Ron Free interviewed by Paul Bernays for the Jazz Loft Project. Ron Free (b 1936) was born in Charleston, SC. Free began residency as loft house drummer in 1958, crashing on a recliner in Smith's loft until early 1960. In multiple interviews, Free talks about his upbringing, his first musical gigs in Charleston, S.C., and his life experiences at the Jazz Loft, particularly his time living with W. Eugene Smith Free. He also discusses his drug use, Smith's recording techniques, and his interactions with other musicians and personages at the Jazz Loft and in New York City including Woody Herman, Dave McKenna, Freddie Greenwell, and Pepper Adams.
This material is made available for research, scholarship, and private study. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For reuses of this material beyond those permitted by fair use or otherwise allowed under the Copyright Act, please see our page on copyright and citations https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.
Free-02_JL Interview, R Free.pdf
