Wikipedia

Russ Freeman (pianist): Difference between revisions

Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
removed image from Infobox
GreenC bot (talk | contribs)
Bots
2,547,812 edits
 
(45 intermediate revisions by 22 users not shown)
Line 1:
{{Short description|American jazz pianist and composer (1926–2002)}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Russ Freeman
| image = Russ_Freeman_pianist-composer_in_studio,_1951.jpeg
| caption=Russ Freeman in the studio, 1951
| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_name = Russell Donald Freeman
| alias =
| birth_date = May{{Birth date|1926|05|28, 1926}}
| birth_place = [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], United States
| death_date = {{death date and age|2002|06|27|1926|05|28}}
| death_place = [[Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]], United States
| origin =
| instrument = Piano
Line 15 ⟶ 17:
| years_active =
| label =
| associated_actspast_member_of = [[Art Pepper]]<br>[[Shorty Rogers]]<br>[[Chet Baker]]<br>[[Shelly Manne]]<br>[[André Previn]]
| website =
| current_members =
| past_members =
| notable_instruments =
}}
 
'''Russell Donald Freeman''' (May 28, 1926 in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]] &ndash; June 27, 2002 in [[Las Vegas, Nevada]]) was a [[bebop]] and [[cool jazz]] pianist and composer.<ref>{{cite web|title=Russ Freeman|first=John|last=Fordham|date=August 1, 2002|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/aug/02/guardianobituaries.arts|work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>
 
Initially, Freeman was classically trained. His reputation as a jazz pianist grew in the 1940s after working with [[Art Pepper]] and [[Shorty Rogers]]. He played with [[Charlie Parker]] on the 1947 "Home Cooking" jazz session.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Charlie Parker on Dial: the West Coast Sessions|last=Russell|first=Ross, and Tony Williams|publisher=Spotlite Jazz|year=1993|location=Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, England|pages=12}}</ref> Numerous collaborations followed in the 1950s with [[Chet Baker]], [[Shelly Manne]], and [[Art Pepper]]. These collaborations included the ''Jazz Immortal'' LP recorded with Russ Freeman and jazz trumpeter [[Clifford Brown]] in 1954, which included leading musicians Brown and [[Zoot Sims]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/jazz-immortal-mw0000011450/credits|title=Jazz Immortal - Clifford Brown {{!}} Credits {{!}} AllMusic|website=AllMusic|access-date=2018-03-30}}</ref> On the ''Jazz Immortal'' LP, Russ Freeman was able to play in a combo that recorded many Clifford Brown compositions.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/jazz-immortal-mw0000011450|title=Jazz Immortal - Clifford Brown {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits {{!}} AllMusic|website=AllMusic|access-date=2018-03-30}}</ref>
Initially, Freeman was classically trained. His reputation as a jazz pianist grew in the 1940s after working with [[Art Pepper]] and [[Shorty Rogers]]. Numerous collaborations followed in the 1950s with [[Chet Baker]] and [[Shelly Manne]].
 
In 1957, he collaborated with [[André Previn]] on the album ''[[Double Play!]]'', where they both played piano, accompanied only by Manne on drums.
 
In 1988, [[Keith Jarrett]] performed a version of Freeman's "The Wind" in a solo concert in Paris, which is featured on his album ''[[Paris Concert (Keith Jarrett album)|Paris Concert]]''. In 1991, [[Mariah Carey]] wrote her own lyrics to "The Wind" for her album ''[[Emotions (Mariah Carey album)|Emotions]]''. Freeman had written "The Wind" with original lyrics by [[Jerry Gladstone]]; it had been performed as an instrumental piece during the 1950s and 1960s by the likes of Baker, [[Leo Wright]], and [[Stan Getz]], and had been sung by vocalist [[June Christy]] (on ''[[The Misty Miss Christy]]''). Freeman's piano is featured on Baker's 1954 recording of "The Wind" (featured on ''[[Chet Baker with& Strings]]''). Freeman remained busy in music throughout his life, transitioning from jazz pianist to film scoring and composition before his death in Las Vegas in 2002.
 
