"Freddie Freeloader" is a composition by Miles Davis

Miles Davis

Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...

 and is the second track on his album Kind of Blue

Kind of Blue

Kind of Blue is a studio album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released August 17, 1959, on Columbia Records in the United States. Recording sessions for the album took place at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City on March 2 and April 22, 1959...

. The piece takes the form of a twelve-bar blues in B-flat, but the chord over the final two bars of each chorus is an A-flat7, not the traditional B-flat7 followed by either F7 for a turnaround

Turnaround (music)

In jazz, a turnaround is a passage at the end of a section which leads to the next section. This next section is most often the repetition of the previous section or the entire piece or song...

 or some variation of B-flat7 for an ending. Davis employed Wynton Kelly

Wynton Kelly

Wynton Kelly was a Jamaican-born jazz pianist, who spent his career in the United States. He is perhaps best known for working with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1959-1962.-Biography:...

 as the pianist for this track in place of Bill Evans

Bill Evans

William John Evans, known as Bill Evans was an American jazz pianist. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists including: Chick Corea, Herbie...

, as Kelly was something of a blues specialist. The solos are by Miles Davis

Miles Davis

Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...

, John Coltrane

John Coltrane

John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...

, Cannonball Adderley, Paul Chambers

Paul Chambers

Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers, Jr. was a jazz bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, his importance in the development of jazz bass can be measured not only by the length and breadth of his work in this short period but also his impeccable time, intonation, and virtuosic...

, and Wynton Kelly

Wynton Kelly

Wynton Kelly was a Jamaican-born jazz pianist, who spent his career in the United States. He is perhaps best known for working with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1959-1962.-Biography:...

.

According to the documentary Kind of Blue: Made in Heaven, and an anecdote from the jazz pianist Monty Alexander

Monty Alexander

Monty Alexander is a jazz pianist and melodica player. His playing has a strong Caribbean influence and swinging feeling, but he has also been influenced by Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, Wynton Kelly, and Ahmad Jamal.-Biography:Alexander discovered the piano at the age of 4, taking classical music...

, the song was named after an individual named Freddie who would frequently try to see the music Davis and others performed without paying (thus freeloading). The name may have also been inspired by Red Skelton

Red Skelton

Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton was an American comedian who is best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, night clubs and casinos, all while pursuing...

’s most famous character, "Freddie the Freeloader" the hobo clown.

This song was featured numerous times on The Weather Channel

The Weather Channel

The Weather Channel is a US cable and satellite television network since May 2, 1982, that broadcasts weather forecasts and weather-related news, along with entertainment programming related to weather 24 hours a day...

's Local on the 8s

Local on the 8s

The Local on the 8s or Local Forecast is the portion of programming where viewers see current weather conditions and local weather forecasts for their respective area on The Weather Channel in the United States...

 segments since March 2000.

"Freddie Freeloader" has proven to be one of Davis' most enduring compositions. Stanley Jordan

Stanley Jordan

Stanley Jordan is an American jazz/jazz fusion guitarist and pianist, best known for his development of the tapping technique for the guitar....

 recorded it for his album Magic Touch

Magic Touch (album)

Magic Touch is the Blue Note Records debut album by jazz musician Stanley Jordan. Allmusic critic Daniel Gioffre has described the album as "[a]n instant classic, and one of the definitive moments of modern jazz guitar."- Track listing :...

.

A vocalese version is featured on Freddie Freeloader: Jon Hendricks and Friends (1990) featuring Bobby McFerrin (Wynton Kelly), Al Jarreau (Miles Davis), George Benson (Cannonball Adderley) and Jon Hendricks (John Coltrane).

External links

• "[ Freddie Freeloader]" at Allmusic