & and Fire. I was having a great
time. I was also finishing up my degree at Northwestern in music
education and had to choose where to do my student teaching. Willie
Pickens was teaching at Phillips High School, so I went down there and
became his student. I watched my dad play with Willie and his friends,
Jodie Christian and John Young.
Chicago Jazz Magazine: When did you decide to run your own groups?
Freeman: Muhal
encouraged it. I studied composition with Muhal; I also took
Composition at Northwestern. I had Music Theory with this guy
Carlin––Neil Tesser was in that class. I always had an interest in
writing my own music, even when I was studying piano. I made some
attempts––I wrote one song for this girl I had a crush on. I was a
romantic! [laughs]. Muhal had a strong influence on me. I studied with
him at AACM and I’d also go to his house where he had a piano in the
basement. That’s when he introduced me to the music of historical people
like James P. Johnson and others. I didn’t know anything about those
guys. They were very influential to Muhal, so it was amazing for me to
hear them. He did a lot of what Fred did for me—taking me back to
Charlie Parker. But Muhal took me back and showed me compositions and
how they wrote them. He had his own system of writing, which I adopted. I
had music that I wanted to play so I would start my own band. The best
way to get your music played was to create your own group and
circumstances. It’s always been my way, even when I got to New York.
Chicago Jazz Magazine: How did you end up in New York?
Freeman:
I had a little bit of preparation. After I graduated school I went to a
concert/club in Evanston, Illinois where Charles Mingus was playing. I
Freeman at 38 with his family (standing, left to right): Von, Mark and Chico; (sitting): Brenda, Denise and Ruby Freeman
remember
seeing Charles and he had Don Pullen in his band, Danny Richmond on
drums, Jack Walrath on trumpet and George Adams on saxophone. Mingus was
one of the first people my friend had introduced me to so I went there
and just wanted to play with Mingus. I went up to Charles and said, “Mr.
Mingus, could I please sit in with you?” He said, “Yes, it’s okay with
me, but you have to ask George.” I thought, You know. He’s respectful, I
was impressed. I went up to George Adams and said, “Mr. Adams, sir.
Could I please sit in with you? Mr. Mingus said it’s okay if it’s
alright with you.” George said, “Yeah, sure, come on.” I get in there
and I’m hoping that Mingus is going to play the blues or something. He
pulls out one of his compositions, which seems like it spans five music
stands. [laughs] Afterwards, I was happy and thanked George and went to
talk to Mingus. He was sitting in his chair and I said, “Thank you, Mr.
Mingus. I really appreciate it,” I started to walk away and he said,
“Hey. You should come to New York. We play Boomers every Saturday. When
you get there, look me up.” That gave me a little bit of courage for the
future.
Chicago Jazz Magazine: What year was that?
Freeman:
It was in the mid- to late ‘70s. I was working on my master’s degree
and was going to Governors State University. My professor was Warrick
Carter, who later became the Dean of Columbia College in Chicago. Before
that he had gone to head the music program at Berklee College in
Boston. When I went to Governors State University and was studying for
my masters degree, Warrick was our instructor had the band really
killin’. The band also had Billy Howell on trombone. Great
musicians—really experienced ones. There was a competition at Notre Dame
called the Intercollegiate Jazz Institute competition, like what the
Monk Institute does today. Every college that had a jazz program from
North Texas State to California would come to Notre Dame and compete.
