Friday, August 19, 2005

Another Freeman

If Ben Webster and James Carter got mixed up in the transporter device that goes haywire in "The Fly," either version, you would get Von Freeman. Big soulful sound. No compunction about probing the boundaries of tradition, or stepping over now and then. I like his last CD "The Great Divide" on the Koch label.

Two other Von Freeman disks that float my boat: the Delmark label "You Talkin' to Me?" with Frank Catalano, a Freeman protege, and "Lockin' Horns" with Willis "Gator" Jackson, which I got from the defunct 32 Jazz label. Freeman and Jackson play together on two songs on the latter and have two songs each individually in an organ quartet with Carl Wilson on the B-3 and Joe Jones doing some pretty fine guitar playing. Jackson's version of "The Man I Love" is absolutely classic.

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