Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Russell Donald Freeman was born on May 28, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois. He was initially classically trained, but later turned toward jazz of a largely bop style. His reputation as a jazz pianist grew in the 1940s when he worked with Art Pepper, Shorty Rogers and Chet Baker. Among his best work is his extensive collaboration with Shelly Manne, especially in the 1950s and 1960s.

Freeman wrote “The Wind” with original lyrics by Jerry Gladstone and was performed as an instrumental piece during the 1950s and 1960s by the likes of Chet Baker, Leo Wright and Stan Getz as well as sung by vocalist June Christy. Russ’s piano is featured on the 1954 recording of “The Wind,” which has since become a jazz standard, for the album Chet Baker With Strings and Deep I A Dream: The Ultimate Chet Baker Collection, the latter he is featured on seven cuts. In 1991, Mariah Carey wrote her own lyrics to Freeman’s “The Wind” for her album Emotions.

Russ Freeman, bebop and cool jazz pianist, remained busy in music throughout his life, transitioning from jazz pianist to film scoring and composition before his death on June 27, 2002 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Dose A Day-Blues Away

More Posts: piano