Freeman was married three times. He had a daughter, Paula Kenley Freeman, from his second marriage in 1959, and a son, Sean McCoy, from a relationship in 1958 with jazz pianist [[Pat Moran McCoy|Pat Moran]]. Paula moved from [[Seattle]] to live in the [[Netherlands]] in 2009, and an interview about her relationship with her father appeared in the May 2009 issue of the European magazine, ''PianoWereld''. Sean is the owner and recording engineer at Oregon Sound Recording studio in [[Central Point, Oregon|Central Point]], [[Oregon]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}
Freeman was married three times, and he had one daughter, Paula Kenley Freeman, from his second marriage. He had no grandchildren.
His daughter moved from Seattle to live in the Netherlands in 2009, and an interview about her relationship with her father appeared in the May 2009 issue of the European magazine, ''PianoWereld''.
 
==Discography==
Line 56:
*''[["The Three" & "The Two"]]'' (Contemporary, 1954 [1960]) - compilation of previously issued 10-inch LPs
*''[[The West Coast Sound]]'' (Contemporary, 1955)
*''Shelly Manne & Russ Freeman'' (Contemporary, 1955)
*''[[Swinging Sounds]]'' (Contemporary, 1956)
*''[[More Swinging Sounds]]'' (Contemporary, 1956)
Line 67 ⟶ 68:
*''[[Manne–That's Gershwin!]]'' (Capitol, 1965)
*''[[Boss Sounds!]]'' (Atlantic, 1966)
*''One on One'' (Atlas, 1982)
*''Jazz From the Pacific Northwest'' (Reel to Real, 2024)
'''With [[Jack Montrose]]'''
*''[[Arranged by Montrose]]'' (Pacific Jazz, 1954)
Line 75 ⟶ 78:
*''[[Modern Art (Art Pepper album)|Modern Art]]'' (Intro, 1957)
*''[[Mucho Calor]]'' (Andex, 1957) with [[Conte Candoli]]
*''[[Among Friends (Art Pepper album)|Among Friends]]'' (Interplay, 1978)
'''With [[André Previn]]'''
*''[[Double Play!]]'' (Contemporary, 1957)
*[[The Subterraneans#Musical score and soundtrack|''The Subterraneans'' (Soundtrack)]] (MGM, 1960)
'''With [[Pete Rugolo]]'''
*''[[Rugolomania]]'' (Columbia, 1955)
*''[[New Sounds by Pete Rugolo]]'' (Harmony, 1954-551954–55, [1957])
*''[[Music for Hi-Fi Bugs]]'' (EmArcy, 1956)
*''[[Out on a Limb (album)|Out on a Limb]]'' (EmArcy, 1956)
Line 91 ⟶ 96:
<!-- DO NOT ADD YOUTUBE LINKS OR FANSITES BEFORE READING TALK PAGE -->
*[https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/aug/02/guardianobituaries.arts Biography of Russ Freeman by John Fordham at guardian.co.uk]
*[httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/2002archives/la-xpm-2002-jul/-10/local/-me-freeman10-story.html Biography of Russ Freeman by Jon Thurber at latimes.com]
*[http://jazzprofiles.blogspot.com/2016/11/russ-freeman-part-1.html Part 1 of Profile of Russ Freeman by Steven Cerra at jazzprofiles.blogspot.com]
*[http://jazzprofiles.blogspot.com/2016/11/russ-freeman-part-2.html Part 2 of Profile of Russ Freeman by Steven Cerra at jazzprofiles.blogspot.com]
*[https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/russ-freeman Biography of Russ Freeman by John Fordham at All About Jazz]
*[http://jazzwestcoastresearch.blogspot.com/2017/07/russ-freeman-wind.html Article about Russ Freeman's composition, "The Wind," by James Harrod at Jazz West Coast Research]
 
{{Authority control}}
Line 99 ⟶ 108:
[[Category:Cool jazz pianists]]
[[Category:American jazz pianists]]
[[Category:American male jazz pianists]]
[[Category:American male jazz composers]]
[[Category:West Coast jazz pianists]]
[[Category:Jazz musicians from Illinois]]
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:MusiciansJazz musicians from Chicago]]
[[Category:20th-century American pianists]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:American male jazz musicians]]
[[Category:The Tonight Show Band members]]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russ_Freeman_(pianist)"