Russ Freeman
Russell Donald Freeman (May 28, 1926 – June 27, 2002) was a bebop and cool jazz pianist and composer. 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. 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. On the Jazz Immortal LP, Russ Freeman was able to play in a combo that recorded many Clifford Brown compositions. 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. In 1991, Mariah Carey wrote her own lyrics to "The Wind" for her 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 & 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, 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. |
Birth and Death Data: Born May 28, 1926 (Chicago River), Died June 27, 2002 (Las Vegas)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1953 - 1959
Roles Represented in DAHR: piano
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decca | L 7392 | 10/2/1953 | Hot shoe | Leith Stevens' All-Stars | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | L 7393 | 10/2/1953 | Lonely way | Leith Stevens' All-Stars | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | L 7394 | 10/2/1953 | Blues for Brando | Leith Stevens' All-Stars | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | L 7395 | 10/2/1953 | Windswept | Leith Stevens' All-Stars | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | L 7396 | 10/2/1953 | Beerle | Leith Stevens' All-Stars | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | L 7397 | 10/2/1953 | Chino | Leith Stevens' All-Stars | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | L 7398 | 10/2/1953 | Scramble | Leith Stevens' All-Stars | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | L 7399 | 10/2/1953 | The wild one | Leith Stevens' All-Stars | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | L 11358 | 2/11/1959 | M-Squad theme | Leith Stevens Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | L 11359 | 2/11/1959 | Peter Gunn | Leith Stevens Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | L 11360 | 2/11/1959 | The thin man | Leith Stevens Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | |||
Decca | L 11361 | 2/11/1959 | Perry Mason theme | Leith Stevens Orchestra | instrumentalist, piano |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Freeman, Russ," accessed November 2, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/316423.
Freeman, Russ. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 2, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/316423.
"Freeman, Russ." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 2 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Russ Freeman
Discogs: Russ Freeman
Allmusic: Russ Freeman
Grove: Russ Freeman
IMDb: Russ Freeman
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Freeman, Russ - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n80097120
Wikidata: Russ Freeman - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q484697
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/61731806
MusicBrainz: Russ Freeman - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/eeae656e-6b1a-4dea-9b45-100de09d1d49
ISNI: 0000 0001 2026 962X - http://www.isni.org/isni/000000012026962X
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