Von Freeman - 1923-2012

[calvino]

VON FREEMAN 1923-2012

Von Freeman, Chicago jazz legend, dead at 88

 

Devoted to city, saxophonist forged his own path

 

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/chi-von-freeman-dies-chicago-jazz-music-20120813,0,4655061,full.column

 

LouieB should be the one starting this thread. Sad day for the Chicago jazz scene - he has been quite sick as of late (and quite old), so obviously not a surprise. Glad I caught him live a few times.

 

WBEZ had a very nice segment this afternoon.

[LouieB]

Hey Bob, thanks for starting thisheard about the same time I guess, from Kris, but didn't get on last night.

 

It is very sad, but also sadly inevitable. Von has been sick for a few years and the gigs at the New Apartment Lounge ended a while back, but we can always remember the great nights there over the years.

 

I need to tell this story one last time (or not.) I took Rosie (former TweedysGurl) to see Von when she was about two years old at the Green Mill for a record release event in the afternoon. She was just a toddler and handled it pretty well. We sat in one of the booths by the side of the stage and every so often she would climb out and dance around, which amused Von. We didn't make it through the whole set, but did see enough.

 

Nearly 20 years later I convinced Rosie to go see Von with me at the New Apartment, which was a very different scene. Von came in with the guy from Premonition records and I rolled out the story of taking her to see him years ago. He was very pleased and ended up buying me a beer. Von really did love his fans. The last time I spoke to him was at the event at U of C that Bob and I went to a few years back. By that point Von rambled and was at some points not that coherent. He had been a very coherent speaker and it was sad.

 

We always used to say that when the New Apartment sessions ended it would truly be the end of an era. There is nothing really to replace it, with folks coming in from the northside, people coming in from other parts of the world, and folks from the neighbhorhood (75th St) stopping in for a drink. That mix can not be duplicated and sadly the culture that produced Von and his generation is long gone.

 

Hopefully there is a memorial service sometime in the near future and maybe some of us can go to that for one last rememberence. Howard Reich's column is worht a read. He didn't write about or maybe didn't know about the sessions he used to have at the Enterprise Lounge, also on the southside, that pre-dated the New Apartment gig.

 

LouieB

[calvino]

Hey Lou, I did find a trailer/clip of the U of C interview/performance that the filmmakers put together (see below). It doesn't look that WBEZ has yesterday's segment up, yet. Wish I made it down to the New Apartment more (only went twice), especially since it was so close to my place.

 

He definitely was an interesting player. Would be cool to hear some of his stuff when he played with Jimmy Reed, but thus far I can't dig up any recordings.

 

 

[LouieB]

I would guess there are no recordings with Jimmy Reed, sadly, but keep looking. They would be interesting to hear.

 

LouieB

[calvino]

Below is a Suntimes piece.

 

http://www.suntimes.com/14466939-761/chicago-jazz-icon-von-freeman-dead-at-88-walked-tuff-to-the-end.html

[LouieB]

As usual we are talking to ourselves. I drove by the New Apartment Lounge yesterday and took a picture to post on Facebook. It is very sad that we won't be going there ever again for one of those wonderful nights.

 

LouieB

[calvino]

Does Von's former back-up band still have a regular gig there?

[uncool2pillow]

Some interested listeners, though.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

As usual we are talking to ourselves. I drove by the New Apartment Lounge yesterday and took a picture to post on Facebook. It is very sad that we won't be going there ever again for one of those wonderful nights.

 

LouieB

 

Not everyone here is from Chicago.

Not everyone here is a Jazz fan.

No one should be shocked that an 88 year old man in ill health passes. (Don't mean to be harsh, but sometimes this seems like the 'Chicago' in Viachicago is more important than the inspiration for the board.)

[LouieB]

Does Von's former back-up band still have a regular gig there?

That's a great question. I would doubt it, but they were great. Individually the guys developed to be quite proficient.

Not everyone here is from Chicago.

Not everyone here is a Jazz fan.

No one should be shocked that an 88 year old man in ill health passes. (Don't mean to be harsh, but sometimes this seems like the 'Chicago' in Viachicago is more important than the inspiration for the board.)

