MondoJazz e dintorni

ADDIO VONSKI

Si è spento sabato a Chicago dove sempre è vissuto il sassofonista Von Freeman, ottantotto anni, da uno gravemente malato.

Un ricordo sintetico ma pieno di stima e considerazione da parte di Sean Carroll:

Von was absolutely unique, as a saxophonist and as a person. As a musician he managed to intermingle an astonishing variety of styles, from classic ballads to bebob all the way to free jazz, with more than a few things you would never hear anywhere else. Some thought that his playing was an acquired taste, full of skronks and trills and lighting-fast tempo changes. But once you “got it,” you could hear something in Von that you just couldn’t hear anywhere else.

This isn’t just formerly-local pride talking; when John Coltrane left Miles Davis’s band in the 1950′s, Miles tried to get Von to replace him. But Von never left Chicago for more than a few days at a time. As a person, Von was charming, roguish, stubborn, warm, irascible, and utterly compelling. Sometimes on stage he would get in the mood for talking instead of playing, and honestly it was hard to tell which you preferred. The wisecracks, the wisdom, the Billie Holiday stories, all mixed with the smoke and the cheap beer to create an unforgettable atmosphere.

La biografia di Freeman su Wikipedia: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Von_Freeman

L'articolo di A Blog Supreme:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2012/08/13/158729811/saxophonist-von-freeman-a-chicagoan-from-beginning-to-end#more