Chico Freeman

Chico Freeman is a modern jazz tenor saxophonist and son of jazz saxophonist Von Freeman. He began recording as lead musician in 1976 with Morning Prayer, won the New York Jazz Award in 1979 and earned the Stereo Review Record of the Year in 1981 for his album The Outside Within. Heralded as one of the most important saxophonists of our time, Chico Freeman marked his return to the United States after more than a decade living and working in Europe with a new album and a new group in 2016. 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, all prepared Freeman for this new stateside chapter of his life. “An inner voice was telling me, you need to go to another level both musically and personally. You need to work with other musicians from different cultures and create new avenues of expression," Freeman explains. As part of the Freeman family legacy of Chicago – his father, the legendary NEA Jazz Master saxophonist Von Freeman and his uncles, guitarist George Freeman and drummer Bruz Freeman – Chico amassed a diverse resume of performing R&B to blues, hard bop to avant-garde. Chico Freeman has perfected an immediately recognizable approach to music and composition, blending what he has experienced from his past and providing fluidity into a future of infinite musical possibilities. Don't miss the Chico Freeman Quartet on April 5 & 6 at the Jazz Forum!