You competed for band and solo competitions, and on every instrument
including voice, and also in composition. The band at Governors State
took five of the eight awards––I took two of those five. I won Best
Saxophonist and Best Soloist. Vandy Harris was amazing and won Best
Composer, our vocalist won Best Vocals and we won Best Band. As winners,
we were able to take part in a special exchange program and were chosen
to go to Sao Paulo, Brazil. We had to fly to New York first, and Henry
Threadgill and Fred Anderson had made a conscious effort to move to New
York earlier that year. I was down in Sao Paulo for three weeks. After I
got back to New York, I called Fred from the airport and asked him if I
could stay with him for a few days. I told him, “I wanted to see New
York since I have the opportunity.” I changed my ticket and went to
Fred’s house. He was living in a loft above a place called the Tin
Palace, on Third Avenue down on the Lower East Side. He lived with David
Murray, Phillip Wilson and Stanley Crouch. I was going to stay there
for three days and then go back to Chicago. Henry was working downstairs
at the club with Jeanne Lee and they played that night. The Tin Palace
liked it so much they wanted them to come back the next week. But Henry
had to go to Chicago for personal business. He then asked me if I could
take his place and sub for him. I told him I would, but that meant I had
to postpone my leaving New York in three days. So I played with Jeanne
Lee for the weekend while Henry was in Chicago. The club really liked
Jeanne and invited her to come back the next weekend as well, so she
asked me if I was available. So now my three days turned into a week,
and the week turned into another. In the meantime, I met Olu Dara. He
was playing with Mickey Bass at Dr. Generosity’s and asked me to come
and sit in. I went up to see them and hang out. Michael Carvin was on
drums and Kiane Zawadi was on euphonium. I sat in with Mickey Bass just
for fun, and then Mickey liked it, so he hired me to stay. That band was
working every week for a month. Now, my three days had turned into a
month. I felt like I couldn’t stay with Fred anymore and told him I
needed to find my own place. I stayed a few nights on a park bench.
[laughs] John Stubblefield was playing with Cecil McBee and he got a
call to play with Nat Adderley, so he asked me to take his place and
play with Cecil. That’s how I ended up staying in New York—I never went
back.
Chicago Jazz Magazine: As the song says, “One thing leads to another.”
Freeman:
Let’s say I had great success in New York. I played with Sun Ra, then
joined Elvin Jones and recorded with him. I also played with Jack
DeJohnette’s Special Edition for five years. I played with McCoy Tyner
as well for 5 years. Elvin gave me my first record. I then met Bob
Cummings with India Navigation, and then hooked up with Don Pullen again
and became part of Don Pullen’s band, Warriors. I later started the
band The Leaders, and Don Pullen was the first piano player of that
band, along with Don Cherry on trumpet, Arthur Blythe on alto saxophone,
Cecil McBee on bass and Famadou Don Moye on drums. I got a chance to
work with all my heroes, of the John Coltrane Quartet including Reggie
Workman. The only person I didn’t get to work with was Jimmy Garrison
because he had already passed away.
Chicago Jazz Magazine:
Back then guys were on the scene, hanging out, so it was probably
easier for you to run into them and play or sit in with an Elvin Jones
or a Jimmy Garrison and get to know them. It’s different these days,
isn’t it?
Freeman at age 35 with his father, Von.
Freeman: Agreed.
I met a lot of people. I went out, and wasn’t shy about letting them
know I played and would like to play with them. So then of course my
reputation began to improve and I started getting calls.
Chicago Jazz Magazine: Was there any particular musician who made you think completely differently about your music?
Freeman:
Honestly, I can’t just pick one––everyone had a profound effect on me.
Elvin was a great influence, and to this day he’s my favorite all-time
drummer. The way he plays behind the beat is so relaxed. He never
rehearsed, so it was a completely different thing. In Chicago, the guys
were always rehearsing. When I got to Elvin I was thinking, Man, we
should be rehearsing. I even tried to influence Elvin and asked him when
we were going to have rehearsal. He just looked at me and I thought I
was going to get fired. [laughs] Elvin taught me a lot and shocked me
and changed my viewpoint about things, and so did McCoy. There was an
album of McCoy’s, Time for Tyner, which I loved. Freddie Waits was the
drummer and I’ll never forget this because of the connection. Freddie
was the drummer and McCoy had a song on there, “African Village,” which I
loved! There was something he did harmonically I did not understand at
the time. I wasn’t harmonically sophisticated then and never really
studied the song; I tried to figure a little bit of it out, but didn’t.
