Orginial creator of "The Wind" passes away
The Los Angeles jazz pianist Russ Freeman died in Las Vegas on June 27th, 2002. Although born in Chicago, Freeman arrived in southern California as a young boy in the late 1930s. He studied classical music at first, but a decade later was acknowledged in Los Angeles as a white jazzman who thoroughly understood the complexities, thrust and intensity of the new bebop music bursting out of New York.
In 1960 Freeman had founded Encore Music, to publish his own songs, and in 1991 he hit jackpot when the pop singer Mariah Carey included Freeman's almost 40-year-old song "The Wind" on her album Emotions. The resulting royalties enabled him to retire from music, and he turned down recording work offered by the veteran English producer Vic Lewis because "I don't even play for my own enjoyment these days". (Independent News) Many thanks to Mariah's Web.
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