Jazz guitarist George Freeman, a mainstay of Chicago’s music scene, died on April 1 at 97 – mere days before he was due to play a show in celebration of his 98th birthday.
Coming from a family of gifted musicians – which included his older brothers, drummer Eldridge “Bruz” Freeman and hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist Earle Lavon “Von” Freeman – he was introduced to the city’s thriving scene at a young age.
During his teens, he was in the band program at the iconic DuSable High School and, instead of settling for the background, recognized that guitarists could occupy a role at the front – just like Chicago’s tenor players.
After dipping his toes into New York City’s jazz scene and recording with the Joe Morris Orchestra, the guitarist returned to Chicago in the ’50s, where he ended up playing with Charlie Parker.
Most notably, his performances at the Pershing Ballroom showed a guitarist who didn’t shy away from using his amp’s overdrive or power chords – seamlessly swapping solos with Parker, and further cementing his position in the scene.
Speaking about the archival recording of the two playing Keen and Peachy, Freeman told Guitar Player, “When you get onstage, you try to play something that everybody knows. Bird [Charlie Parker's nickname] had a heart of gold, and he could play anything.
“I had been playing standards and dances, no problem. But when he called out that song, I got nervous. I was standing next to him playing, and he just grinned from ear to ear, because he had never heard a guitar player play like that.”
However, when 1959 rolled around, he ventured further and hit the road with tenor saxophonist Sil Austin and vocalist Jackie Wilson, followed by organist Wild Bill Davis, and finally with organist Richard “Groove” Holmes.
In fact, he spent most of the ’60s touring with Groove Holmes – even featuring on Holmes’ first record, Groove. It was his stint with tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons in the late ’60s, however, that brought him more widespread acclaim – a fruitful collaboration defined by a push-and-pull between Ammons’ dislike for avant-garde jazz and Freeman’s guitar parts, which very much fell into that realm.
In 1969, Freeman proved he could very much take the lead with his debut, Birth Sign, which was followed by a string of albums across the decades. Even well into his 90s, the jazz maestro never stopped performing – with his final studio album as a leader, The Good Life, recorded in 2022 and dropped on April 10, 2023, his 96th birthday.
As for his advice to musicians on how to swing, Freeman told Guitar Player in a 2023 interview, “Swing is about supporting, and you’ve got to support. You’ve got to love your fellow musicians. When they take a solo, you’ve got to listen, push them and make them feel good.
“You want to make them sound good. That’s the secret. And I expect the same from my musicians when I’m soloing. If you don’t support me, you don’t have any love in your heart for me.”
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