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- Date Released: July 13, 2004
- Genre: Jazz
- Style: Contemporary
- Label: KOCH Records
A canny octogenarian tenorman pays tribute to Prez, Hawk and Bird.
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We Say...
Chicago tenorman Von Freeman (Chico's dad) conceived this album as a triple-duty tribute to his key formative influences: Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins and Charlie Parker. Not the jazz world's most original idea, but octogenarian Freeman knew Pres, his dad was pals with Hawk, and he was born just a few years after Bird — seniority has its privileges as well as its discounts. Despite the title's statement re: stylistic divisiveness, Freeman treats his sax polestars like a Unitarian: It's hard to say where Young's cool begins and Hawkins's heat ends and Parker's braininess step in, and all those simplifications are erased by Freeman's idiosyncratic playing. He handles ballads like a romantic poet and blues and swings like a boxer — the title of "Hard Hittin'" is no empty boast. He plays with pitch like an avant-gardist, yet always stays in the pocket. There's no shame in toe-tapping nightclub jazz; when it’s this unpredictable, there's glory in it.
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They Say...
Journeyman tenor saxophonist Von Freeman pays tribute to his first major influences Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, and Charlie Parker on The Great Divide. Centered around Freeman's gorgeously blue, often skronky sax tone, the album works almost conceptually with Freeman representing the divide between the cool vulnerability of Young, the muscular swing of Hawkins, and the cerebral hipness of Parker. This is a meaty, visceral album full of well-worn standards that nonetheless feels immediate and relevant. Now in his eighties, Freeman -- utterly unique and obviously inspired -- still amazes with his mix of straight-ahead melodicism and avant-garde, sometimes off-kilter improvisation. He turns the Italian tenor perennial "Be My Love" into a sanguine and deliciously forlorn mid-tempo swinger. Similarly, Freeman's swabs of rich blue and green tones on the ballad "This Is Always" perfectly call to mind Young's languid and way-behind-the-beat late-career recordings. Freeman's originals also carry much weight here with "Never Fear Jazz Is Here" recalling the spirit of Parker via a burning harmalodic-esque melody, while "Chant Time" works as mantra to these ancients of jazz. The band -- to which you hear Freeman speaking in a few brief and soulful moments -- includes pianist Richard Wyands, bassist John Webber, and drummer Jimmy Cobb.
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| 01. |
Von: "You Ready?" |
0:12 |
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| 02. |  |
Be My Love |
8:23 |
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| 03. | |
Never Fear Jazz Is Here |
3:25 |
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| 04. | |
This Is Always |
9:26 |
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| 05. | |
Chant Time |
6:29 |
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| 06. |
Von: "Everybody Mellow?" |
0:15 |
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| 07. | |
Blue Pres |
7:45 |
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| 08. | |
Disorder At The Border |
4:04 |
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| 09. | |
Hard Hittin' |
3:52 |
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| 10. | |
Violets For Your Furs |
7:27 |
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10 Total Tracks, 51:18 Total Length
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Credits
- Von Freeman - Sax (Tenor) // Von Freeman - Producer // Richard Wyands - Piano // Jimmy Cobb - Drums // Jimmy Cobb - Drums // Jim Anderson - Engineer // Jim Anderson - Mixing // Michael Friedman - Producer // Machito Sanchez - Engineer // Alan Silverman - Mastering // John Webber - Bass // John B. Litweiler - Liner Notes // Neil Tesser - Author // Jimmy Katz - Photography // Marc PoKempner - Photography // Marc PoKempner - Cover Photo // Aya Takemura - Assistant Engineer // Mike Pierce - Assistant Engineer // John Larson - Assistant Engineer // Tim Anderson - Paintings
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