Hey, so don't reply. For some of us Von was a significant local figure. It is not unsual that he died, because he has been sick for the last couple of years and hasn't even been playing, but that doesn't stop people from posting death notices about some pretty obscure musical figures here. The sad part about Von's passing is not that an old man passed on, but that he embodied quite a bit of musical history. And if you don;t like jazz, so be it too, although with all due respect if you don't have some appreciation for jazz, even if you aren't a regular listener or fan, you got a major hole in your soul. Without jazz, which was one of the original american popular musics, there would be no rock and roll or much of what we listen to today. Shit doesn't happen in a vacuum. You might want to read up on some history, or not depending.

 

On a personal note, not only was Von a cool guy and a significant musical presence in Chicago, but serveral Wilco fans got out to see the guy and we had a great time. I even dragged a few non-jazz folks who had a good time to these gigs. I know lots of folks don't give a rats ass about jazz, it is pretty old timey stuff to lots of people, but somehow just about every major or minor rock figure of note (and most of those not of note) cite jazz figures such as John Coltrane, Sun Ra, or Thelonius Monk as an inspiration. (Including members of Wilco, but that should be obvious if you have ever seen the band or seen the individuals play without the band.)

 

As far as Chicago being a focal point of the board, well okay so Jeff Tweedy and some of the other members live here. Wilco brings in rock tourist dollars and I have met people from all over the world that come here because of them. Some of them also express interest in the city for other reasons, musical, cultural, entertainment, etc. Not sure what the bug is about an old jazz guy who lots of people liked passing being a problem to talk about or even my suggestion that there should be more interest in him. No one has to be interested in anyone they don't want to be interested in, but personally the city is a slightly poorer place because of his passing. His gigs at the New Apartment were terrific fun and allowed all kinds of people to mix together because of their love of music; which is something that you don't see in most of the rock clubs But that is just my opinion and doesn't have to be yours.

 

LouieB

[calvino]

Doing a quick search, it looks like you (Lou) put together 4 or 5 VC excursions to the Lounge - well done. I did participate in one of them. Of course, this current site only goes back to 05 and the Archives are still down, so perhaps there were more...

[stooka]

Not everyone here is from Chicago.

Not everyone here is a Jazz fan.

No one should be shocked that an 88 year old man in ill health passes. (Don't mean to be harsh, but sometimes this seems like the 'Chicago' in Viachicago is more important than the inspiration for the board.)

 

don't be a douchebag, man! Nobody made you click on this thread!

[LouieB]

Doing a quick search, it looks like you (Lou) put together 4 or 5 VC excursions to the Lounge - well done. I did participate in one of them. Of course, this current site only goes back to 05 and the Archives are still down, so perhaps there were more...

Well some were more successful than others. No biggie. It was also a way for me to get my lazy ass out of the house on a Tuesday night. These gigs never started until really about 10:30 and I never made it all the way to the end for any of them despite my best efforts. Usually Von stopped playing at a certain point and let a pickup band take over. The pick-up band was a real crap shoot and sometimes wasn't worth sticking around for.

 

LouieB

[calvino]

http://www.chicagotr...,5394604.column

 

A memorial service for Chicago tenor saxophone giant Von Freeman will take place at 6 p.m. Aug. 28 at Christ Universal Temple, 11901 S. Ashland Ave.

Freeman, who earlier this year was awarded a Jazz Masters Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts (the nation's highest jazz honor), died Aug. 11 at age 88 of heart failure.

Musicians from across the country will attend, including saxophonists Chico Freeman (his son) and Steve Coleman, trumpeter Brad Goode and Freeman’s band: guitarist Mike Allemana, bassist Matt Ferguson and drummer Mike Raynor.

 

I will be catching a Dylan show in Ft. Wayne on the 28th. Hopefully they put together a memorial concert at some point.

 

I also realized on the 20th that Teddy "The Bear" Thomas and Von Freeman's Rhythm Section played at Room 43 (south side club) on the 19th, of course I was out of town.

 

It's good to see them playing together, perhaps this would have been their first gig, since Von's passing. My neighbor runs the Sunday shows at Room 43, need to ask her how the 19th went.

[LouieB]

Thanks for the info on the funeral. I will try and make it.