Then years went by and I ended up playing with McCoy. I did a couple
records with him and later toured with the McCoy Tyner Trio and was the
featured saxophonist. At that point I had established myself so it was
billed as “McCoy Tyner Trio featuring Chico Freeman,” or something like
that. It was very cool. I’m in complete deference to McCoy. When we were
on tour I had a flashback to the song “African Village,” and I was
like, Wow! I’m in a band with McCoy. I can ask him what he was doing! We
were at some concert and I decided to ask him: “On Time for Tyner, your
album, your song ‘African Village’—I love that song. What are the
chords that you use?” He just looked at me and didn’t say anything. I
hadn’t expected him not to answer; it was a little unnerving. He looked
back down at the piano, and I was like, Oh shit, I guess I need to just
put my head down. [laughs] Now it’s one year later and we’re at Blue
Note in Tokyo, and I’m up there getting my mic together and I hear, “Hey
Chico!” and I say, “Yeah McCoy?” He calls me over to the piano and
goes, “Here, check this out.” He starts playing “African Village,” and
I’m trying to catch it because he’s playing fast. I’m watching him and I
go, “McCoy—that’s great! What is that chord? What do you call that?” He
says, “It’s just a sound.” That’s it. That was the end of that. I
walked away from that and thought, He’s not blowing me off, because I
can tell the difference. He just told me something very important. Now, I
went back to “African Village” and I saw what he did. Now I’m
harmonically sophisticated. I listened to it and figured it out. There
was no way to really identify it as a particular chord, you know, not
really. That changed everything. I wrote a song, “Enchance,” on one of
my recordings for him. One chord in this song—I’m not going to say what
it is—is a polychord and is meant to be played exactly the way I wrote
it. Every time I’ve played it piano players, they look at that chord and
see it as something else. If you were to put A flat over B flat,
everybody knows that’s a sus chord. They see it as this other thing. I
get to this thing and I’m playing and the piano player does their thing,
and I go, “No, no, no! Stop the band!” He starts telling me that this
chord is this other thing. And I say, “No it’s not. You’ve got to play
that chord exactly what it is. It’s three notes on top, and that’s it.
Don’t alter it in any way. You can do whatever you want with everything
else, but when you hit this chord, this is it.” And he goes, “Why?” I
say, “It’s just a sound, man.” That chord that I wrote really was about
just a sound. It was a sound that I wanted. That sound was completely
different and in that thing it just changes everything.
Chico with his parents Von and Ruby
Chicago Jazz Magazine: In
music education, you’d have fourteen people trying to psychoanalyze
that chord in a class somewhere. But when you break it all down, music
is just sound, right?
Freeman:
Yeah. And I realized in many of my compositions, sometimes it’s really
just that. I look for a sound. Sometimes it’s very difficult to try to
name that sound. McCoy—answering the question—he’s one of those people.
He and Elvin are two of those. Elvin for rhythmic things.
Chicago Jazz Magazine: You’re coming to the Jazz Showcase, May 25-28. Is it the Chico Freeman Quartet?
Freeman:
No, it’s the Chico Freeman Plus+tet. I’ve got a great band coming in
with me. I’ve got Kenny Davis on bass and Anthony Wonsey on piano, both
who are from Chicago and both who were mentored by my father Von
Freeman, and Rudy Royston is on drums.
Chicago Jazz Magazine: Are you focusing on your new album, Spoken Into Existence?
Freeman: A lot from Spoken Into Existence, because Chicago hasn’t heard any of this music—at least me playing it live.
I’m
playing other things too, from some previous recordings like
“Enchance,” the one I wrote for McCoy. My uncle George’s ninetieth
birthday is this month. I won’t be there for that, but George is going
to join me on Sunday, so I’m going to do something a little special and
tip my hat to my dad. I’ll try to do some more things that Chicago would
love. The audience in Chicago is like no other––quite vocal. They
aren’t always quiet. Compared to New York and other places, Chicago is a
little rowdy, in a good way. I’ll never forget, Clifford Jordan and I
were hanging out somewhere in New York and he says, “Ugh, all these
people—say something! When they hear something good they should let you
know just like they do in Chicago.” [laughs] You have to earn it. I hope
I’ll be able to.
