Freeman went on to play with pop and R&B greats The Temptations, Michael Jackson, The Four Tops, Jackie Wilson, The Dells, The Isley Brothers and The Eurythmics.Īfter arriving in New York, he immediately began working with Jeanne Lee, Mickey Bass, John Stubblefield and Cecil McBee.
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His collegiate studies in Advanced Composition and Theory at Northwestern University led him to teach composition at the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) Music School, and while attaining his Masters in Composition and Theory at Governor State University, he studied composition with NEA Jazz Master Muhal Richard Abrams.Īlthough jazz was the first music Freeman was exposed to, many of his early professional gigs were at Chicago clubs with such blues artists as Memphis Slim and Lucky Carmichael. “ You need to work with other musicians from different cultures and create new avenues of expression."Īs part of the Freeman family legacy of Chicago his father, legendary NEA Jazz Master saxophonist Von Freeman his uncles, guitarist George Freeman and drummer Bruz Freeman, Chico amassed a diverse résumé of performing R&B to blues, hard bop to avant-garde. “ As much as I’ve travelled and on the road playing with such masters as McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Jack DeJohnette, Sam Rivers, Sun Ra, Dizzy Gillespie and so many jazz greats, as well as leading my own groups including founding The Leaders and the group Roots, an inner voice was telling me, you need to go to another level both musically and personally" Freeman explains. His thirst to immerse himself in his music, his curiosity to explore working with different musicians and living in different cultures and challenging himself to be better than he was. In the early 2000s, with dozens of recordings as a leader, Freeman moved from New York to Europe to start a new chapter of his life - exploration by focusing on his own self-improvement and self-reflection.
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