 

LouieB

[i'm only sleeping]

An obituary in the main Spanish newspaper:

Von Freeman, the long shadow of jazz. Saxophonist Dean of the Chicago music scene

 

http://cultura.elpais.com/cultura/2012/08/24/actualidad/1345845066_821281.html

 

a google translation below:

 

Fame and fortune are concepts away from the natural path of jazzman. There are those who can squeeze its resources, move the fringes of fashion regarding gender or be an eternal tightrope between the popular and the intellectual to stay near the public. Others simply want to play music.

In the narrow and crowded highways of jazz, the hero is not that striking, but it stays true to himself and his art, one that only looks ahead in their constant struggle with the untamed world of improvisation. The eternal impulse to reach beyond always something intimate and personal. The real jazz musician knows that goals puts oneself, and that these should be moving. In this game, is losing reach, and win, always stay on the road.

Von Freeman (Chicago, 1923), saxophonist Dean of the Chicago scene, represents better than anyone that figure, almost mythical, the jazzman free of impurities. His sax sounded for generations, alongside big names and simple workers of music. Anyone willing to go on stage in the Windy City may have run into him, "Chicago is a hard city to leave," he said on more than one occasion. And yes, it is.

Freeman, like many others, refused to admit the undisputed hegemony of New York jazz and decided to remain sheltered from his native Chicago. His ambition went beyond making records and touring the world, but could have done on many occasions. "There are more great musicians around here. They live and die here and nobody knows outside the city, but no more than anywhere else. "

Saxophonist began his career in the early forties with Horace Henderson (brother, in turn, the great Fletcher Henderson). In the second half of the decade played regularly with his brothers George and Bruz in the Pershing Lounge, accompanying soloists big step among which were three of the mainstays of his style: Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young and Charlie Parker. The mixture Hawkins muscular tone, elasticity of phrasing and fluency Young Parker narrative was the basis on which Freeman developed one of the most original styles of the time, terribly advanced and modern.

Why then your name is not featured in encyclopedias? Again, because Freeman just wanted to play, record was not a priority for him.

It was the great saxophonist Rahsaan Roland Kirk who was commissioned to encourage you to record your first album, Doin 'it right now, in 1972. Freeman already had 50 years, which did not prevent the album, produced by Kirk himself, was a little gem hidden in jazz. It was difficult to consider him a precursor to that point, but their improvisations angular, his whimsical sense of timing and intonation that sometimes bordered on detuning the world discovered a very personal solo.

Throughout his life, Freeman played with everyone from Sun Ra to Otis Rush, Jason Moran and Steve Coleman (who always mentioned as a major influence). He debutantes pianists work they were meant to be very large (Ahmad Jamal, Andrew Hill, Muhal Richard Abrams ...) and had a son, Chico Freeman, who emerged in the late seventies as one of the great saxophonists of the era. And all he did, as it were, without leaving Chicago and while playing live at least five nights a week.

Von Freeman died on August 11, with 88 years in his beloved city. Today, it remains an original and influential voice, an example of purity, commitment and freedom. "I do not care about money or fame, because I do not win anything and I'm almost famous. I am free.

[LouieB]

I still plan to the funeral today. Anyone else going? Bob?

 

LouieB

[calvino]

No - won't be able to make it tonight. I misread the date originally and thought it conflicted with the Dylan show last Friday - but, I have something going on tonight, too.

 

Thanks for posting the obit from the Spanish paper - I'm only sleepling - nice to see that.

 

I did talk to my neighbor regarding Von's band show on the 19th of August - she said that it was a packed house and a very special evening.

 

Hopefully there will some type of memorial at this years Hyde Park Jazz Fest (9/29-9/30)

[LouieB]

I will post up my impressions of the funeral so long as no one objects.....

 

LouieB

[Wendy]

Looking forward to it, Lou.

[calvino]

In your impression, Lou, don't use the words Chicago, jazz, or his age and I think you will be fine.

 

But it all seriousness, let us know. My neighbor told me that they were having it Christ Universal Temple, because it holds (for lack of better term) a very large congregation. I think they are expecting a rather large gathering.

[LouieB]

Okay got itl.