Chicago Jazz Magazine: What prompted you to move to Europe?
Freeman:
I left the States and went to Europe because I wanted to travel the
world. I had toured Japan, Australia, the Far East and Near East, but
had never really lived anywhere else. I wanted to see what it was like
to live in a place and see how people are when they don’t know you—when
you are a part of the landscape. Sometimes we get special treatment,
which is nice and I enjoy it, but I wanted to see what it was like if
they don’t know you. I also wanted to experience other kinds of music. I
went to Spain and played with gypsy musicians and had the opportunity
to play with Paco de Lucia, the great Spanish guitarist. I got to play
with Andrea Bocelli and went to North Africa, Morocco and Algeria. In
Morocco, I played with Ghanaian musicians and also participated in a
festival where everybody played with everybody. I played in Hungary with
this great Hungarian gypsy musician, Miklos Lukacs, who played this
instrument I had never heard of, the cimbalom, which is incredible. I
went to the Baltic countries and heard some of the clarinet players and
their folk music. I went to Australia and met some aboriginal musicians.
Chicago Jazz Magazine: Tell us about Spoken Into Existence.
Freeman:
I have five daughters, so I wrote five songs, one for each one of my
daughters. That’s Spoken Into Existence––that was the inspiration. Five
are for my daughters and the other songs are some I’ve always wanted to
play. A couple are from two of the guys on the recording: Antonio Faraò
and Heiri Känzig. Two songs are by other people: Stanley Turrentine and
Victor Feldman with “Soft Pedal Blues” and “Seven Steps to Heaven.” I’ve
always liked “Seven Steps to Heaven.” Its arrangement is really hip.
But “Soft Pedal Blues”—me being from Chicago—when I heard the recording
of Stanley Turrentine’s song, I wanted to record it myself. One of my
favorite saxophone players is Gene Ammons. Boy, he can play a slow
blues. Everybody could play slow blues in Chicago back then, and so
could I, but I had never recorded a slow blues. I thought, Wow. I can’t
believe I never did that. I didn’t realize this at first. So, all the
other things were kind of personal things I wanted to do and say with
Spoken Into Existence. That’s kind of the significance of the title.
Chicago Jazz Magazine: You’ve now moved back to New York after being away for twelve years. How has the scene changed since you left?
Freeman:
I lived in Europe approximately twelve years––went to Greece then
moved to Switzerland. Even though I am back in the States and living in
New York, I still have my place in Switzerland, but my main focus is
being in New York. I moved back because I wanted to bring all of the
playing and traveling experiences I’ve had over the years back to the
States with me and get back to my roots and incorporate it all together
into my playing again. I also miss playing with American musicians. I
really wanted to play again with American drummers, bass players, rhythm
sections and wanted to reconnect with the blues and some of the other
cultural staples music here has given to the world. I felt it was time
to come back to my roots again. Since I’ve been back, the changes I’ve
noticed in the music scene are good, particularly with the musicians
themselves. I’ve noticed there are more females in music that can really
play. I’ve also noticed musicians are more inclusive in general—black
and white players are playing together much more than they did before I
left.
Chico Freeman photo by Roger Thomas
I
also see so many gifted young players. We’ve lost a lot of great
musicians and I just find it unfortunate because some of the young
musicians won’t have the opportunity to apprentice from the bandstand
like I was able to do with Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, Art Blakey and
others. I hope I can supply some part of that by being back home.
Oct 2, 2019
October 2019
Feature Interview: Chico Freeman
Updated: October 3, 2019
Chico is a member of the Freeman family, Chicago’s First Family of jazz. His father is the legendary saxophonist Von, and his uncles include guitarist George and drummer Bruz. Although Freeman has adopted the instrument of his father, it was not his first instrument, as he discusses in this feature interview.
