George Freeman (April 10, 1927 – April 1, 2025) was an American jazz guitarist and recording artist. He is known for his sophisticated technique, collaborations with high-profile performers, and as having been a notable presence in the jazz scene of Chicago, Illinois.
Freeman's siblings went on to become professional musicians. Bruz played drums, and Von the tenor saxophone. Freeman himself would come to play the guitar, inspired by his visits as a teenager to the Rhumboogie Cafe in the early 1940s. There, he saw T-Bone Walker play, and the crowd's ecstatic response to Walker motivated him to learn the guitar. He further refined his skills while attending DuSable High School, whose students included Von, Gene Ammons, Johnny Griffin, Red Holloway, Clifford Jordan, John Gilmore, Wilbur Ware, Dinah Washington, Sonny Cohn, Richard Davis, and other musicians.
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During his teenage years, Freeman was invited to play with The Dukes of Swing, a band led by Eugene Wright. Shortly after, wanting more opportunities to solo, Freeman started his own band, performing mainly at the ballroom of the Pershing Hotel at 64th and Cottage Grove. By 1946 Freeman was fronting Chicago's first modern-jazz bebop band, a band that included alto saxophonist Henry Pryor, tenor saxophonist Alec Johnson, and trumpeter Robert Gay. Freeman-led bands also backed visiting musicians such as Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young. During the engagement with Young, the saxophonist called for his recently-recorded song D.B. Blues. In response, Freeman surprised Young by playing his solo note-for-note, a custom Freeman had previously cultivated with his Chicago audience.
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Freeman made his first recordings with the Joe Morris Orchestra in late 1947, first on the Manor label, and then on the fledgling Atlantic label. The band's sound was a blend of R&B and jazz, which contrasted with Freeman's more eccentric, bebop-inspired style of playing. His extended solo feature on Boogie Woogie Joe, recorded in late 1947, has been described by one rock music writer as "...the first scintillating guitar workout in rock history."
Freeman soon quit the band and returned to Chicago, often performing with his brothers at the Pershing Hotel. Highlights of this period were collaborations with Charlie Parker – twice in Chicago and once in Detroit – between 1950 and 1953. During these performances, Parker developed a close musical and personal rapport with the Freemans. George remained in Chicago throughout the 1950s, but by 1959 he decided to tour again. He traveled the country with tenor saxophonist Sil Austin and vocalist Jackie Wilson, then with organist Wild Bill Davis, and finally with organist Richard "Groove" Holmes. Freeman spent most of the 1960s touring with Holmes. Freeman also was featured on Holmes' first record, Groove, alongside tenor saxophone player Ben Webster.
In 1969, tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons performed with old colleagues and high school classmates, including Freeman. After their performances, Ammons asked Freeman to join him on the front line of a band he was forming. Freeman accepted and would remain a featured member of the Ammons band, with a few interruptions, until Ammons' death from bone cancer in 1974. The 1970s also yielded Freeman's first album as leader, Birth Sign, and several other recordings—including Franticdiagnosis from 1972, New Improved Funk from 1973, and Man & Woman from 1974.
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Freeman's output slowed in the '80s, though he did work with Johnny Griffin, appearing on 1983's Bush Dance, and 1985's Fly, Mister, Fly, which also featured the Joe Morris Orchestra. Following a period of obscurity, he was brought back into the spotlight after singer Joanie Pallatto and pianist Bradley Parker-Sparrow signed him to their Southport/Orchard label, issuing Rebellion in 1995 and George Burns in 1999.
At Long Last George, was released by Savant Records in 2001, followed by 2015's All in the Family with nephew Chico Freeman, and 2017's 90 Going on Amazing. In 2019, he issued George the Bomb! with a special guest, veteran Chicago harmonica player Billy Branch. In 2023, at age 96, he released Good Life on HighNote. It was recorded the previous year with drummers Lewis Nash and Carl Allen, bassist Christian McBride, and organist/multi-instrumentalist Joey DeFrancesco in one of his final sessions. George Freeman died on April 1, 2025, just nine days short of his 98th birthday.
(Edited from Wikipedia & AllMusic)