One of the
most in-demand drummers in New York - tapped by the likes of Angélique Kidjo,
Sting and Anat Cohen - Daniel Freedman presents his third album as a leader,
the rhythmically infectious Imagine That, recently release by Anzic
Records. In celebration of the new
recording, Freedman will lead his band for one night only at The Jazz Standard
in NYC on October 26. Freedman will be
joined on stage by guitarist Gilad Hekselman, bassist Omer Avital and
percussionist Gilmar Gomes.
Imagine That
draws on a world of music: tune-rich originals that channel African, Middle
Eastern, Latin and Indian grooves, as well as an astoundingly fresh version of
a rarely covered Radiohead song ("Codex"). Freedman, born and bred in
New York City, leads an international quintet that features guitarist-vocalist
Lionel Loueke (from Benin), keyboardist Jason Lindner (Brooklyn), bassist Omer
Avital (Israel) and percussionist Gilmar Gomes (Brazil). Benin-born vocal star
Angélique Kidjo, with whom Freedman has toured the world as drummer in her
band, sings "Baby Aya," a dancing lullaby he wrote for his infant
daughter. Imagine That is the follow-up to Freedman's 2012 Anzic album, Bamako
by Bus, which garnered his band a showcase live on NPR:
Freedman,
41, has close connections to each member of the band for Imagine That. He went
to LaGuardia High School for Music and Arts (the "Fame" school)
alongside Jason Lindner, playing in various groups with him ever since. Lindner
played on Bamako by Bus, and both the keyboardist and drummer have long been
members of clarinet superstar Anat Cohen's bands. Freedman and Lindner met Omer
Avital when they were all part of the fertile 1990s scene at the jazz club
Smalls in New York's West Village; the three played together in Lindner's
original hit big band), and Lindner and Avital featured on Freedman's debut
album, 2001's Trio (Fresh Sound New Talent). For the past decade, Freedman and Avital
have also played alongside each other in hit multicultural band Third World
Love (with Avishai Cohen and Yonathan Avishai). Lionel Loueke played with the
rhythm pair on Avishai Cohen's album After The Big Rain, as well as on Bamako
by Bus. Freedman has played with Gilmar Gomes in studio sessions and tours with
Kidjo, Anat Cohen and New York/Brazilian band Forro in the Dark.
Imagine
ThatIt's never about flash, but about soul.. "When I play with Gilmar, we
become this living, breathing percussion animal," Freedman says. "In
the Brooklyn studio for the new album, we set up next to each other without any
separation - he's in my microphones, and I'm in his. We're one." About the
way the entire quintet plays together, Freedman adds: "All of these guys
really listen to each other - no one ever overplays. And there's a lot of
spontaneity and surprises in the music. Like with the Radiohead tune, 'Codex,'
which I love for its atmosphere and beautiful melody. We got it together in the
studio for the first time, and it had a great vibe right away. Lionel had never
heard the song before, but when we tripped out the ending in our own way, he
just reacted and ripped into it - it was unexpected and exciting."
Reflecting
on the way drummer-composers have made for some great leaders of bands down
through the decades - from Max Roach and Art Blakey to Tony Williams and Brian
Blade - Freedman says: "Drummer-leaders have a good overall POV of the
music, I think. A drummer can lay down a vibe but also push the players
rhythmically, pacing and shaping the music. In jazz - or whatever you want to
call this music - leading a band has a lot to do with the musicians you choose.
It's about the personality and sound of the players. For instance, I don't have
a guitar in the band - I have Lionel Loueke. It's not a keyboard - it's Jason
Lindner. All these guys - and how we react to each other, complement each other
- make the music what it is. The sessions were relaxed and fun, with a fresh,
positive energy, and I hope you can hear that on the album."
Drummer,
percussionist and composer Daniel Freedman grew up in a musical New York City
family. In high school, he studied with master drummers Max Roach, Billy
Higgins and Vernel Fournier and later traveled to study drumming in West
Africa, Cuba and the Middle East. Coming up as part of the Smalls scene in the
1990s, Freedman was a member of Jason Lindner's acclaimed big band, as well as
Omer Avital's sextet. The drummer has been a member of the collective Third
World Love for the past decade, along with touring and recording with Anat
Cohen. He also toured the world as a member of Grammy-winning singer Angélique
Kidjo's band from 2009 to 2015.
Freedman has
played and recorded with such artists as Sting, Youssou N'Dour, Dianne Reeves,
Omara Portuondo, Tom Harrell, Wynton Marsalis and Meshell Ndegeocello. In 2012,
Anzic released his sophomore album as a leader, Bamako by Bus, which featured a
core band of Avishai Cohen, Lionel Loueke, Jason Lindner and Meshell
N'degeocello, along with Mark Turner, Pedro Martinez, Abraham Rodriguez, Omer
Avital, Joshua Levitt and Davi Viera. Freedman's debut album, Trio, received a
nine-star review in Modern Drummer magazine, and he was featured as one of the
publication's "Young Lions." The New York Times selected him as one
of five young drummers on the New York scene who helped change jazz drumming
for the piece "Propelled by Different Drummers." As founder of New
York-based music house HiHAt.tv, Freedman has written and produced dozens of
spots for television and the Web.
Encapsulating
Freedman's talents, this praise recently came for Imagine That via TSF Jazz
(French radio): "With one foot firmly planted in jazz and the other in
world music, drummer Daniel Freedman synthesizes two vast universes."
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