Jump to content

Freddie Hubbard -- where to go from here?


Norm

Recommended Posts

Though I picked up Ready for Freddie and Open Sesame over a year ago, they are just now really grooving with me. These weren't the sort of love-at-first-listen albums the way that some of Lee Morgan's can be, but each of these two albums I find to be so solid and strong.

If there are any Freddie fans out there (who like either or both of those mentioned above), I'm wondering what might be a good place to go from here. The only other Freddie album I've heard is Hubtones. I checked it out from the library for a month a while back and while it seemed pretty good, it didn't seem quite up there with these two. Or maybe I didn't give it enough time. Freddie seems to have a fairly big discography but if there are any others with him as leader that you particularly enjoy let me know.

Thanks,

Norm

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really like Hub Cap, but I might be biased. I'm a fan of Julian Priester and particularly of Jimmy Heath, so their presence on the album might be affecting my judgment.

The featured review on AllMusic calls Hub Cap a "lesser effort" when compared to some of his other albums, so take my opinion for what you will.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another vote for 'Hub Cap' - that is a really nice session and the AMG review is BS IMO.

My recommendation would be to check out 'Blue Spirits' for the more 'arranged' side of Freddie Hubbard. And how about Tina Brook's 'True Blue', the sister session to 'Open Sesame'. That one is a monster !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Going Up" is an early date you should definitely check out. I would also recommend "Breaking Point" although it's abit more adventurous than the two earlier dates you mentioned enjoying. As a sideman, look up Hank Mobley's "Roll Call' recorded in 1960. It features some real nice Freddie Hubbard solos.

Edited by Tom 1960
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2nd the recommendations for the new live record from 69 Without A Song and Blue Spirits.

As a sideman there are so many great ones like on Speak No Evil by Wayne Shorter and Caravan with the Jazz Messengers. My absolute favorite though is his playing on Herbie Hancock-Empyrean Isles.

Edited by WorldB3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for all of the suggestions so far. Fortunately, I've already got a few of those mentioned in which he was a sideman -- Speak No Evil, Roll Call and True Blue (When I was deciding between this and Minor Move I picked True Blue precisely for the reason that Sidewinder mentioned above, that it was hailed as the sister session to Open Sesame) -- and I enjoy each of them immensely.

The others mentioned -- Hubcap, Straight Life, and Blue Spirits, I've never heard. I'll have to check them out. One question on the live record from 69 Without a Song. In your opinion, does this record prefigure what was to come (i.e. Red Clay, which I don't have but from what I gather is excellent but has a very different kind of a fusion / funk sound to it), or is it more in line with Hubbard's earlier BN sound, or somewhere in between?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Any opinions on his Impulse and Atlantic dates?

I personally don't care for his Atlantic dates, but do like the two on Impulse.

I would also recommend "The Hub Of Hubbard" on MPS, and "Minor Mishap" on Black Lion.

Don't recall if "Here To Stay" on Blue Note was mentioned, but it's a good one with Philly Joe Jones

on drums.

I very much like Dexter Gordon's "Doin" Alright" on Blue Note with Freddie Hubbard in good form as a sideman.

Edited by Peter Friedman
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was mentioned once earlier, but I can't emphasize enough how unbelievably great Freddie plays on Herbie Hancock's "Empyrean Isles." Maybe the finest trumpet-plus-rhythm quartet album ever, quintessential Herbie, Ron and Tony too and a desert island record for me.

A few other dyamite Freddie appearances not mentioned so far: Hancock's "Maiden Voyage," Blakey's "Free for All," Sam Rivers' "Contours."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was mentioned once earlier, but I can't emphasize enough how unbelievably great Freddie plays on Herbie Hancock's "Empyrean Isles." Maybe the finest trumpet-plus-rhythm quartet album ever, quintessential Herbie, Ron and Tony too and a desert island record for me.

There is something magical about his playing and the sound of that record. That record just has that IT factor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you're looking for straight-ahead blowing, it's hard to go wrong with just about any of Freddie's Blue Note dates. The CTIs can be a mixed bag on that score--he gets a bit fusiony on some of those, and least to these ears. That doesn't mean I don't like them, it just means they're different kinds of dates. I also like the Impulses. The Atlantics, not so much.

greg mo

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Any opinions on his Impulse and Atlantic dates?

The Atlantic's are a mixed bag. "Backlash" and "High Blues Pressure" are very good, the others are forgettable. Although "Backlash" starts off with two funky boogaloos, the band (with James Spaulding) is totally kicking ass, and the third tune is the sublime "Little Sunflower". "High Blues Pressure" features a larger ensemble, and has many fine moments.

He only made two for Impulse, "The Artistry of" and "The Body and the Soul". The former is a pretty good small group date, the latter features Freddie with a big band. I've never been able to warm up to the big band date. The arrangements (I know, they are by Wayne Shorter) have always sounded awkward and cumbersome to me.

