VON FREEMAN

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VON FREEMAN




Von Freeman with vocalist Catherine Whitney
Earle Lavon "Von" Freeman Sr. (October 3, 1923 – August 11, 2012) was an American hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist. He was the father of jazz saxophonist Chico Freeman.
Biography

Born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, as a young child Freeman was exposed to jazz. His father, George, a city policeman, was a close friend of Louis Armstrong with Armstrong living at the Freeman house when he first arrived in Chicago.

Freeman learned to play the saxophone as a child and at DuSable High School, where his band director was Walter Dyett. He began his professional career at age 16 in Horace Henderson's Orchestra. He was drafted into the Navy during World War II and played for a Navy band while in the service.

After his return to Chicago, where he remained for the duration of his career, he played with his brothers George Freeman on guitar and Bruz (Eldridge) Freeman (who died in 2006 aged 85 in Hawaii) on drums at the Pershing Hotel Ballroom. Various leading jazzmen such as Charlie Parker, Roy Eldridge and Dizzy Gillespie played there with the Freemans as the backing band. In the early 1950s, Von played in Sun Ra's band.

Von Freeman's first venture into the recording studio took place in 1954, backing a vocal group called The Maples for Al Benson's Blue Lake label. He appeared on Andrew Hill's second single on the Ping label in 1956, followed by some recording for Vee-Jay with Jimmy Witherspoon and Albert B. Smith in the late fifties, and a recorded appearance at a Charlie Parker tribute concert in 1970.

In 1972, Freeman first recorded under his own name, the album Doin' It Right Now with the support of Roland Kirk. His next effort was a marathon session in 1975 released over two albums by Nessa. Since then he lived, regularly performed, and recorded in Chicago. His recordings included three albums with his son, the tenorist Chico Freeman, and You Talkin' To Me with 22-year old saxophonist Frank Catalano, following their successful appearance at the Chicago Jazz Festival in 1999.

One of Von's singular contributions was his mentoring of countless younger musicians and his steadfast support of what he liked to call "hardcore jazz"(as he still did in a 2001 article in Downbeat.) Von's quartet played Monday nights throughout the 1970s and the mid-1980s at The Enterprise Lounge which closed when he toured Japan, and then Tuesdays at The Apartment Lounge. The quartet played a long set first, the vehicle that showcased Von's range from sensitively unwound ballads to intense improvisations that utilized his sometimes rough timbre and indefinite pitch to create a unique avant garde style of his own. His performances were also impressive verbal ones, as he served as an important figure that both helped African-American culture thrive on the South Side as well as invited the participation of European-Americans and others into the warmth of the community he and the rest of the Enterprise and Apartment created.

Freeman was considered a founder of the "Chicago School" of jazz tenorists along with Gene Ammons, Johnny Griffin and Clifford Jordan. His music has been described as "wonderfully swinging and dramatic" featuring a "large rich sound". "Vonski," as he was known by his jazz fans, was selected to receive the nation's highest jazz honor, the NEA Jazz Masters award. Freeman died of heart failure on August 11, 2012, in his home town, at the age of 88.

Discography

This section requires expansion. (May 2012)


As leader
1972: Doin' It Right Now (Atlantic Records)
1975: Have No Fear (Nessa Records)
1975: Serenade and Blues (Nessa Records)
1977: Young and Foolish
1981: Freeman & Freeman (India Navigation, with Chico Freeman)
1982: Fathers And Sons (CBS Records, with Chico Freeman, Ellis Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, and Branford Marsalis)
1989: Walkin' Tuff
1995: Fire
1997: Live at the Blue Note
1999: You Talkin' To Me?
2001: Live at the Dakota
2002: Improvisor
2004: The Great Divide
2006: Good Forever
2009: Vonski Speaks


As sideman

With Francesco Crosara
Colors (1999, Southport Records)
Emotions (2003, TCB Records)

With Kurt Elling
Live in Chicago (2000)

With Willis Jackson
Lockin' Horns (2000)

With Clifford Jordan
Hyde Park After Dark (1981, Bee Hive Records)