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EvelyEvelyn Freeman Roberts, long active in musical circles, paid a visit to her hometown recently, returning here from Los Angeles to attend the reunion of her Central High School class.Mrs. Roberts, one of Cleveland's foremost contributions to the music world, has made her mark among musicians ever since her high school days when she was a part of the Freeman Ensemble, a trioconsisting of her; her father, Ernest and her brother, Ernest Jr.The Freemans' love of music didn’t allow the group to remain a trio for long, however, and instead turned the ensemble into a unique musical group that turned down no one who wanted to play an instrument and was willingto come to rehearsals.At one time the ensemble, popularthroughout the city in the late 30's and early 40’s, had 20 members, all Cleveland musicians who wanted a chance to play with the group.Not much money came out of the venture for the Freemans, since most of the money the group took in went for instruments, music and instruments for some of the amaterus, but Evelyn Freeman kept it up because “it was a lot offunFreeman Roberts PaysVisitToClevelandEVELYN FREEMAN ROBERTSI •From the jam* sessions following the ensemble's practices, came the nucleus for the Evelyn Freeman Swing Band, a group that produced musicians that went on to star with such notables as Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie.During that time, Ms. Freeman had received her bachelor of music from theCleveland Institute of, Music and was ready to set the world on fire.When World War II broke up the Swing Band, Evelyn Freeman and her husband, Cleveland singer Tommy Roberts, left for New York City to join the famous “Wings Over Jordan” group, she as an arranger and he as a featured soloist.They subsequently settled in New York City and formed a night club act that played in many of that city's most famous night clubs. While there, the Roberts' career brought them into contact with such famous musicians as Cab Calloway, Lionel Hampton and Ethel Waters.In 1956, at the insistence of Evelyn's brother, two time Grammy winner Ernie Freeman, the couple moved to Los Angeles to become involved in the recording and television industry.Their album, “Didn’t It Rain, achievedinternational fame, leading to performances with such stars as Frank Sinatra,LanguageWorkshopFor the third consecutive year, the Foreign Language Department of Lorain County Community College is hosting a seminar for high school foreign language teachers in northern Ohio,The “Let’s Exchange Ideas Workshop, which is being coordinated by Dr Carol B Severs, associateprofessor of French at the Coljege, will be held on Saturday, November 13 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.Della Reese, Dean Marlin and Bing Crosby.As composer-arranger,Ms Freeman Roberts wrote for a number of television shows includingthe Ben Casey and Leslie Uggams shows.She and her husband are currently involved on the West Coast with the Young Saints, a performing group designed to help problemchildren by providing analternative to traditional education in the fields of entertainment andtelecommunicationsThe Roberts have been working actively with the Young Saints for the past 20 years, ever since they formed the group by converting their garage into a place where youths would feel free to exerpiment in self-expression and develop to their full potentialSince then, the Young Saints have grown to anorganization of national renown Many YoungSaints' trainees and graduates are makingWANTED Eagle Stamp Books$2.00 CASH 7828 St. Clair AveGordon Park Pharmacynames for themselves in the entertainment andelectronics mediaindustries, and the professionalism of the young group has earned them the opportunity to appear on many of the nation’s top television shows, including the Ed Sullivan Show , the Jonathon Winters Show. and their own NBC-TVspecial showIhe group has nowgrown to an academy of performing arts and skills that sponsor free commercial training in performing and technical skills for disadvantaged youths in four age groups -from five to 25Their program has been recognized and cited on various occasions by civic and social organizationsaround Los Angeles andthe countryFor Evelyn Freeman Roberts it allows her the chance to do two of the things she loves most in the world, help children to grow and mature and involve herself in the exciting world of entertainment, a world that is all the better for her presenceI I
Newspaper Details
Call and Post
Cleveland, Ohio, US
Sat, Nov 13, 1976
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Nathan O.
OH, USA 12 Jan 2022
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