"For technical brilliance, musical intellect, harmonic sophistication, and improvisatory freedom, Von Freeman has few bebop-era peers." – Chicago Tribune

Von Freeman, photo by John Broughton

One of the last of the active bebop titans, saxophonist and 2012 NEA Jazz Master Von Freeman passed away on August 11^th at age 88. With Gene Ammons, Johnny Griffin, and Clifford Jordan, Freeman was considered a founder of the "Chicago School" of jazz tenorists, although outside of Chicago he was probably best known as the father of saxophonist Chico Freeman. He often seemed to deliberately avoid the limelight, never garnering the commercial success that his talent deserved, yet was highly respected among his peers, critics and fans. For decades, he hosted a weekly gig and jam session at the New Apartment Lounge on Chicago's South Side, attracting fellow musicians as well as tourists.

Von Freeman © Andrea Canter

Such diverse influences were readily apparent in his sound. While often associated with the avant garde, Freeman’s eclectic “tough tenor” was much more soaked in blues and bop. His reluctance to go on the road – he typically turned down tours with everyone from Miles Davis to Billy Eckstine to King Kolax – as well as his infrequent recordings may have cost him wider recognition but also enabled him to focus on creating a distinctive style, a tendency to wander toward the outside while always remaining well tethered. As for his “Chicago sound,” he once described it for NPR’s Tony Cox: "Well, it's tough and it's windy, it's broad," Freeman said. "It means getting down to business, so to me it's just a composite of Chicago, all four sides. Of course, we have a lakefront, don't we?"

As his son Chico became widely known in the 1980s, Von was "rediscovered" and, finally in his 80s, enjoyed a somewhat higher profile. Fellow Chicagoan Kurt Elling described him as “the great squealing rabbi, his enchanted horn broadcasting a benediction straight into people’s now defenseless hearts.”

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