Lawrence "Bud" Freeman (April 13, 1906 – March 15, 1991) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician, bandleader, and composer, known mainly for playing

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

, but also the clarinet.

Biography

In 1922, Freeman and some friends from high school formed the Austin High School Gang. Freeman played the

C melody saxophone The C melody saxophone, also known as the C tenor saxophone, is a saxophone pitched in the key of C one whole tone above the common B-flat tenor saxophone. The C melody was part of the series of saxophones pitched in C and F intended by the in ...

with band members such as Jimmy McPartland and Frank Teschemacher, before switching to tenor saxophone two years later. The band was influenced by the

New Orleans Rhythm Kings The New Orleans Rhythm Kings (NORK) were one of the most influential jazz bands of the early to mid-1920s. The band included New Orleans and Chicago musicians who helped shape Chicago jazz and influenced many younger jazz musicians. They compos ...

and

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

. While Armstrong was in

King Oliver Joseph Nathan "King" Oliver (December 19, 1881 – April 10, 1938) was an American jazz cornet player and bandleader. He was particularly recognized for his playing style and his pioneering use of mutes in jazz. Also a notable composer, he wro ...

's Creole Jazz Band, Freeman attended performances at Lincoln Gardens with McPartland. They were nicknamed "Alligators". In 1927, he moved to New York City, where he worked as a session musician and band member with

Red Nichols Ernest Loring "Red" Nichols (May 8, 1905 – June 28, 1965) was an American jazz cornetist, composer, and jazz bandleader. He was one of the most prolific and influential jazz musicians in the late 1920s and early 1930s, appearing on over 4,000 ...

Roger Wolfe Kahn Roger Wolfe Kahn (October 19, 1907 – July 12, 1962) was an American jazz and popular musician, composer, bandleader (Roger Wolfe Kahn and His Orchestra) and an aviator. Life and career Roger Wolfe Kahn (originally spelled "Wolff") was born i ...

Ben Pollack Benjamin "Ben" Pollack (June 22, 1903 – June 7, 1971) was an American drummer and bandleader from the mid-1920s through the swing music, swing era. His eye for talent led him to employ musicians such as Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Mil ...

, and Joe Venuti. One of his most notable performances was a solo on Eddie Condon's 1933 recording, ''The Eel'', which became Freeman's nickname for his long snake-like improvisations. Freeman played with

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombone, trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-to ...

's Orchestra (1936–1938) and

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

's band in 1938, before forming the Summa Cum Laude Orchestra (1939–1940). Freeman joined the U.S. Army during World War II and headed a U.S. Army band in the Aleutian Islands. After the war, Freeman returned to New York and led his own groups. He also worked with

Buck Clayton Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie's orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record " Confessin' that I Love You" ...

Ruby Braff Reuben "Ruby" Braff (March 16, 1927 – February 9, 2003) was an American jazz trumpeter and cornetist. Jack Teagarden was once asked about him on the Garry Moore television show and described Ruby as "the Ivy League Louis Armstrong". Bra ...

Vic Dickenson Victor Dickenson (August 6, 1906 – November 16, 1984) was an American jazz trombonist. His career began in the 1920s and continued through musical partnerships with Count Basie (1940–41), Sidney Bechet (1941), and Earl Hines. Life and car ...

, and

Jo Jones Jonathan David Samuel Jones (October 7, 1911 – September 3, 1985) was an American jazz drummer. A band leader and pioneer in jazz percussion, Jones anchored the Count Basie Orchestra rhythm section from 1934 to 1948. He was sometimes k ...

. In 1960, he wrote the book and lyrics for the Broadway musical '' Beg, Borrow or Steal'', which included the ballad "Zen Is When", later recorded by the

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

Quartet on ''Jazz Impressions of Japan'' (1964). He was a member of the

World's Greatest Jazz Band The World's Greatest Jazz Band was an all-star jazz ensemble active from 1968 to 1978. Dick Gibson founded the group at his sixth Jazz Party, an annual event. The group performed mostly Dixieland jazz and recorded extensively. It was co-led by Y ...

in 1969 and 1970. In 1974, he moved to England and continued to record and perform. Freeman spent some time on the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

and was a guest of Manx musician Jim Caine. After returning to Chicago in 1980, he continued to work into his eighties. He wrote two memoirs (''You Don't Look Like a Musician'' (1974) and ''If You Know of a Better Life, Please Tell Me'' (1976)) and an autobiography (''Crazeology'') with Robert Wolf. In 1992, Freeman was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.

