New Von Freeman

[Lazaro Vega]

"The Great Divide" features the 82 year old Chicago tenor saxophonist Von Freeman -- a one time schoolmate and bandmate of Gene Ammons, Johnny Griffin and Clifford Jordan -- with a New York rhythm section including drummer Jimmy Cobb, pianist Richard Wyands and bassist John Webber. The press release claims this is the first time since the 1940's that he surrounded himself with a New York rhythm section, which is too bad as in 1981 he and his son Chico played with Kenny Barron, Cecil McBee and Jack DeJohnette at the Public Theater ("Freeman and Freeman" is the recording on India Navigation) and recorded the justly famous studio album "Fathers and Sons" for Columbia. In any case, on "The Great Divide" the program includes long ballads "Be My Love," "This Is Always" as well as "Violets for Your Furs," a piece called "Blue Pres" (a slow reading of "Blue Lester") and Coleman Hawkins' "Disorder at the Border." He also reprises a hauling ass "I Got Rhythm" variation called "Have No Fear, Soul Is Here" first recorded on Nessa back in the 70's, here retitled "Never Fear, Jazz Is Here." Time, indeed, marches on. www.premonitionandmusic.com

[JSngry]

I preordered this, and it's supposed to ship July 13.

GOTS to be great!

[relyles]

I preordered it as well. Really looking forward to hearing it.

[Lazaro Vega]

It is a swinger.

[blue lake]

Washington Post

Sunday, July 4, 2004

Page N08

Von Freeman's Way: 'Divide' And Conquer

By Steve Futterman

In taking full measure of Von Freeman's substantial gifts as a jazz saxophonist, it's best to get the age issue out of the way as soon as possible. Freeman is 81.

Approach his latest album, "The Great Divide," with that in mind, and his gifts as a vital, uncategorizable stylist loom even larger.

Yet Freeman's triumphant art far transcends a case of body and spirit defying time. This Chicago tenor legend may indeed perform with the vigor of a man half his age, but it's the imaginative content of what he plays -- and how he plays it -- that sets him apart. In Freeman we hear an uncanny mixture of authentic swing and bop influences transformed through a highly unconventional approach to phrasing, tone and pitch that links him to jazz's avant-garde. His work feels timeless, a conjoining of disparate styles and sugar-and-salt sounds that could only be connected by an original mind.

Freeman may be a national jazz treasure, but outside of his hometown he is little known. It's a different story in the Windy City, where a street bears his name and Northwestern University granted him an honorary degree, and where he has led a now-legendary weekly jam session at a club for more than 30 years.

Chicago's affection for Freeman may have a lot to do with his loyalty to the place. Over the years he has played alongside a slew of Second City talents who, having honed their craft, then packed up to make their reputation in New York. Freeman stayed put. His family was there, including his son Chico, an esteemed saxophonist himself. And there was no shortage of greats passing through; as a younger man Freeman jammed with Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. His Chicago musical cohorts included Sun Ra, Andrew Hill and Ahmad Jamal.

In truth, though, Freeman has always been such an idiosyncratic player that popular recognition might have eluded him anywhere. He never lets you get too comfortable with his playing; no matter how swinging or sensuous a mood he may set, Freeman will then dive into a tonally ambiguous, improbably phrased passage that's as unexpected as it's delightfully expressive. This isn't, and thankfully will never be, made-for-prime-time tenor.

"The Great Divide," which is to be released July 13, reunites Freeman with an early associate, drummer Jimmy Cobb, the last surviving member of the Miles Davis band that recorded 1959's "Kind of Blue." Cobb brings along two members of the Cobb's Mob quartet, pianist Richard Wyands and bassist John Webber, and their spirited ease fits the saxophonist perfectly. The album brilliantly illustrates Freeman's flair for mid- and up-tempo swing ("Be My Love," "Disorder at the Border," "Hard Hittin' "), blues meditations ("Blue Pres"), luscious ballads ("This Is Always") and even a one-chord, free-tempo improvisation that hints at Coltrane-era openness ("Chant Time").