I recommend you check out some of his later recordings. The first two on CTI (Red Clay & Straight Life) may be a little too "contemporary" for some, but these records have a lot to offer. The later CTI's were very successful comercially, and Freddie always plays well, but overall they are just too slick and over-arranged for my tastes.

Skip his Columbia period (late 70's-early 80's) - this is a low point in Freddie's discography, although I'm sure he was making money!

After leaving Columbia, he was, imho, playing some of the best trumpet of his career. I highly recommend "Live at the Northsea Jazz Festival" (Pablo), a smoking 2-LP set.

Also must mention the two albums with Woody Shaw from the mid-80's. A must for trumpet fans!

Lastly, I have to mention his stint with Art Blakey in the early 1960's. The string of LP's they made for Riverside and Blue Note in this period are some of the finest in Blakey's large catalog. I especially like "Ugetsu", "Mosaic", and "Buhaina's Delight".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Any opinions on his Impulse and Atlantic dates?

The Atlantic's are a mixed bag. "Backlash" and "High Blues Pressure" are very good, the others are forgettable. Although "Backlash" starts off with two funky boogaloos, the band (with James Spaulding) is totally kicking ass, and the third tune is the sublime "Little Sunflower". "High Blues Pressure" features a larger ensemble, and has many fine moments.

No love for at least Side Two of The Black Angel? I think the version of "Coral Keys" on there is a classic...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Any opinions on his Impulse and Atlantic dates?

The Atlantic's are a mixed bag. "Backlash" and "High Blues Pressure" are very good, the others are forgettable. Although "Backlash" starts off with two funky boogaloos, the band (with James Spaulding) is totally kicking ass, and the third tune is the sublime "Little Sunflower". "High Blues Pressure" features a larger ensemble, and has many fine moments.

No love for at least Side Two of The Black Angel? I think the version of "Coral Keys" on there is a classic...

"Coral Keys" is wonderful. Not a big fan of the electronics that mar some of this LP. <_<

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Live at the Northsea Jazz Festival on Pablo is indeed quite good. There's also a pretty good MPS studio date from the same band, Rollin'.

There is jawdropping live Hubbard on Above and Beyond (Softly as In a Morning Sunrise).

Also worthy live material on the Keystone Bop CDs.

I prefer the studio MPS date (The Hub of Hubbard) over the live date, Without a Song, recently released on Blue Note.

Two more excellent trumpet only dates are Temptation (Timeless) and Outpost (Enja).

A couple of good late sideman dates are Joe Farrell's Sonic Text and there's a Benny Golson-led date on LRC, The Jazz Masters.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So Sing Me A Song Of Songmy doesn't get much airplay in the Stereojack household then, eh? ;)

Bought it when it came out, shitcanned it not long after. :rhappy:

A trumpet playing buddy of mine (and big Freddie fan) keeps touting this one to me, but I think I can live without it.

The best part of this album is excerpted as Threnody for Sharon Tate on The Art of Freddie Hubbard.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe the finest trumpet-plus-rhythm quartet album ever....

Given that Hub's on cornet throughout it , strictly speaking , you're left with this adjectival mouthful : "maybe the finest trumpet-like-horn plus rhythm quartet album ever" :)

Well, ok, but a rose by any other name and all that.

More seriously, I have always wondered about the veracity of the liners listing Freddie as playing cornet. If that's true, then that is the brightest cornet sound in all of cornet-dom. And to my knowledge, there is no other recorded document of Freddie playing cornet. For what it's worth, the brief introduction to the album in the liner notes, before the Nora Kelly short story, states, "This is a quartet record for trumpet and rhythm section." Bob Belden's notes for the Herbie Blue Note box attributes that introduction to Duke Pearson, who would've known the difference. Or maybe he just made a mistake, or didn't know himself or was speaking generically.

Also, for what it's worth, I emailed a good friend and great trumpet player, Jeff Helgesen, in Champaign, Ill., and asked him for some background. Here's what he said. Caution: Lots of trumpet lingo ahead.

Jeff writes: "Short answer is, I don't have any reason to doubt the liner notes. Long answer: A cornet (e.g., a Conn 28A long cornet like Thad played at one point) can sound pretty darn bright under certain conditions. I played lead in a big band on a 28A almost all of last year and was burying the section. So not all cornets are created equal. Apparently Freddie played a similar configuration (big bell, wide wrap) Conn 8B, for which there was a long cornet "sister horn." so maybe he was experimenting. What makes it more tricky is that Freddie had a pretty smoky sound even when he played trumpet (at least during that period). Finally, the difference between a cornet and trumpet is a lot less nowadays than it used to be. Modern trumpets are actually somewhat conical in nature, so trumpets and cornets are largely differentiated by the type of wrap they have and the rate of "conicalness."

Back to me: Maybe if David Weiss is reading, he can illuminate more specifics about what and why Freddie actually played on "Empyrean Isles."

Edited by Mark Stryker
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...