Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Bass Clarinet | b.1949

Born Earl Lavon Freeman Jr. on 17 July 1949 in Chicago, Illinois, Chico Freeman is a modern jazz saxophonist whose sound bridges advanced hard bop and nearly free avant-garde jazz, son of legendary NEA Jazz Master Von Freeman. Part of Chicago's "First Family of Jazz" with his father Von, uncle George Freeman (guitar), and uncle Bruz Freeman (drums), he found a trumpet in the family basement as a child and taught himself to play, inspired by Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. Earning a mathematics scholarship to Northwestern University in 1967, he played trumpet before discovering tenor saxophone in his junior year, practising eight to ten hours daily until changing his major to music.

Graduating 1972 with proficiencies in saxophone, trumpet, and piano, Freeman earned a master's in composition and theory from Governor's State University whilst teaching at the AACM School of Music in Chicago. His debut Morning Prayer appeared in 1976, followed by a move to New York City in 1977. He won the New York Jazz Award in 1979 and Stereo Review's Record of the Year for The Outside Within in 1981. The legendary Young Lions concert at Lincoln Center in June 1982 featured Freeman alongside Wynton Marsalis and Paquito D'Rivera, showcasing his composition "Whatever Happened to the Dream Deferred?". He founded the all-star supergroup The Leaders in the mid-1980s with Cecil McBee, Lester Bowie, and Arthur Blythe, and formed Roots in 1991 with Benny Golson and Nathan Davis. His career spans work with McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Sun Ra, and Dizzy Gillespie.