The album concludes with a seven-minute, unaccompanied saxophone reading of the now little-played standard "Violets for Your Furs," a tour de force of instrumental control and openhearted emotion. In his golden years, Freeman brings together a bullfighter's daring with the maturity of a wise, and soulful, older man.

© 2004 The Washington Post Company

Edited July 9, 2004 by blue lake

[blue lake]

THE SARATOGIAN

July 4, 2004

Entertainment Section

Ageless Jazz Greats Rekindle Music As It Should Be Heard

By James Lamperetta

With each year that passes, we are left with fewer direct connections to the heyday of modern jazz which spanned the 1940s through the '60s, thus it was quite a treat last weekend when music lovers at the Freihofer's Jazz Festival were treated to an opportunity to savor the wonder and wisdom of the great 84-year-old pianist Hank Jones as he performed as part of saxophonist Joe Lovano's quartet.

Tenor saxophonist Von Freeman is another octogenarian who continues to dazzle and delight audiences with a style that embodies and embraces jazz's past, present and future.

On his most recent release, 'The Great Divide,' on Premonition Records, Freeman offers up a set that is 'no frills' but 'all thrills' as he leads his quartet through tunes that pay homage to three other saxophone legends, all of whom he had the chance to play with -- Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young and Charlie Parker.

Opening with a quick snippet of studio patter that finds the saxophonist asking, 'You ready?' the stage is set for a sweet stroll through the gentle swing of 'Be My Love.' Caressing the melody before sauntering into his solo, Freeman not only evokes the romanticism of Hawkins and Young, but also spotlights how a true master can speak volumes with an exquisite combination of grace and the most carefully chosen notes.

Backed by a supremely sensitive rhythm section of pianist Richard Wyands, bassist John Webber and drummer Jimmy Cobb (another of the genre's exalted elder statesmen who performed last night with his group Cobb's Mobb at the Skidmore College Jazz Institute), Freeman easily, and convincingly, conjures up an aura of delicious understatement. Whether it is the longing of 'This Is Always' or the after-hours feel of 'Blue Pres,' where he is at his breathy best on the melody and spot on during his solo, Freeman showcases his signature sound and an approach that is informed from decades of both playing and listening.

Whereas one might expect that his chops would have been diminished by the years, on 'Never Fear Jazz Is Here,' a bristling bebop excursion based on the changes to 'I've Got Rhythm' which serves as a nod of the cap to Parker, Freeman sounds emboldened and empowered, displaying the vim and vigor of a young lion half his age.

Lest there be any doubt that you have been experiencing the real deal, Freeman closes the disc in grand fashion with an acapella reading of 'Violets for Your Furs.' Taking full advantage of the free reign to roam that the absence of a group affords a master (lesser players may hide behind or lurk within the band), Freeman puts an exclamation point on the end of a listen that you will find yourself reaching for again and again.

James Lamperetta is a jazz enthusiast who lives in Saratoga Springs. His column is published on the first Sunday of the month.

[blue lake]

Jazzweekly.com

CD Review

VON FREEMAN

The Great Divide

Premonition Records

Throughout his career, tenor saxophonist Von Freeman has found little reason to venture outside his hometown of Chicago, possibly explaining his lack of wider recognition. Now in his 80's, known to some as Chico Freeman's father, Von Freeman remains a unique figure in jazz, doing his bop meets free-jazz thing. His latest release, The Great Divide, comes on Premonition Records (based in Chicago) and includes the nurturing support of Richard Wyands on piano, John Webber on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Much like his previous release, The Improvisor, Von Freeman's music is a tuxedo worn with sneakers. He's formal, fun, young, and cool. Dancing at various tempos, The Great Divide moves between the delicately paced statements of "Be My Love," "This Is Always," and "Blue Pres," to the more frenetic steps of "Never Fear Jazz Is Here," "Disorder at the Border," and "Hard Hittin'." Such wide motions are always balanced atop skill and genuine enthusiasm, with Freeman's assured delivery leading this spirited charge. His characteristic tone adventures are less prominent on The Great Divide than on some of his other records, though, the timing of these eccentric moments seems better than ever. Using them with judicious taste, Freeman can, as on "This Is Always," and "Violets For Your Furs," present moments of tension and release that speak more of experience and wisdom than they do of the tune's melody. These occasions offer long-time fans and newcomers alike the opportunity to experience a unique act in jazz.

