Mike Freeman ZonaVibe
Biography
Musician - composer - band leader - recording artist - arranger - educator - producer
The Vibesman behind many notable musicians and groups, Mike Freeman brews up a heady blend of musical elements. Richly melodic and rhythmically intense, this fiery mix fuels spirited interplay among the group’s top-notch musicians. From North America and Europe, to the Azores, Caribbean, and South America, his music ignites audiences at festivals, concert halls, colleges and clubs. Strong writing skills, a thoroughly developed jazz background, and a dynamic performing style underscore Mike’s performances.
High-profile
shows for Mike as a leader include: the Trinidad
& Tobago Steelpan & Jazz Festival; Festival
Internacional (Terciera, Azores); Central Park’s Harlem
Meer concert series in New York City; and several First
Night celebrations. Other past performance highlights and
endeavors include producing Band Together, a Hurricane
Katrina Benefit Concert for Tipitinas Foundation benefiting
New Orleans–area musicians and the Humane Society;
performing for Flood Relief in Des Moines, Iowa; Joslyn Art
Museum’s Jazz on the Green in Omaha, NE; Berks, Rehoboth
Beach, Hennessy Greenwich Village, and JVC Newport (at
Saratoga) jazz festivals as well as an extensive tour of
Portugal, cosponsored by the Fulbright Foundation and the
American Embassy.
Mike received the medal of the city of Guarda, Portugal
His recordings of
original music (ranging from jazz, Latinjazz,
salsa, Brazilian, fusion, and R&B) have gained national
and international attention along with extensive radio
airplay charting on jazz, contemporary jazz, and World
music radio. Mike Freeman & Spellbound's 1985
self-titled debut recording was followed by the success of
Street Shuffle. His next recording Wiggle
Stomp reflects a deeper immersion into the Latin music
scene that, for him, began in the mid 1990s. On In the
Zone, Mike displays his knowledge of bringing salsa
forms into a jazz context. The Vibesman 2012,
takes that exploration further, adding saxophone and flute
to the group, with a set of music that has captured the
attention of many.
Mike is also known for
his work with Lucho Cueto’s all-star group Black Sugar,
which gave blockbuster performances for thousands at the
Toros Y Salsa Festival in Dax, France, and at the Festival
Internacional de Salsa in Lima, Peru. The vibes behind the
name, Mike has worked extensively with acclaimed
percussionist Ray Mantilla’s Good Vibrations Band (with
pianist Edy Martinez), which has toured Italy far and wide.
Good Vibrations (Savant Records) was Jazzweek's
top Latinjazz recording on radio, 2006. Mike is currently
in production on a co-led recording project with salsa
singer Julio Salgado (from the Conga Kings) and worked
frequently with Son Boricua (with Jose Mangual Jr. and the
late Jimmy Sabater), which performed for large gatherings
at Salsa Congress’s in New York, L.A., and Atlanta. Jose
Mangual Jr.'s Boricua Blues has now formed after Jimmy's
passing, and Mike continues to perform with the group. His
vibe work can also be heard with Mark Holen’s eclectic
Latin blues band Zambomba. He performed with the Spanish
Harlem Orchestra (directed by Oscar Hernandez) at Madison
Square Garden and with Willie Villegas's Joe Cuba Sextet
for New Jersey's salsa congress both with legendary sonero
Cheo Feliciano.
Master
classes and arranging: Florida
International U., 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. Mike created the book for Jorge
Jimenez’s group Timba Vibes and wrote a series (spanning
several years) of commissioned compositions and
arrangements for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s
Percussion Scholarship Program.
Music in the
family: 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.
Joslyn Art Museum Omaha, NE
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 Buddy Rich and Max Roach. 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 traveling 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.
"...an intoxicating
Latin Jazz
gem" —Chip Boaz,
Latin Jazz Corner
— 2010 —
-ZV-
