Von Freeman mention in WSJ

[mjzee]

Part of Marc Myers's great series:

Physicist Sean Carroll on the Jazz of Von Freeman

 

[Hardbopjazz]

Too bad if you can't read the article without subscribing to the WSJ.

[mjzee]

Sean Carroll, 49, is a theoretical physicist at the California Institute of Technology and the author of four books, including “The Big Picture” (Dutton). He spoke with Marc Myers.

When I was on the faculty of the University of Chicago in 2002, I organized a conference on cosmology—the study of the universe’s origin and development. I wanted to invite tenor saxophonist Von Freeman to perform. I loved his 1996 recording of Billy Strayhorn’s “My Little Brown Book.” 

I’ve always been a big jazz fan, and Von was a local legend in Chicago. He was in his late 70s then and was still appearing often at the New Apartment Lounge on the city’s South Side. One night, faculty friends and I went to hear Von play and to see if we could hire him and his quartet for the conference’s banquet. In between sets, we went up and introduced ourselves.

We didn’t have to sell. As soon as we told Von what we wanted, he said, “Sure, talk to my agent.” We had a $3,000 budget, and his agent gladly took it. At the event, Von was a big hit.

Although I can’t remember now if he played “My Little Brown Book,” the song meant a lot to me. It was for a musical, “Fantastic Rhythm,” that Strayhorn wrote in the mid-1930s while in high school. Duke Ellington first recorded the song in 1942 with vocalist Herb Jeffries. I discovered Von’s version on his album “Live at the Dakota.” For nearly four minutes, he plays the song unaccompanied. I was blown away by the simplicity and purity of his improvisation.

The song came in handy in 2006. A year earlier I had been denied tenure at the University of Chicago. At the time, it was a massive career blow and a big personal rejection. Then California Institute of Technology offered me a position as a senior research professor. But I put off making a decision and hung around at the University of Chicago in denial for a year. 

Finally, I had to choose: take the Caltech post and do scientific research and give talks and write books, or find an opportunity at another university.

Von’s solo version of “My Little Brown Book” put me in a contemplative place, gave me a reality check and helped me let go of the past. I accepted the Caltech offer, and the move wound up changing my life for the better. I just wish I could tell Von. He died in 2012.

[clifford_thornton]

cool.

[JSngry]

Fuck Linkedin, just jam some Von!