Jason Freese | |
|---|---|
 Freese performing with Green Day in 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Jason Jeremy Freese (1975-01-12) January 12, 1975 |
| Origin | Orange County, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Father | Stan Freese |
| Relatives | Josh Freese (brother) |
| Member of | |
| Website | jasonfreese |
Jason Jeremy Freese (born January 12, 1975) is an American musician and multi-instrumentalist.12 Since 2004, he has been the touring keyboard and saxophone player for the punk rock band Green Day.2 Freese has performed on over 50 albums, mainly on saxophones and keyboards, including for artists Green Day, Dr. Dre, Pitbull, Weezer, Avenged Sevenfold, Goo Goo Dolls, and Jewel.3
Early life
Freese was born on January 12, 1975, in Orange County, California. His father, Stan Freese, was leader of the Disneyland Band in Disneyland Park at the time of his birth, and went on to become a talent booker for the park.1 His mother, Trisha Freese (later Bridenstine), is a concert pianist and writer.1 Freese's older brother is drummer Josh Freese.432
Beginning at the age of five and seven, Freese and his brother spent their summers at Disneyland while their father worked.1 They both watched him perform concerts with the Disneyland Band and sometimes participated with plastic instruments.1 Both boys eventually got jobs shining shoes for the park employees.1
Career
Freese attended Brookhaven Elementary School, Tuffree Middle School and El Dorado High School. Then enrolled at California State University, Fullerton. At age 23, he was a year and a half away from graduation when an opportunity came up to go on tour with Joe Walsh of the Eagles.
After the Joe Walsh tour, Freese joined the Goo Goo Dolls. At the time, the Goo Goo Dolls had the same manager as Green Day.1 Freese has performed as a studio musician and touring member in Green Day since 2004. He has performed on their American Idiot World Tour, 21st Century Breakdown World Tour, 99 Revolutions Tour, Revolution Radio Tour, Hella Mega Tour, and Saviors World Tour, and appeared on their live albums Bullet in a Bible and Awesome as Fuck. His performing credits most often consist of saxophone, piano, and keyboards.3 His credits as a producer include Jewel's 2009 album Lullaby and Death by Stereo's 2009 album Death Is My Only Friend.3
Discography
| Release date | Artist | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-10-08 | The Vandals | Oi to the World! | saxophone3 |
| 1997 | Ex-Idols | Who We Are | saxophone3 |
| 1998-06-23 | The Vandals | Hitler Bad, Vandals Good | saxophone3 |
| 1999-03-09 | Joe Sherbanee | The Road Ahead | tenor saxophone3 |
| 2000-07-11 | Josh Freese | The Notorious One Man Orgy | piano, saxophone3 |
| 2000-11-21 | Dweezil Zappa | Automatic | performer3 |
| 2001-09-18 | Los Calzones | Plastico | keyboards3 |
| 2001-11-27 | Various artists | The Concert for New York City | keyboards3 |
| 2002-09-27 | Lazlo Bane | All the Time in the World | saxophone |
| 2003-01-28 | Engelbert Humperdinck | Definition of Love | backing vocals, saxophone, keyboards3 |
| 2003-05-06 | NOFX | The War on Errorism | saxophone3 |
| 2003-06-27 | Jeff Scott Soto | Prism | saxophone3 |
| 2003-08-05 | Stripsearch | Stripsearch | saxophone3 |
| 2004-03-30 | Rennie Pilgrem | Y4K | saxophone3 |
| 2004-05-04 | Kimberley Locke | One Love | horn3 |
| 2004-05-11 | Ellis Hall | Straight Ahead | tenor saxophone3 |
| 2004-07-27 | Tommy Stinson | Village Gorilla Head | saxophone3 |
| 2004-09-21 | Green Day | American Idiot | saxophone3 |
| 2004-09-28 | Afrika Bambaataa | Dark Matter Moving at the Speed of Light | saxophone3 |
| 2004-09-28 | Klear | Makin' Noise | keyboards, bells, Hammond organ, whistling3 |
| 2004-09-28 | The Juliet Dagger | Turn Up the Death | keyboards3 |
| 2004-09-28 | Last Conservative | On to the Next One | keyboards3 |
| 2004-10-26 | Fredalba | Uptown Music for Downtown Kids | keyboards3 |
| 2004-11-02 | A Perfect Circle | Emotive | baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone3 |
