Today’s post looks a little closer at our Spotlight Artist, vibraphonist Mike Freeman, whose 2007 album In The Zone presents a high energy set of small group Latin Jazz. It’s pretty difficult not to be impressed with Freeman’s vibe work - his highly developed chops and inventive improvisations form the album’s core. The more I listen to the album though; I’m consistently struck with the strength of Freeman’s songwriting and arranging. From his combination of jazz harmonies and diverse rhythmic structures to his more open descarga forms, Freeman’s writing adds just as much as his playing.

For more on Freeman’s music, check out his website. You can get performance dates, see a video, and hear some tracks from In The Zone at Freeman’s MySpace page.

I’ve copied Freeman’s bio from his website below in order to help LJC readers get to know him better. Enjoy!

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Tito Puente, Cal Tjader and the groups of Joe Cuba put the vibraphone at the heart of Latin music and today that tradition drives the music and groups of Mike Freeman. With vibes out front, he’s been bringing audiences a heady blend of original music and standards for over two decades. “It’s apparent that he’s been performing and wood shedding for years,” wrote The Music Independent.

Compositional inventiveness and a dynamic performing style have marked Mike’s appearances at jazz festivals, clubs, colleges, and concert halls in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Two of his three recordings of original music gained national attention and extensive airplay charting on jazz radio.

From the start, the music Mike wrote and performed ranged from jazz, Latin Jazz, Brazilian, fusion, and R&B. Mike Freeman & Spellbound’s 1985 self-titled debut recording (following a tour of Portugal, cosponsored by the Fulbright Foundation and the American Embassy) was eclipsed six years later by the highly successful Street Shuffle with Jeff Jenkins, Dave Stryker, Kip Reed, and Graham Hawthorne. His next recording Wiggle Stomp reflects a deeper immersion in the Latin scene that began over ten years ago. Now working on recording another batch of original music written a few years after Wiggle Stomp, Mike explores that path further.

In addition to leading his own groups, Mike is a member of Ray Mantilla’s group (with Edy Martinez) that has toured Italy and recorded for Savant records. He performs with singer Julio Salgado (from Orquestra Broadway and George Delgado) and recorded Fabulosos 70’s with Son Boricua (Jose Mangual Jr. and Jimmy Sabater). He’s recorded and performed with Lucho Cueto’s Black Sugar and recorded Stretching the Truth as a member of Mark Holen’s eclectic Latin blues group Zambomba.

Other credits include performing with Little Johnny Rivero’s sexteto, Jorge Jimenez’s Timba Vibes (creating the group’s book), and the Latin Legends concert at Aaron Davis Hall with the Harbor Conservatory Latin Band, directed by Louis Bauzó.

Outstanding musicians who have performed with Mike Freeman’s group—now called ZonaVibe—include Ed Uribe, Vanderlei Pereira, Harry Adorno, Ralph Irizarry, Little Johnny Rivero, Chembo Corniel, Renato Thoms, Norman Hedman, Cucho Martinez, Gerry Madera, and Guillermo Edghill.

Additional endeavors include a Hurricane Katrina Benefit Concert that Mike organized and produced at Manhattan Plaza (two 45 floor towers of performing artists in midtown Manhattan where he lives) featuring the R&B of Bobby Harden and Chris Carter, the jazz of David Schnitter’s quartet, the solo piano of Amina Claudine Myers, and Mike’s own Latin Jazz group with Ray Mantilla. Proceeds went to Tipitinas Foundation for New Orleans area musicians and the Humane Society.

New York University and the Berklee College of Music, among others, have hosted Mike as a guest artist/clinician. His music arranged for big band has been a successful component of his performances with jazz department ensembles. And a series (spanning several years) of commissioned compositions and arrangements for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Percussion Scholarship Program highlight his ability’s in addition to performing.

Past highlights include: the JVC Newport Jazz Festival in Saratoga, NY, a performance that prompted a memorable standing ovation; performing to a home town audience of over 5000 at Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha; the Hennessy Greenwich Village Jazz Festival two years in a row; a Flood Relief Concert in Des Moines, Iowa; and opening for Stan Getz in Boston. Mike’s highly successful tour of Portugal in the mid-1980s took him to every part of the country where he gave concerts and taught clinics. He also performed on Portuguese
national radio and television. Dinners were given in his honor and he received the medal of the city of Guarde.

Mike’s grandfather was a drummer and leader of Ron Freeman and the Melody Masters, a popular band that was heard on the radio in the Midwest. Neal Hefti played in his band before becoming famous in California. Mike’s paternal grandmother sang and played the organ and marimba. His maternal grandmother was a talented piano player in her youth. Mike’s father, Harry Freeman, worked his way through college playing the saxophone.

Born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, Mike Freeman began playing professionally at the age of thirteen. He started learning drums at five and became interested in jazz music by listening to drummers Max Roach and Buddy Rich. He played in local rock bands and a big band called Resurrected Swing that’s still in existence today. At twelve, he began playing the vibraphone, and by fifteen, he was a percussionist for the Omaha Symphony. He also gave lessons at the local music store. During his last year of high school, he began flying to Chicago to study with renowned percussionist and veteran studio musician Bobby Christian. Just before entering the School of Music at DePaul University in Chicago, Mike started to concentrate on the vibraphone and composition. In college, he began leading his own groups, performing at clubs, both in Chicago and Omaha, and working as a side musician. At DePaul, he studied with jazz pianist Alan Swain and saxophonist Tom Hilliard, and received a Bachelor of Music (composition) with high honors in 1981. In New York, where he’s lived and worked since 1981, Mike studied with composer/arranger Hale Rood, who wrote for Louie Bellson, and attended the BMI composers workshop.

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