# CD review: George Freeman – Everybody Say Yeah! 2022: Video, CD cover

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2022/07/21/cd-review-george-freeman-everybody-say-yeah-2022-video-cd-cover/
- Published: 2022-07-21T01:45:27+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**It took a long time (much too long) for listeners to recognize the brilliance 
that was Chicago saxophonist Fred Anderson. The New York-centric jazz cognoscenti
have often overlooked talent that comes from Chicago, and artists were often drawn
to The Big Apple to seek the recognition they deserved. **

Beginning in the ’90s, though, the focal point of creative music shifted to Chicago
and veteran musicians such as Von Freeman, Fred Anderson, and Harrison Bankhead,
plus (then) younger talents, Ken Vandermark, Dave Rempis, and Hamid Drake garnered
critical attention. That attention paved the way for newer Chicago talents such 
as Dustin Laurenzi, Katie Ernst, Nick Mazzarella,Quin Kirchner, and Matt Ulery.

Everybody Say Yeah! unveils another discovery, guitarist George Freeman, a star 
hidden in plain sight. Brother to Von and Eldridge “Bruz” Freeman and uncle to Chico
Freeman, George is a living history of modern jazz. He has performed with everyone
from Lester Young to Ella Fitzgerald, Dexter Gordon, and John Coltrane, and recorded
with Charlie Parker, Jimmy McGriff, Johnny Griffin, Gene Ammons, and a list of others
too long to fit into this review. This album is a retrospective of his Southport
years, from 1995 to 2021, and comes on the occasion of this 95th birthday on April
10th 2022. The remastered music includes two unreleased tracks “Summertime” with
vocals by Joanie Pallatto and “Manteca,” plus a new recording of his composition“
Perfume” in duo with guitarist Mike Allemana.

The fourteen tracks are all prime cuts. Opening with “Peak,” a rump-shaking party
piece, Freeman vocalizes over the affair as he delivers solid soul jazz. His guitar
voice is both articulate and bluesy. “My Scenery,” a ballad which features Chico
Freeman with Harrison Bankhead and Hamid Drake, walks in like Carl Sandburg’s fog
on little cat’s feet. The guitarist adores Latin themes; “It’s Cha Time!,” “Cha 
Cha Time,” and Dizzy Gillespie’s “Manteca” feature his guitar as the calm in the
eye of a percussion hurricane. Guest soloists include Von Freeman on “Vonski,” Tatsu
Aoki on “Low Funk,” John Devlin on “Gorgeous George,” and the aforementioned Joanie
Pallatto’s vocals on a luxurious rendition of Gershwin’s “Summertime.”

George Freeman, guitar; Mike Allemana, electric guitar; Ruben Alvarez, congas and
timbales; Tatsu Aoki, acoustic bass; Harrison Bankhead, acoustic bass; Billy Branch,
harmonica; Kirk Brown, piano; John Devlin, electric bass and accordion; Hamid Drake,
drums; Luiz Ewerling, drums and percussion; Chico Freeman, tenor sax and soprano
sax; Von Freeman, tenor sax and piano; Lou Gregory, piano; Joe Jenkins, drums; Joanie
Pallatto, vocal; Penny Pendleton, acoustic bass; Alejo Poveda, drums; Michael Raynor,
drums; Phil Thomas, drums; and Eldee Young, acoustic bass.

1. Peak (feat. Alejo Poveda & Ruben Alvarez)
 2. There Will Never Be Another You
3. My Scenery (feat. Chico Freeman) 4. It’s Cha Time! (feat. Eldee Young) 5. Summertime(
feat. Joanie Pallatto) 6. George Burns! 7. Gorgeous George (feat. John Devlin) 8.
Vonski (feat. Von Freeman) 9. Cha Cha Blue (feat. Billy Branch) 10. Manteca 11. 
Perfume (feat. Mike Allemana) 12. A Mother’s Love 13. Marko (feat. Harrison Bankhead)
14. Low Funk (feat. Tatsu Aoki)

![George Freeman - Everybody Say Yeah! - Amazon.com Music](https://m.media-amazon.
com/images/I/81sNwxT9y0L._SL1500_.jpg)

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