| 2004-11-23 | Goo Goo Dolls | Live in Buffalo: July 4, 2004 | keyboards, percussion, saxophone3 |
| 2005-03-15 | Various artists | Drum Nation, Volume Two | saxophone3 |
| 2005-05-10 | Weezer | Make Believe | saxophone3 |
| 2005-08-23 | Aphrodite | Overdrive | saxophone3 |
| 2005-11-15 | Green Day | Bullet in a Bible | backing vocals, saxophone, trombone, keyboards, acoustic guitar, accordion3 |
| 2006-02-25 | Goo Goo Dolls | Let Love In | keyboards3 |
| 2006-06-13 | Busta Rhymes | The Big Bang | saxophone3 |
| 2006-07-11 | Zebrahead | Broadcast to the World | musician, composer, instrumentation3 |
| 2006-09-19 | Faulter | Darling Buds of May | organ3 |
| 2006-10-31 | Viva Death | One Percent Panic | baritone saxophone3 |
| 2006-11-21 | Rock Star Supernova | Rock Star Supernova | musician3 |
| 2007-06-26 | Forty Marshas | Forty Marshas | saxophone, piano, keyboards3 |
| 2007-07-10 | Spoon | Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga | saxophone3 |
| 2007-09-10 | One Small Step for Landmines | One Small Step for Landmines | Hammond organ3 |
| 2008-01-22 | The Whigs | Mission Control | baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone3 |
| 2008-04-08 | P.O.D. | When Angels & Serpents Dance | keyboards3 |
| 2008-04-22 | Foxboro Hot Tubs | Stop Drop and Roll!!! | keyboard, saxophone, flute, backing vocals |
| 2008-06-03 | Jewel | Perfectly Clear | mellotron, Hammond organ, Wurlitzer organ, strings3 |
| 2008-06-23 | Fandangle | Fly Away | keyboards3 |
| 2008-08-05 | Zebrahead | Phoenix | backing vocals, musician, demo coordinator3 |
| 2008-08-05 | Jimmy Kane | A Constant State of Motion | piano3 |
| 2009-04-14 | Josh Freese | Since 1972 | saxophone5 |
| 2009-04-28 | NOFX | Coaster | keyboards3 |
| 2009-05-05 | Jewel | Lullaby | producer, mellotron, triangle, accordion, piano3 |
| 2009-05-15 | Green Day | 21st Century Breakdown | piano3 |
| 2009-06-02 | Candy Now! | Candy Now! | clarinet3 |
| 2009-07-07 | Death by Stereo | Death Is My Only Friend | producer, backing vocals, instrumentation, recording engineer, composer3 |
| 2009-07-07 | Yves Klein Blue | Ragged & Ecstatic | tenor saxophone3 |
| 2010-06-08 | Jewel | Sweet and Wild | mellotron, glockenspiel3 |
| 2011-03-22 | Green Day | Awesome as Fuck | keyboards, horns, backing vocals36 |
| 2011-07-27 | Zebrahead | Get Nice! | producer, instrumentation, pre-production, backing vocals, recording engineer |
| 2012-06-01 | Vicci Martinez | Vicci | keyboards |
| 2012-06-19 | LIT | The View from the Bottom | Hammond B3, piano, strings |
| 2013-04-09 | Face To Face | Three Chords and a Half Truth | Hammond B3, tenor sax |
| 2014-09-29 | Gerard Way | Hesitant Alien | baritone saxophone |
| 2014-11-21 | Pitbull | Globalization | saxophone |
| 2015-07-17 | Sublime With Rome | Sirens | drums, percussion |
| 2015-08-07 | Dr. Dre | Compton | saxophone |
| 2016-10-28 | Avenged Sevenfold | The Stage | keyboards |
| 2017-11-17 | Green Day | God's Favorite Band | piano |
| 2018-06-29 | The Interrupters | Fight the Good Fight | saxophone |
| 2022-08-05 | The Interrupters | In the Wild | saxophone |
| 2023-06-02 | Avenged Sevenfold | Life Is But a Dream... | synthesizer |
References
References
- Freese, Stanford (2023). Music, Mayhem and the Mouse: My 'Tubazar' Life. Skyway Press. ISBN 978-1-73604-465-0.
- Mehr, Bob (August 27, 2025). "What Nine Inch Nails and Michael Bublé Share: Josh Freese's Drumming". The New York Times. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
- "Jason Freese: Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
- "The Family Business: Stan Freese and Sons Josh and Jason". OC Weekly. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- Since 1972 (CD liner notes). Josh Freese. Outerscope Records. 2009.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - Awesome as Fuck (CD/DVD booklet). Green Day. Burbank, California: Reprise Records. 2011. 526235-2.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)