-Germaine Linaires

[blue lake]

Allaboutjazz.com

CD Reviews

The Great Divide

Von Freeman | Premonition

It is a little bit crazy to consider octogenarian tenor saxophonist Von Freeman paying tribute to anyone considering that he has outlived the vast majority of his peers. Still, Mr. Freeman chooses to step out and tip his hat to three horns that changed everything—Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, and Charlie Parker.

Freeman reasons that this present disc is entitled The Great Divide to illustrate the disparate aspects of these three men joined together by jazz. Coleman Hawkins was all about muscular eloquence, virile, masculine expression. Lester Young was the equivalent of an operatic lyric tenor, who very easily could be called the godfather (if not the father) of “Cool” Jazz. Charlie Parker? Well, after Charlie Parker, nothing was ever the same.

The disc begins with a bit of banter before Freeman, in his irreplaceable style, spins out eight minutes of the infrequently covered “Be My Love.” Here, Freeman displays what makes his sound unique among the “giants” he proposes to honor. His tenor sound is deep, reedy and full of breath with a barely detectable vibrato. This tosses the saxophonist smack dab in the middle between Bean and Lady Day’s President. It is here and on the solo saxophone closer, “Violets for Your Furs,” that Von Freeman shows who he is—a tenor saxophonist of Beethovenian proportions, having seen all and played all, from Frankie Trumbauer and Greg Osby.

The centers of the recording are the blues pieces “Blue Pres” and “Disorder at the Border.” Mr. Freeman takes on the ghosts of Pres and Bean directly, without ever losing himself in either artist’s style. “Blue Pres” sounds like the best after hours blues anyone could hope for and has probably been in Freeman’s book from the beginning. Freeman’s own “Never Fear, Jazz is Here” and “This is Always” look forward and backward from Charlie Parker. The one ghost that is not mentioned is that of John Coltrane, who emanates from Freeman’s sax bell on “Chant Time” like “…pious incense from a censer old.”

This recording is all that any mainstream jazz fan could hope for. Von Freeman is that quiet elder statesman whose fame fortunately manifest while it is not too late for the great saxophonist to enjoy it. A disc for the year-end list, for sure.

~ C. Michael Bailey

[JSngry]

STOP IT!

My order doesn't ship until July 13 dammit!!!!!

[blue lake]

:rsly:

[blue lake]

Actually, maybe John Litweiler could post the liner notes here -- they're, as Von might say, marvelous.

[Joe M]

Yeah, this is really, really good. Violets for Your Furs is just one of those tracks that simply commands your attention! Only Sonny can pull off the solo tenor like Von does on this track. The band swings great on the rest of the tracks, this is just the real thing, excellent.

By the way, anyone notice that Premonition's distribution deal with Blue Note is apparently up? This cd says Premonition in the US is now through Koch Records? I guess no more Patricia Barber on Blue Note?

[ghost of miles]

I loved Von's last... the man is goin' out blowin' (and hopefully goin' out blowin' for many years to come).

[JSngry]

It finally got here!

[Sundog]

It finally got here!

Never Fear Jazz Is Here!

[Chuck Nessa]

It finally got here!

Never Fear Jazz Is Here!

You should here the original.

[JSngry]

InDEED.

[Eric]

It finally got here!

Never Fear Jazz Is Here!

aint that the damn truth

[Lazaro Vega]

I have, and the original is much longer - a wail fest. There's really no comparison. The new one is, what, 9 minutes shorter? yet perhaps further outside the changes -- Von's playing has permutated, but this new album attests to the principles he was working on when Nessa first woke a sleeping world up to the radical individualism that is Von Freeman (that unique synthesis of Bird, Pres and Hawk). CHICAGO, baby! And as far as rhythm sections go, Jimmy Cobb/Wilbur Campbell -- I'll call it a draw, if not leaning to Wilbur's side (he was much younger after all). John Young, especially on the blues/ballad Freeman album on Nessa, has more quirky blue collar funk goin' on than the wonderful Richard Wyands. None-the-less, we should all be so uppity at 80-something! Von Freeman!!!!