 

The event was very nice but as always with these things, way too long. Chirst Universal Temple was a good spot, with lots of parking and thousands of seats. I would say maybe 3-400 hundred people were there, but there was plenty of room. The pre-program included some audio of Von playing and then some stills. It was followed by a video with clips of various interviews and performances, but it went on entirely too long and didn't end until half an hour into when the program was supposed to start. The whole thing was MCed by a woman who was not familiar to me and consistantly misprounouced people's names. But she attempted to keep it moving. As expected there were plenty of remincences from family and friends, with some fairly funny stuff from Dave Jemilo owner of the Green Mill. The most moving speeches were from the two Michaels in Von's New Apartment band. Both could not speak without tearing up and it was genuinely moving. George Freeman, von's brother was particularly humorous. His guitar performance was good, as were the various vocalists who sang along with the band. A group of young guys were good. Also an AACM sax group played a very moving set. The ending set was Chico Freeman, Steve Coleman and Von's band along with surprise guest Brad Goode (one of my old faves from the Green MIll.)

 

There was a reception at a place on 75th street (the 50 yard line), rather than the New Apartment, but I headed home. I was glad I went. I am also going to miss Von. This is truly the end of an era in a sense. While there are alot of great players and musicians in Chicago, the old guard, which included Fred Anderson, are now largely gone. A couple of the non-musicians of that generation (Bob Koester and Joe Segal) are still around though.

 

Anyway, that's it.

 

LouieB

[calvino]

Thanks, Lou.

 

Below is Howard Reich's review of last night's Wynton Marsalis' show - I am assuming, then, that Reich did not make it to Von's memorial, unless he booked it up to Orchrestra Hall...

 

Anyway Wynton dedicated last night's show to Freeman.

 

http://www.chicagotr...0,120676.column

 

 

Just moments after Wynton Marsalis took the stage of Orchestra Hall on Tuesday night he addressed a subject on many people's minds: Chicago tenor saxophonist Von Freeman, who died earlier this month at age 88.

 

"He was a legend," Marsalis told a crowded house, while a memorial service for Freeman was being held across town, at Christ Universal Temple, on South Ashland Avenue.

 

"Von inspired so many musicians. If you're a jazz musician, you don't think of coming to this city without thinking of Von, trying to catch him, hear him."

 

In every jazz city, Marsalis added, certain musicians command special reverence, setting exalted standards for everyone else – local artists and visiting stars alike. "They know thousands of tunes," said Marsalis, in dedicating his performance to Freeman. "So that's what we're going to play – tunes."

 

For the next couple of hours, Marsalis led his quintet through some of the most beloved standards in the American canon, a fitting tribute to the immortal "Vonski," as everyone called him.

 

...

 

"Sweet Georgia Brown" may have been dismissed as treacle long ago by many jazz devotees, but Marsalis refuses to give up on the piece, in fact launching his Freeman tribute with it. But Marsalis' approach proved so light and lithe, so melodically buoyant and delicate in tone, that indeed the old warhorse was lifted from the realm of cliché. If the Harmon mute on Marsalis' horn gave the music-making a silvery elegance, the man's rigorous re-working of the song showed that practically any standard tune can yield tremendous flights of improvisation.

 

This was a lesson that saxophonist Freeman delivered for years every Tuesday night, leading jam sessions at the New Apartment Lounge on the South Side, and Marsalis in effect restated it.

...

 

Near the end of the evening, Marsalis again cited saxophonist Freeman in introducing "Look Down That Lonesome Road," which Marsalis sang as a hushed blues.

 

As the tune wound down to a close and the band played the last few phrases, Marsalis softly chanted, "Von Freeman, Von Freeman, Von Freeman," the name eventually disappearing into silence.

 

A haunting benediction from one master musician to another.

[LouieB]

I didn't see Reich. Neil Tesser was. I got there pretty early and was thrown out of the seats that were being saved for speakers, even though there were not that many speakers. Unlike Fred's funeral, which was crammed full of musicians in the audience, this seemed more fans and family.

 

LouieB

[calvino]

I think, more so than Von, Fred was definitely more of a mentor to musicians. Of course owning a club, Fred dealt with musicians a lot more than Von, too.