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Bruz Freeman was born Eldridge Freeman on August 11, 1921 in Chicago, Illinois. With his brothers, guitarist George Freeman and tenor saxophonist Von Freeman, he played for several years in the house band at the Pershing Hotel.

In 1950, he was a member of John Young’s trio with LeRoy Jackson on bass, and recorded with Young’s orchestra backing vocalist Lurlean Hunter. That same year with his brothers George and Von, originally misidentified as Claude McLin, LeRoy Jackson, and Chris Anderson, he played with Charlie Parker shortly before his death, at a jam session recorded at Bird’s apartment which was released in 1960 by Savoy Records.

The mid-1950s saw him as a member of the Hampton Hawes Quartet, with Red Mitchell and Jim Hall, and with line-ups led by Herb Geller. In 1977-8, he joined a short-lived band based in California, led by Kenny Mann and with Britt Woodman on trombone. Drummer Bruz Freeman, who was also known as Buzz and the uncle of Chico Freeman, the son of Von Freeman, passed away in 2006.

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