[JSngry]

I'm LOVING Von on this one, but not the rhythm section.

OTOH, I didn't buy it to hear the rhythm section, so fuck'em.

Still, I hope that Premonition has greater aspirations for Von than to cast him as an eccentric, octogenarian Houston Person. Houston Person is the only Houston Person we need (in a good way, mind you), and Von Freeman is the only Von Freeman we have, so hey.

Keep it prickly!

[Lazaro Vega]

Amen to that.

On further consideration (and listening), Wilbur's dynamic range and attack behind Freeman is more provacative than the smooth and swinging Jimmy C.

[blue lake]

DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER, 2004 ISSUE

“HOT BOX” FEATURE, LEAD REVIEW

Von Freeman

The Great Divide

Premonition 5743

˜˜˜˜ 1/2

Who does Von Freeman sound like? Hawk? Pres? Bird? He’s spent seven decades gobbling up all the great references and digesting them and now they’re deep in his pores, part of his core being. With that fleet fingering, super-advanced harmony, occasional altissimo squeal and immense penchant for soulful feeling, who does he remind one of? Himself, plain and simple. Von Freeman sounds like Von Freeman.

The Great Divide is a marvelous record, Freeman’s best outing in a longtime, which isn’t to slight his recent CDs, but rather to suggest how terrific this one is. If there were a just angel looking down -and less of an eastward regionalist bias in the jazz industry - this CD would catch the ear of all mainstream fans, as much so as if Sonny Rollins was putting out a top-flight new record.

The recipe that worked so splendidly was to reunite Freeman with drummer Jimmy Cobb, with whom he recorded on his debut 32 years back. Cobb is a complete treat, swinging effortlessly and contributing tasteful ideas. On the slow material, he’s got a feel so in-the-pocket you can palpably sense it lifting things up and setting them aloft like a kid lobbing a balsa wood airplane into the sky. Pianist Richard Wyands is an excellent foil for Freeman’s romping through the changes (check his ingeniously blue opening to “Blue Pres”), and bassist John Webber, a one-time Chicagoan who works regularly with Cobb in New York, is faultless and creative.

The program is gorgeously paced, starting with “Be My Love” taken at a relaxed tempo, leaping into the high-speed rhythm changes of “Never Fear Jazz is Here,” stopping off for a heartfelt ballad full of emotional rollercoastering, “This Is Always,” then a little trip to the outskirts with Freeman’s modal “Chant Time,” back on terra firma with “Blue Pres,” a bouncy “Disorder At The Border,” and pugnacious “Hard Hittin’.” The coda, an unaccompanied version of “Violets For Your Furs,” is stunning. It’s a favorite tune of Freeman’s, tinged with melancholy and fragility, often brought out at just the right moment to make time stand still. Sans band, it allows a full, unadulterated assessment of Freeman. Here he false-fingers, bursts into double-time, jogs out onto a divergent melodic path for an instant, and lands back home assuredly.

– John Corbett

Edited August 4, 2004 by blue lake

[blue lake]

Vonski was featured yesterday on NPR's drive time news program All Things Considered.

http://www.npr.org/rundowns/segment.php?wfId=3816907

[sal]

I've given this album about 4 spins since I got it last month, and its definitely a winner. Beautiful playing by everyone involved. This album serves as a showcase for Von's mastery of jazz, and to me seems like a summation of his career. His release from a couple years back, "The Improviser" seemed like a return to center stage for him, and featured the hard-swinging, unpredictable Von Freeman. This album is more of a highlight for his beautiful melodic concepts....his complete freedom to speak the language of jazz in a way completely his own. It seems that with these last two records, he's made somewhat of a "comeback". Granted he has never slowed down, but it seems that now he's really getting recognized on a larger scale for his work, and that's a great thing to see. Everyone should go out and pick up this great new album. You'll be getting what's guarenteed to be one of the finer albums of the year, and you'll be supporting a guy who is truly a class act in every way.

[Nate Dorward]

Just listened to this once so far but it's really lovely stuff. Now I gotta go back & get the Nessa release....

Has his Atlantic disc ever been released on CD? I have one track (I think the title was "White Sand") on an LP compilation, that's it.