Biography
Distinguished from the Rippingtons guitarist and bandleader sharing his name, pianist Russ Freeman achieved wider notice through sideman duties than through his own leadership, yet his work with Chet Baker and Shelly Manne left a lasting imprint on two landmark collections of West Coast cool jazz. Having received classical instruction in childhood, he started gaining recognition on the West Coast jazz circuit during the mid-1940s, performing primarily alongside bebop-focused ensembles. In those years he appeared with Howard McGhee, Dexter Gordon, Charlie Parker, Art Pepper, Shorty Rogers, and Wardell Gray, among additional players. He entered Chet Baker’s newly formed quartet in 1953, where an immediate rapport developed; Freeman emerged as perhaps the trumpeter and vocalist’s most attuned accompanist, while his restrained and carefully shaped original pieces also suited Baker’s approach, allowing “The Wind” to attain near-standard status. Their partnership covered 1953–1954 and 1956. Beginning in 1955, Freeman launched another fruitful partnership with drummer Shelly Manne that continued until 1966. The bulk of his infrequent dates as a leader took place in the mid-1950s; afterward he concentrated on supervising sessions, collaborating with film composers such as Johnny Mandel and Manne associate Andre Previn, establishing his own publishing company in 1962, and serving as musical director for various nightclubs and television programs. Once his tenure with Manne ended, Freeman’s jazz sessions grew steadily rarer, although he made sporadic appearances with longtime West Coast associates into the early 1980s before withdrawing from activity altogether.
Albums