Death

Freeman died March 15, 1991, at the Warren Barr Pavilion, a nursing home in Chicago. He was 84 years old. His death came days after the March 13 demise of Austin High School Gang member, Jimmy McPartland.

Discography

* * 1928-38 - ''The Chronolgical 1928-1938'' (Classics, 1994) * 1939-40 - ''The Chronolgical 1939-1940'' (Classics, 1995) * 1945-46 - ''The Chronolgical 1945-1946'' (Classics, 1997) * 1946-00 - ''The Chronolgical 1939-1940'' (Classics, 1997) * 1939-41 - ''Battle of Jazz, Vol. 1'' ( Brunswick, 1953) And His Summa Cum Laude Orchestra * 1940.00 - ''Comes Jazz'' ( Columbia, 1940) ×Shellac, 10", 78 RPM, Album * 1955.00 - ''Bud Freeman'' (Bethlehem, 1955) reissued as ''The Test of Time'' (

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

, 1977) * 1945.00 - ''Midnight at Eddie Condon's'' (Emarcy, 1955) * ''Bud Freeman and the Chicagoans'' (

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

, 1954) * 1927-35 - ''Jazz: Chicago Style'' (Columbia, 1955) * ''Bud Freeman and His All-Star Jazz'' (

Harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

, 1957) * 1958-59 ''- The Bud Freeman Group'' ( Stere-O-Craft, 19--) * 1957 - ''Chicago/Austin High School Jazz in Hi-Fi'' (RCA, 1958) * 1958 - ''Bud Freeman & His Summa Cum Laude Trio'' ( Dot, 1959) * 1960 - '' The Bud Freeman All-Stars featuring Shorty Baker'' ( Swingville, 1961) with Shorty Baker * 1959 - ''Midnight Session'' (Dot, 1960) with Mary Mulligan * ''Summer Concert 1960'' (Jazz Archives, 1960) * 1962 - ''Something to Remember You By'' ( Black Lion, 1962) * ''Chicago'' (Black Lion, 1962) * 1963 - ''Something Tender'' (

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

, 1963) * 1969 - ''The Compleat Bud Freeman'' (Monmouth, 1970) * 1974 - ''The Joy of Sax'' (

Chiaroscuro In art, chiaroscuro ( , ; ) is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to ach ...

, 1974) * ''Jazz Meeting in Holland'' (

Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all point (geometry), points in a plane (mathematics), plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the Centre (geometry), centre. The distance between any point of the circle and the centre is cal ...

, 1975) * ''Song of the Tenor'' (

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

, 1975) * 1975 - ''Bud Meets Buddy (Cirle, 1976)'' Reissued as ''Two Beautiful'' (Circle, 1983) * 1976 - ''Bucky and Bud'' (

Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' () is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the sea forever. The myths and ghost stories are likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dutch East India C ...

, 1976) * ''Live in Harlem'' (Cat, 1978) * 1983 - ''California Session'' ( Jazzology, 1982) * 1983 - ''The Real Bud Freeman'' (1984) (Principally Jazz, 1985) * 1974 - ''Superbud'' (Jazzology, 1975) Reissued in 1992 With Rex Stewart and

Cootie Williams Charles Melvin "Cootie" Williams (July 10, 1911 – September 15, 1985) was an American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter. Biography Born in Mobile, Alabama, Williams began his professional career at the age of 14 with the Yo ...

*'' The Big Challenge'' (Jazztone, 1957) With

George Wein George Wein (October 3, 1925 – September 13, 2021) was an American jazz promoter, pianist, and producer.

*'' Newport Jazz Festival All Stars'' (Atlantic, 1959 960 with

, Pee Wee Russell,

, Champ Jones and Jake Hanna *'' George Wein & the Newport All-Stars'' ( Impulse!, 1962)

References

External links

Guide to the Roger Isaacs Collection of Bud Freeman Papers 1918-1995
at th
University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center

Bud Freeman: Profile in Jazz
Syncopatedtimes.com
Bud Freeman recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Bud 1906 births 1991 deaths Jazz musicians from Chicago 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American clarinetists 20th-century American saxophonists American expatriates in the United Kingdom American jazz bandleaders American jazz clarinetists American jazz tenor saxophonists American male jazz musicians American male saxophonists Dixieland jazz musicians Jewish American musicians United States Army Band musicians World's Greatest Jazz Band members Chiaroscuro Records artists Columbia Records artists EmArcy Records artists Majestic Records artists 20th-century American Jews Austin Community Academy High School alumni