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; the
Flood Relief Concert in Des Moines, Iowa; Joslyn Art
Museum’s Jazz on the Green in Omaha, NE; the 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 Guarde, Portugal
His recordings of
original music (ranging from jazz, Latinjazz,
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”
with Jeff Jenkins, Dave Stryker, Kip Reed, and Graham
Hawthorne (now with Paul Simon). His next recording “Wiggle
Stomp” reflects a deeper immersion in the Latin music scene
that began in the mid 1990’s. On “In the Zone”, Mike takes
that exploration further displaying the range of his
marimba playing—along with the vibraphone—and his artistry
and knowledge of bringing salsa forms into a jazz context.
In addition
to leading his own groups, Mike performs and records
with Lucho Cueto’s all-star group Black Sugar, which gave
blockbuster performances for thousands of fans 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 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 frequently works with
Son Boricua (with Jose Mangual Jr. and Jimmy Sabater),
which performed for large gatherings at Salsa Congress’s in
New York, L.A., and Atlanta. His vibe work can also be
heard with Mark Holen’s eclectic Latin blues band Zambomba.
He performed for the Latin Legends concert at Aaron Davis
Hall with the Harbor Conservatory Latin Band (directed by
Louis Bauzó), and with the Spanish Harlem Orchestra
(directed by Oscar Hernandez) and legendary sonero Cheo
Feliciano at Madison Square Garden.
Master
classes and arranging: 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 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 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 —
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