1. Chico Freeman began recording as lead musician in 1976 with Morning Prayer, won the New York Jazz Award in 1979 and earned the Stereo Review Record of the Year in 1981 for his album The Outside Within.
12 Facts About Chico Freeman
1. 2.
Chico Freeman was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of jazz tenor saxophonist Von Freeman.
3.
Chico Freeman took piano lessons as a child and was introduced to the trumpet by his brother Everett, who found a trumpet in the family basement.
4.
Chico Freeman began playing, inspired by artists such as Miles Davis and his Kind of Blue album.
5.
Chico Freeman went to Northwestern University in 1967 with a scholarship for mathematics and played the trumpet in the school, but did not begin playing the saxophone until his junior year.
6.
Chico Freeman began playing at local Chicago clubs with artists such as Memphis Slim and Lucky Carmichael.
7.
Chico Freeman came to prominence in the late 1970s as part of a movement including Wynton Marsalis of modern players steeped in the traditions of jazz, recording for independent labels like India Navigation and Contemporary Records.
8.
Chico Freeman's albums contain standards and compositions by modernists like John Coltrane as well as new tunes by Chico Freeman and his contemporaries such as bassist Cecil McBee.
9.
The line-up on his 1981 album Destiny's Dance includes Wynton Marsalis, Bobby Hutcherson, Cecil McBee, with Chico Freeman playing tenor saxophone and bass clarinet.
10.
Chico Freeman formed the band Guataca and released Oh By the Way.
11.
Chico Freeman has toured internationally, both with his band as well as with Chaka Khan, Tomasz Stanko, Celia Cruz and Tito Puente.
12.
In 1998, Chico Freeman produced an album for Arthur Blythe called NightSong, and in 1999 he began teaching at New School University.