Freddie Hubbard
One of the great jazz trumpeters of all time, Freddie Hubbard formed his sound out of the Clifford Brown/Lee Morgan tradition, and by the early '70s was immediately distinctive and the pacesetter in jazz. However, a string of blatantly commercial albums later in the decade damaged his reputation and, just when Hubbard, in the early '90s (with the deaths of Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis), seemed perfectly suited for the role of veteran master, his chops started causing him serious troubles.
Born and raised in Indianapolis, Hubbard played early on with Wes and Monk Montgomery. He moved to New York in 1958, roomed with Eric Dolphy (with whom he recorded in 1960), and was in the groups of Philly Joe Jones (1958-1959), Sonny Rollins, Slide Hampton, and J.J. Johnson, before touring Europe with Quincy Jones (1960-1961). He recorded with John Coltrane, participated in Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz (1960), was on Oliver Nelson's classic Blues and the Abstract Truth album (highlighted by "Stolen Moments"), and started recording as a leader for Blue Note that same year. Hubbard gained fame playing with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (1961-1964) next to Wayne Shorter and Curtis Fuller. He recorded Ascension with Coltrane (1965), Out to Lunch (1964) with Eric Dolphy, and Maiden Voyage with Herbie Hancock, and, after a period with Max Roach (1965-1966), he led his own quintet, which at the time usually featured altoist James Spaulding. A blazing trumpeter with a beautiful tone on flügelhorn, Hubbard fared well in freer settings but was always essentially a hard bop stylist.
In 1970, Freddie Hubbard recorded two of his finest albums (Red Clay and Straight Life) for CTI. The follow-up, First Light (1971), was actually his most popular date, featuring Don Sebesky arrangements. But after the glory of the CTI years (during which producer Creed Taylor did an expert job of balancing the artistic with the accessible), Hubbard made the mistake of signing with Columbia and recording one dud after another; Windjammer (1976) and Splash (a slightly later effort for Fantasy) are low points. However, in 1977, he toured with Herbie Hancock's acoustic V.S.O.P. Quintet and, in the 1980s, on recordings for Pablo, Blue Note, and Atlantic, he showed that he could reach his former heights (even if much of the jazz world had given up on him). But by the late '80s, Hubbard's "personal problems" and increasing unreliability (not showing up for gigs) started to really hurt him, and a few years later his once mighty technique started to seriously falter. In late 2008, Hubbard suffered a heart attack that left him hospitalized until his death at age 70 on December 29 of that year.Freddie Hubbard's fans can still certainly enjoy his many recordings for Blue Note, Impulse, Atlantic, CTI, Pablo, and his first Music Masters sets.
© Scott Yanow /TiVo
Similar artists
-
Red Clay (CTI Records 40th Anniversary Edition - Original Recording Remastered)
Jazz fusion en jazz rock - Released by Epic - Legacy on 1 jan. 1970
The Qobuz Essential Discography24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Breaking Point (Remastered 2004)
Jazz - Released by Blue Note Records on 1 sep. 1964
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ready For Freddie
Jazz - Released by Blue Note Records on 1 jan. 2000
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Alternate Blues
Clark Terry, Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson
Jazz - Released by Original Jazz Classics on 1 jan. 1980
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blue Spirits (Remastered 2004/Rudy Van Gelder Edition)
Jazz - Released by Blue Note Records on 1 jan. 1965
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Keep Your Soul Together (2023 Remaster)
Jazz - Released by Legacy Recordings on 1 okt. 1973
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
First Light
Jazz fusion en jazz rock - Released by Epic on 1 jan. 1971
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
-
-
-
Ready For Freddie
Jazz - Released by Blue Note Records on 1 jan. 2000
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
It's About Time: The Acoustic Project
Jazz - Released by Artistry Music on 1 jan. 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Trumpet Summit Meets The Oscar Peterson Big Four
Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, Clark Terry, Oscar Peterson, Joe Pass
Jazz - Released by Pablo on 1 jan. 1980
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
-
The Night Of The Cookers - Live At Club La Marchal Vol.1 (Volume One/Live)
Jazz - Released by Blue Note Records on 1 jan. 1965
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
-
-
Super Blue (With Bonus Tracks)
Jazz - Released by Columbia - Legacy on 1 jan. 1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Freddie Hubbard: The Complete Jazz Heritage Society Recordings
Jazz - Released by Jazz Heritage Society on 23 sep. 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo