Renowned veteran jazz guitarist and Chicago legend George Freeman has passed away.
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Freeman died on Tuesday at the age of 97, just days before a scheduled performance at the iconic Green Mill Cocktail Lounge in honor of his upcoming 98th birthday, per the Chicago Sun-Times.
The April 11 and 12 performances at the Green Mill, originally scheduled to feature him, will proceed as planned. However, they will now serve as a heartfelt tribute to Mr. Freeman, led by his three bandmates.
Freeman was a revered figure in Chicago’s jazz scene and a member of a family often regarded as jazz royalty in the city. His brothers included the celebrated saxophonist Von Freeman and drummer Eldridge “Bruz” Freeman, while his nephew is the acclaimed saxophonist Chico Freeman.
According to the Sun-Times, as Freeman neared 100, his ability to hold a guitar pick waned, a skill he once mastered while playing alongside legends like Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday. To adapt, he began using knobs from kitchen cabinets to skillfully manipulate the strings, showcasing his enduring ingenuity and love for music.
Mike Allemana, who played with Freeman and leads the University of Chicago jazz ensemble, says Freeman combined various influences to shape his unique jazz style.
“He took all kinds of influences of the guitar and melded them together, for sure. That was definitely one of his goals,” Allemana told the Sun-Times.
George Freeman’s Prolific Jazz Career Began in the 1940s
Freeman was born on April 10, 1927, in Chicago to George T. Freeman Sr., a Chicago police officer, and Earle Granberry Freeman, a homemaker. He attended DuSable High School, where he played in the band led by the renowned musical director Captain Walter Dyett. However, Freeman was eventually removed from the group due to his refusal to be placed in the back with the rhythm section.
As a teenager, Freeman played in a local swing band before leading his own group in the 1940s, performing at Chicago’s Pershing Hotel and in cities like New York, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.
Freeman’s father lost his life in the line of duty in 1947. In response, he and his two older brothers vowed to care for their mother, who went on to live a remarkable 103 years.
In the early 1970s, Freeman toured with renowned saxophonist Gene Ammons and appeared on the cover of DownBeat magazine in 1971, a milestone that could have launched him to greater fame. However, his unconventional and jarring guitar solos may have hindered his rise to mainstream success.
Freeman released over a dozen albums as a bandleader, including his most recent, The Good Life, with HighNote Records in 2023. That same year, he performed at the Chicago Jazz Festival at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. In a fitting tribute, he delivered a heartfelt guitar solo on his late brother Von Freeman’s composition, “Brother George.”