Journeyman tenor saxophonist
Von Freeman pays tribute to his first major influences
Coleman Hawkins,
Lester Young, and
Charlie Parker on
The Great Divide. Centered around
Freeman's gorgeously blue, often skronky sax tone, the album works almost conceptually with
Freeman representing the divide between the cool vulnerability of
Young, the muscular swing of
Hawkins, and the cerebral hipness of
Parker. This is a meaty, visceral album full of well-worn standards that nonetheless feels immediate and relevant. Now in his eighties,
Freeman -- utterly unique and obviously inspired -- still amazes with his mix of straight-ahead melodicism and avant-garde, sometimes off-kilter improvisation. He turns the Italian tenor perennial "Be My Love" into a sanguine and deliciously forlorn mid-tempo swinger. Similarly,
Freeman's swabs of rich blue and green tones on the ballad "This Is Always" perfectly call to mind
Young's languid and way-behind-the-beat late-career recordings.
Freeman's originals also carry much weight here with "Never Fear Jazz Is Here" recalling the spirit of
Parker via a burning harmalodic-esque melody, while "Chant Time" works as mantra to these ancients of jazz. The band -- to which you hear
Freeman speaking in a few brief and soulful moments -- includes pianist
Richard Wyands, bassist
John Webber, and drummer
Jimmy Cobb. ~ Matt Collar