Freddie Hubbard's CTI albums

[Guest akanalog]

well if you like hubbarde and turrentine together you might as well check out the live CTI discs i mentioned before (maybe called CTI allstars in concert). those two with herbie hancock and ron carter and jack dejohnette.....

[montg]

Nice thread. I love 'Red Clay', one of those CDs I find myself coming back to over and over. I don't have any other Hubbard CTIs, thanks for the overview.

Edited May 18, 2006 by montg

[kh1958]

Skipping into the 1980s, there are two quartet albums that I really like--Temptation (Kirk Lightsey-Freddie Hubbard Quartet, on Timeless), and Outpost (on Enja). Freddie sounds great on both of these.

[Big Al]

Since this thread started, I think I've managed to find every CTI album with Freddie on it. FIRST LIGHT and SKY DIVE are unreal; heavy HEAVY on the groove!

KEEP YOUR SOUL TOGETHER does just that, and then some!

Despite the "leftover" feel of POLAR AC, I love it just the same.

Then, of course, there are the two volumes of live albums he did with Stanley Turrentine, Herbie Hancock, and Jack Dejohnette which feature NASTY versions of "Hornets!"

All of it fantastic, and can usually be had fairly cheap at your local used vinyl store!

[JohnS]

I rather like the CTI sides. The last time I saw Freddie was with the basic 'Keep Your Soul Together' quintet. Lovely music, great evening.

[poetrylover3]

Keep Your Soul Together & Red Clay are my favorite CTI albums with Freddie as leader. First Light is also a worthy effort. Mr Hubbard's work on Sunflower is beautiful, IMO.

[Rooster_Ties]

Only have Red Clay and Straight Life and while I like RC, I find SL much more stimulating.

I've never much liked Red Clay. Haven't listened to it more than half a dozen times total, and as best I can recall -- it was the electric bass playing (something which I very often like on many semi-acoustic sessions from the 70's -- and you all know I love a fair bit from that era) -- it was Carter's e-bass playing that really left me cold on RC. (Though maybe it was Herbie some too -- in any case, something about the rhythm-section on RC really leaves me cold.)

Based on the comment that I just quoted above, plus the description of "Straight Life" in the original post that started this thread (essentially that SL is groovier than RC, but also a bit more "out"), I see I need to probably try "Straight Life" sometime. Certainly the bass playing on RC wasn't "inventively" groovy enough, THAT much I do remember.

I'll put SL on my 'things to keep an eye out for' list.

Edited December 30, 2008 by Rooster_Ties

[Daniel A]

-- it was Carter's e-bass playing that really left me cold on RC.

I've always found Carter surprisingly dull on electric bass.

[Big Al]

Let me put it this way: after the first 45 seconds, "Straight Life" grooves like a MF. 17 solid minutes of burning groove like nothing else. Buy it for that track alone!

[Guest youmustbe]

Ron Carter would agree with you about his electric bass playing. He never liked playing it but had to to keep the studio dates and jingle dates. That's where the money was.

[bigtiny]

Another great CTI with Freddie is Milt Jacksons 'Sunflower' which features 'little sunflower' and some other tunes. Freddie plays well as does hancock and everyone else involved.

bigtiny

[Daniel A]

 

[Teasing the Korean]

I have five of Freddie Hubbard's CTI albums.  There was a period when people would pay you to take CTI records, and this is when I amassed my accumulation.  

I like the two with Don Sebesky the best.  I remember initially being put off by the celebrated Red Clay because it didn't sound CTI enough for me.  I should revisit it.  

I even like the one that includes a few arrangements by Bob James, whom I generally avoid.

[HutchFan]

I love all of Freddie's CTI albums.  But I think Red Clay and Straight Life are at the top of the heap.

[JSngry]

Keep Hold Of Yourself is a bit of a sleeper. Junior Cook on CTI!

 

[danasgoodstuff]

This is far and away my fav Freddie on CTI, and i don't go for CTI generally but if you're going to go that way then don't hold back, go for it.  Red Clay, etc.  I find far more stilted than groovey, half-hearted going through the motions music, YMMV and I know many feel differently but there it is.

[JSngry]

Not really feeling the stilts on this one...somebody forgot to tell Jack, maybe.

 

[Peter Friedman]

Freddie Hubbard with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Freddie's Blue Note Albums as leader and sideman.

Those are the ones I like. And there are a few on some other labels I like too.

But Freddie's CTI albums are , to my ears boring.

[jazzbo]

I was not a big Freddie Hubbard fan really until this century, maybe even the 2010s. But I've learned to really dig all his CTI recordings. 

And I agree . . . that Milt CTI just goes for the gold and it's a real experience every time I spin it.

We're all different.

[Teasing the Korean]

17 minutes ago, Peter Friedman said:

Freddie Hubbard with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Freddie's Blue Note Albums as leader and sideman.

Those are the ones I like. And there are a few on some other labels I like too.

But Freddie's CTI albums are , to my ears boring.

That's fair, but keep in mind that CTI was going for something different. 

[JSngry]

So was MPS, LOL!!!

 

[felser]

2 hours ago, JSngry said:

So was MPS, LOL!!!

They were going for a Jones-Lewis thing on that and Muses for Richard Davis.  I remember buying both out of a cutout bin in the mid-70's, and being disappointed.  They sound better to me now with adjusted expectations.  As far as Hubbard's CTI albums, I like them all, especially  First Light (the title cut is beautiful), and even like some of his Columbia work (HIgh Energy and the Japanese-only live 2LP set Gleam work in total for me, and I like some cuts on the other albums).

[JSngry]

They were going for a quick grab of the apparently notorious Jazz Wave Ltd. tour that was passing through. The Hubbard I have always loved for it's sheer gonzoness. The Davis...has its moments.

But the group photo on the inside of Hub looks like the fellas are all pretty lit. And they play like it! 

Love it when the lubrication achieves the desired results. It doesn't always! 

[chris]

I unabashedly love Red Clay ... it is one of those albums that almost never misses when I recommend it to friends who don't listen to jazz but are interested. 

And I have to stand up for the live bonus "Red Clay" track!

[Stompin at the Savoy]

I loved those Hubbard CTI albums back in the early 70s.  I managed to see him play at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach around 71 and he performed lots of tunes from those albums.  I had a copy of Jackson's Sunflower LP too.

Edited September 14, 2023 by Stompin at the Savoy