Freeman grew up in Chicago but moved to New York and quickly made a name for himself on the scene. Throughout this interview Freeman discusses his experiences meeting and working with many of the legends of jazz. He discusses his concepts on playing, leading his own groups and composing and recording his own music.
He also discusses his new projects that are debuting later this year, one of which honors his grandmother who was instrumental in inspiring his father and uncles to pursue music.
We hope you enjoy the October 2019 feature interview with Chico Freeman.
Listen to the Podcast
Chico Freeman - Chicago Jazz Magazine Feature Interview
Saxophonist Chico Freeman sits down with Chicago Jazz Magazine founder, Mike Jeffers, for the October 2019 feature interview.
Chico talks about growing up in a legendary Chicago musical family, the Freeman family. The son of Von Freeman, he shares stories about starting to play sax, attending Northwestern University, his decision to make music his career, moving to New York, performing with Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner and many others.
Watch-Read-Listen to the full October 2019 issue of Chicago Jazz Magazine at http://www.chicagojazzmagazine.com
Chico Freeman interviewed by VJC director Eugene Uman on
10-11-16 in preparation for concert to be held with his Plus+tet at the
Vermont Jazz Center. Discussed use of drummers in band, Chicago jazz
history and current scene including AACM, first gig with Elvin and his
current quartet.
Saxophonist Chico Freeman has been on a 10-year journey of discovery.
"I
always wanted to try to live in another place, besides the United
States. I went from Chicago to New York, and I always had it in my mind
that I wanted to base myself somewhere else in the world. I wanted to
edify myself about other cultures and how people express music relative
to their cultures," he says.
"At first I thought about
France, because of the history France has with jazz, from Sidney Bechet
to Eric Dolphy and a lot of musicians who went to France. I thought
about Northern Europe, Copenhagen, places like that, because of Dexter
Gordon spending so much time there. I also wanted to try Japan and
Australia."
Chico ended up in Greece, then the Balkans. "I met a
lot of Gypsy people, and I found that really interesting, because I
found a similarity to the blues musicians in America, in the ways they
live and their relationship to society. Flamenco music in Spain was
originally Gypsy music. It's their blues form."
He's had the
opportunity to spend time in Africa, too. Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal,
Congo, South Africa, Morocco, and Algeria all offered him a chance to
explore the many cultures and musical forms of the continent.
Not
that he's lacking in music and culture from his home country. Chico is
part of Chicago's musical Freeman family. His father, beloved
saxophonist Von Freeman was a mainstay of that city's music scene, and
Von's brothers George (guitar) and Bruz (drums) lived and worked with
him. Young Chico and the neighborhood kids would check out their
rehearsals, and also got to hear Andrew Hill, Ahmad Jamal, Malachi
Favors and other Chicago-based jazz greats when they came to work with
Von.
Von was one of the founders of the "Chicago School" of tenor
sax, along with Gene Ammons, Johnny Griffin and Clifford Jordan. Chico
worked as a bartender so he could hear their jam sessions and see other
musicians from New York and around the world as they came through. It
was quite an education for the aspiring young saxophonist.
"Chicago
is the home of the urban blues. If you're a musician from Chicago,
you've got to know how to play the blues." Chico gigged with B.B. King
and Buddy Guy.
He also worked with drummer Elvin Jones in the late
1970s. "Elvin was a good friend and a great mentor. Since John
Coltrane was a big influence on me, working with Elvin was a dream for
me."
Chico left Chicago for the many musical opportunities in New
York, which included spending a good deal of his time with the Latin
jazz masters like Machito, Ray Barretto, Tito Puente and Eddie Palmieri.
He formed his own Latin band, Guataca. He's been to Cuba and worked
with the Duke Ellington of that country, Chucho Valdez.
