Vonski Speaks

[Chuck Nessa]

Nice to see all the positive comments. If this disc created any new Freeman fans, I should mention I have only 15 copies remaining of the Japanese issue of Von's classic Have No Fear.

[Bright Moments]

Nice to see all the positive comments. If this disc created any new Freeman fans, I should mention I have only 15 copies remaining of the Japanese issue of Von's classic Have No Fear.

don't forget Serenade & Blues!!!

[paul secor]

Nice to see all the positive comments. If this disc created any new Freeman fans, I should mention I have only 15 copies remaining of the Japanese issue of Von's classic Have No Fear.

Perhaps of interest to those who have an LP version of Have No Fear, the Japanese CD has an extra track.

[jeffcrom]

Damn!

Just damn!

[Chuck Nessa]

Thank you.

[Peter Johnson]

Thank you.

No, thank YOU. This is an astounding release. People, GET THIS.

[Ron S]

Thank you.

No, thank YOU. This is an astounding release. People, GET THIS.

Well, since you put it THAT way . . . .

[AllenLowe]

there is no question that Freeman is one of the greatest saxophonists in the history of jazz - and though it's not to say that he has not received acclaim, somehow I think his greatness is recognized a bit less than it might be recognized if he had not lived so long. For better or worse, jazz loves a legend. The reality seems less shiny and somehat less coveted.

Edited November 13, 2009 by AllenLowe

[JSngry]

I don't know that it's th longevity as much as it is the "local guy" syndrome. Recognized giant that he is, I think in too many people's minds he's still thought of as a "Chicago cat" above anything else.

Jazz loves a legend indeed, but jazz "history" for guys Vons age is still very New York-centric.

[John Tapscott]

Yep, excellent jazz music. Von and the whole band, the music, the sound, the hard swing - all first rate. A great release. Thanks Chuck.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I don't know that it's th longevity as much as it is the "local guy" syndrome. Recognized giant that he is, I think in too many people's minds he's still thought of as a "Chicago cat" above anything else.

Jazz loves a legend indeed, but jazz "history" for guys Vons age is still very New York-centric.

Von also didn't make all that many albums, did he? (Well, more than George.) Part of the local hero stuff, I imagine.

MG

[ejp626]

I don't know that it's th longevity as much as it is the "local guy" syndrome. Recognized giant that he is, I think in too many people's minds he's still thought of as a "Chicago cat" above anything else.

Jazz loves a legend indeed, but jazz "history" for guys Vons age is still very New York-centric.

Von also didn't make all that many albums, did he? (Well, more than George.) Part of the local hero stuff, I imagine.

MG

I think he falls into that category of better late than never. He doesn't have that many recordings from the early or middle part of his career (5 as a leader covering the 70s and 80s!), but he's been recording far more regularly since the 90s (15, including Vonski Speaks). That's a pretty remarkable late career resurgence.

[AllenLowe]

yeah but if he'd been hit by a bus 40 years ago and maybe there were a few things around, he'd be like Ike Day.

And youse guys got a problem with being NY-centric?

Edited November 13, 2009 by AllenLowe

[Chuck Nessa]

I think the reason(s) for Von's lack of recognition is all of the above and more. His best recordings are on shitty little labels (mine and Southport) or expensive imports (SteepleChase). IMHO, everybody else made the mistake of taking him out of his comfort zone and paired him with "recognized" musicians and these recordings are most responsible for his public image beyond Chicago. I hope my new cd helps his reputation as I hoped my earlier recordings have. Von has told me he thinks my early discs really started his "worldwide" career and that is why he consented to my issuance of Vonski Speaks without even listening.

I don't mean this to pat myself on the back but to show what kind of man Mister Freeman is.

[mjzee]

I ordered Vonski Speaks from Chuck, and look forward to hearing it. The only Von album I've heard is one on Atlantic from the early '70's (the cover is where he's in a wife-beater t-shirt in front of a crumbling slum). It didn't do much for me.

[JSngry]

yeah but if he'd been hit by a bus 40 years ago and maybe there were a few things around, he'd be like Ike Day.

You think that Ike Day is "well-known"?

[Joe G]

yeah but if he'd been hit by a bus 40 years ago and maybe there were a few things around, he'd be like Ike Day.

You think that Ike Day is "well-known"?

I thought that was an inside joke. Never heard of Ike Day.

[JSngry]

Legendary Chicago "bebop" (quotes intentional) drummer, died young (the usual suspects), only one studio session (78s) , never really "to full effect" based on firsthand accounts.

Larry Kart quotes Wilbur Campbell: http://books.google.com/books?id=2Hxpt_piQ...mer&f=false

Edited November 14, 2009 by JSngry

[JSngry]

Not to get sidetracked into arcana...Von is a motherfucker, and so is this album.

[Chuck Nessa]

Not sure Von has heard this music yet.

[ejp626]

I think the reason(s) for Von's lack of recognition is all of the above and more. His best recordings are on shitty little labels (mine and Southport) or expensive imports (SteepleChase). IMHO, everybody else made the mistake of taking him out of his comfort zone and paired him with "recognized" musicians and these recordings are most responsible for his public image beyond Chicago. I hope my new cd helps his reputation as I hoped my earlier recordings have. Von has told me he thinks my early discs really started his "worldwide" career and that is why he consented to my issuance of Vonski Speaks without even listening.

I don't mean this to pat myself on the back but to show what kind of man Mister Freeman is.

It is pretty astonishing -- and sad -- how well known Von Freeman is in Chicago (for any jazz musician) and the lack of recognition outside of Chicago. He is always playing somewhere in Chicago to our great benefit, although I haven't caught him in a while.

I think there is no question that of the earlier records, the Nessa and SteepleChase recordings capture him better than the others. I'm not sure where Von and Ed (Peterson) on Delmark would fall, but I like it, since it reminds me of the times I caught these two doing their battle at the Green Mill. I would say that for whatever reason, the recordings since 2000 pretty much across the board capture him well (The Great Divide, The Improvisor) maybe simply because people stopped trying to make him into something he wasn't. Anyway, I haven't ordered this one yet, but I think I'll ask for it for Christmas. Thanks again, Chuck, for helping keep him in the spotlight (a bit) outside of Chicago.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Von has told me he thinks my early discs really started his "worldwide" career

One of our local shops in Cardiff - a real non-jazz market, if ever there was one - even stocked "Have no fear" on LP in the 70s. I now regret not buying it then, though they did sell me the Atlantic LP.

MG

[Chuck Nessa]

Von has told me he thinks my early discs really started his "worldwide" career

One of our local shops in Cardiff - a real non-jazz market, if ever there was one - even stocked "Have no fear" on LP in the 70s. I now regret not buying it then, though they did sell me the Atlantic LP.

MG

By the way, I had to bring legal action against your local supplier to get my money.

I do want to mention our member Jeff Crompton has posted a positive review on his very interesting blog at HIS PLACE. . Please read his other postings as well. He's a very bright guy and a good guide through the decades of "jazz".

[AllenLowe]

what I meant by the Ike Day comparison is that he's a legend, the guy who was supposed to be one of the greats but that almost nobody heard outside of his home town. Whereas a guy like Freeman, who has been heard by a fair amount of people, loses, by longevity, some of the legend.

[Larry Kart]

On the other hand, the sheer living reality of Von can be shattering/thrilling/you name it -- if only because, as "Vonski Speaks" abundantly demonstrates, Von is no "roasting chestnuts by an open fire" graybeard in either spirit or deed. He's "all in," doesn't lean on style but on the adventure. That "Darn that Dream" -- good Lord.