The clock just struck midnight, but with the crowds still pouring in and the booze flowing freely, it’s clear that the night has only begun.
“Did I see some horn players in the audience?” asks Von Freeman, the legendary Chicago tenor saxophonist who’s presiding over the Tuesday night bash at the New Apartment Lounge on the South Side.
“Well open those cases, bring out those instruments and step forward. Vonski’s jam session is now in order.”
Before Freeman has finished the sentence, the young saxophonists, trumpeters, guitarists, bassists and whatnot are noodling on their instruments, all the while making a beeline to the club’s tiny stage. Though the cast of aspiring stars ranges from a 20-year-old student to a 70-ish retiree, most of the players are young, hungry and more than a little nervous.
They’ve been waiting all week for a chance to sit in–however briefly–with one of the foremost improvisers in jazz, septuagenarian tenor master Freeman. For more decades than he probably cares to remember, Freeman has been holding these late-night soirees in one South Side bar or another, inviting all comers to step forward and show what they’ve got.
“OK, we’re going to do `Billie’s Bounce’ in B-flat–are you ready?–two, three, four,” says Freeman, and with that the impromptu band hits the downbeat, letting out a great and joyous wail.
One by one, Freeman points to this player or that one, each taking a 32-bar solo before slipping back into an ensemble. Some of the 20-odd players who have turned out this night offer respectable statements, others fumble a bit, stumbling into unfortunate chord changes.
But the spirit of the music-making, its rhythmic exuberance and sonic roar, prove irresistible to the listeners crowded around the bar and packed into an adjoining room. The performance may not always be top-notch, the makeshift band sometimes may seem to be playing in a couple of keys at once, but the sheer spectacle of so many ebullient young musicians trying to keep up with the master makes for great entertainment.
“The first time I ever sat in here, I was really nervous,” recalls 20-year-old trumpeter and music student Donald Richard Jr. between numbers. “I mean, you’re playing not only in front of an audience but in front of Von, and you really want to impress him.
“So you get kind of shaky, and after you’re done, you go home and practice real hard. You don’t want to embarrass yourself again.
“And it works. It makes you practice, it makes you mature, it really helps turn you into a musician.”
For uncounted artists over the years, Freeman’s midnight sessions have amounted to a kind of jazz finishing school of the most demanding sort. As all the players quickly discover, studying harmony and theory in a lesson or in a classroom is one thing, applying that knowledge to a live performance is quite another.
Despite their anxieties, though, the young musicians just keep on coming, hoping to pick up some wisdom on how to play this elusive, unscripted form of music.
“I’ve been coming here since June, because this is where you learn,” says 23-year-old bassist Eric Harper, who has worked a few professional engagements as a sideman.
“I had read in the paper that Von Freeman held these sessions, and I couldn’t believe it. I had been listening to his records since I was a kid, and the chance to be on the same stage with him was too much to pass up.
“Even in these past few months I’ve learned a lot, in a basic way, about swing, how to project it, how to put ideas across to listeners. Like once when we were playing a blues in F, and I started to mess around with (melodic) ideas with the pianist, and Von said, `No, no, just swing it, keep swinging.’
“In other words, Von didn’t want any fancy passages here. He just wanted to keep the swing feeling going and not let it get bogged down, he wanted it strong, loud and hard.”
The voice of experience
When Freeman issues these instructions, the players take his advice as if it were gospel, not only because of Freeman’s instrumental virtuosity but also because of the man’s artistic pedigree. As this century heads toward a close, there aren’t many saxophonists still working who have traded riffs with Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Gene “Jug” Ammons and other first-generation beboppers.
In effect, Freeman simply is passing along what he learned firsthand from his own idols. His knowledge of phrasing, riffing, tonal inflection, harmonic development and melody-making is unique and unavailable in the most prestigious music schools.
That Professor Freeman’s coursework is free and open to the public makes it all the more tantalizing to young players.
“When you’re sitting up there on stage with Von Freeman, it’s like you’re getting the real thing, the authentic sound,” says 25-year-old guitarist Dave Sampson, who has begun to make his living as a professional musician but still comes to study at the source.
“This may sound strange, but it’s kind of like getting to play with Michael Jordan of the Bulls. It lifts you up just by standing next to somebody like that.”
Even for top-notch professionals, such as 27-year-old bassist Rob Amster, who’s part of Freeman’s regular Tuesday night band, the experience is less a working date than a kind of jazz seminar for post-graduates.
“I can only say that when I get on stage with Von, it’s like being transported to a different time,” says Amster. “You just feel the history of the music with him.”
As far as Freeman is concerned, he’s doing his part to nurture the tradition.
“When I was a kid on the South Side of Chicago, I sat in with the late and great alto player of Count Basie’s band, Tab Smith, and that knocked me out,” says Freeman.
“I sat in once with (trumpeter) Hot Lips Page, and then later I worked with his group. I sat in with (trumpeter) Roy Eldridge, and later he hired me, too.
“I even got to sit in with Duke Ellington’s band, way back in ’49, and I got to sit in with Bird (Parker) and all those people.
“But back in the late ’30s and ’40s, the jam sessions were a big part of the music business–you’d even have tap dancers, singers, comedians come by and join in,” adds Freeman, noting that in the ’60s and ’70s, the scene mostly faded away.
“Now it’s coming back, and that’s a real good thing,” adds Freeman, “but I don’t want it to feel like anything but a party.”
As the clock pushes toward 1 a.m., the music is still going strong. Even when Freeman isn’t offering a word of formal instruction or advice, he’s teaching the young players about the right tempos for certain pieces, the best keys in which to achieve certain effects, the way to build a solo to a dramatic peak.
The players are absorbing some of these lessons without even knowing it, simply by modeling their performances on Freeman’s. Thanks to sessions such as these, the jazz tradition courses virtually uninterrupted from the early days of this century, when Parker and Dizzy Gillespie were sitting in with their heroes, to its closing moments.
When the young musicians finally hit a big, climactic chord, Freeman brings the set to a close, thanks everyone and heads to the bar for a sip and a smoke. The youngsters hang around for a few minutes to talk about what just happened, their adrenaline clearly still running high.
“Man, I’ve got to practice some more,” says one of the players to another, as they head out into the night.
“No kidding,” answers his friend. “That tempo was brutal.”
No doubt they’ll be back next week to try again.
Where to go to jam
Several Chicago clubs offer jam sessions for young musicians, with the action starting roughly between 10:30 p.m. and midnight; and listeners are welcome to simply sit back and observe. Here are a few of the best:
New Apartment Lounge, 504 E. 75th St. Tenor saxophonist Von Freeman leads the sessions, Tuesday nights. Phone 312-483-7728.
Bop Shop, 1807 W. Division St. Tenor saxophonist Lin Halliday heads the “New Kids on the Bop” sets, Tuesday nights. Phone 312-235-3232.
The Bulls, 1916 N. Lincoln Park West. Tenor saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa hosts the sessions, Monday nights. Phone 312-337-3000.