Chico's got about 40 recordings under his own name, and a worldwide reputation as an innovator.
Having
been so many places and having worked with so many great musicians,
Chico has come to believe that "... playing this music is a privilege.
It takes hard work, dedication and commitment. But it pays off. And
it's probably one of the noblest professions you can go into, especially
if you enter it with purity of heart. By that I mean, I believe it's
only music, by its nature, that gives the practitioner the opportunity
to express himself, or herself, in non-conditional terms. That's
something I believe people look for, and need.
"Dizzy Gillespie
said that jazz was the search for truth. That's exactly what it is.
It's the search for the truth of who you are at that moment. It's a
pure truth. That's as much truth as anybody has. This music gives you
the opportunity to do that. And when you do that, you connect with your
audience. If the people who are there are able to share that with you,
that's possibly the most honest, truest connection you can have with
any other person."
The Chico Freeman 4-tet CD, "Spoken Into
Existence" is a beautiful recording that released in May, and the band
has been touring the U.S. They'll be at the Triple Door in Seattle
tomorrow, Tuesday August 16, and I'll be hosting a live Studio Session
with them that afternoon at 2 p.m. on KPLU's Midday Jazz.
Chico Freeman Plus+tet
Chico Freeman - tenor saxophone
Luke Carlos O'Reilly - piano
Kenny Davis - bass
Nasheet Waits - drums
Recorded Live at Dizzy's May 19, 2016
Erika's Reverie is available on Chico Freeman's
THE
MUSIC OF CHICO FREEMAN: AN EXTENSIVE VIDEO OVERVIEW, A CROSS SECTION OF
RECORDINGS, MUSICAL ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY, PLUS VARIOUS INTERVIEWS WITH CHICO FREEMAN:
Kofi Natambu, editor of and contributor to Sound Projections, is a writer, poet, cultural critic, and political journalist whose poetry, essays, criticism, reviews, and journalism have appeared in many literary magazines, journals, newspapers, and anthologies. He has written extensively about music as a critic and historian for many publications, including the Black Scholar, Downbeat, Solid Ground: A New World Journal, Detroit Metro Times, KONCH, the Panopticon Review,Black Renaissance Noire, the Village Voice, the City Sun (NYC), the Poetry Project Newsletter (NYC), and the African American Review. He is the author of a biography Malcolm X: His Life & Work (Alpha Books) and two books of poetry: The Melody Never Stops (Past Tents Press) and Intervals (Post Aesthetic Press). He was the founder and editor of Solid Ground: A New World Journal, a national quarterly magazine of the arts, culture, and politics and the editor of a literary anthology Nostalgia for the Present (Post Aesthetic Press). Natambu has read his work throughout the country and given many lectures and workshops at academic and arts institutions. He has taught American literature, literary theory and criticism, cultural history and criticism, film studies, political science, creative writing, philosophy, critical theory, and music history and criticism (Jazz, Blues, R&B, Hip Hop) at many universities and colleges. He was also a curator in the Education Department of Detroit’s Museum of African American History. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Natambu currently lives in Berkeley, California with his wife Chuleenan.
NANCY WILSON 
NANCY WILSON 
Chico
Freeman’s swings sassy and hard, and yet the tone and manner of his
playing gets so mystical in slower movements of his pieces that you can
feel that he has entered into the realm of the Divine. This is nothing
new. I have a vivid memory of his 1979 India Navigation vinyl Spirit Sensitive
with a mighty band that included Cecil McBee, John Hicks, Billy Hart ,
Don Moye and Jay Hoggard that was both magical and supernatural and
drove me, like many others, I’m sure, to ecstasy. And that was not all; Sweet Explosion
(In+Out, 1990) was no less heady and numinous. Having ‘descended’
directly from the line that produced not only his father, Von Freeman
but John Coltrane, this might come as no surprise. However Freeman has,
for years, been a singular voice, a struggler in the desert lit by a
fiercely glowing sun.
