Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard celebrates 70th B-day

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

you got other people (not you, MG) who get overwhelmed by what gets played on them, like it's "too much" or something.

It is me, Jim. That's why I have to feel precisely right to listen to those sides. But there are times when I do.

MG

[Mark Stryker]

For the record, Miles once said, "I'd rather hear Thad Jones miss a note than Freddie Hubbard make 12" -- one of the great put downs in jazz. Not fair at all to Freddie's best playing but an apt description of Freddie at his worst. It's worth noting that in Miles' 1962 Playboy interview with Alex Haley he named Freddie in a much more positive context.

PLAYBOY: You've won all the trumpet polls. After yourself, how would you rank others?

DAVIS: After me! Hell, it's plenty great trumpet players don't come after me, or after nobody else! That's what I hate so about critics -- how they are always comparing artists...always writing that one's better than another one. Ten men can have spent all their lives learning technical expertness on their instruments, but just like in any art, one will play one style and the rest nine other ways. And if some critics just don't happen to like a man's style, they will knock the artist. That bugs the hell out of musicians. It's made some damn near mad enough to want to hang up their horns.

Trumpet players, like anybody else, are individualized by their different ideas and styles. The thing to judge in any jazz artist is does the man project, and does he have ideas. You take Dizzy -- he does, all the time, every time he picks up his horn. Some more cats -- Clark Terry, Ray Nance, Kenny Dorham, Roy Eldridge, Harold Baker, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Bobby Hackett -- a lot of them. Hell, that cat down in New Orleans, Al Hirt, he blows his ass off, too!

Back to my view: I'm a fan, though certainly not an uncritical one and fully aware of the issues of taste and style-over-substance that can mar his later work. Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion, but, good God, I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't hear the brilliance of, say, "Birdlike," "D Minor Mint"(!!), "You're My Everything," "Lament for Booker," ""Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum," "Pensativa," "Blue Moon" (!) "Skylark," "Maiden Voyage," well, you could on for a very long time. For me, Freddie Hubbard in full flight, with his ego in check and his musicianship on high alert, is one of the great sounds in modern jazz. Not to mention his influence -- creating a new template on his instrument by marrying his astounding level of technique with personal articulation and phrasing, a uniquely fresh melodic conception and command of modern harmony, all of which defined the post-bop trumpet.

Perfect? Not by a long shot. One of the greats? No question in my book.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=lglmw1izZ9k&feature=related

Edited April 5, 2008 by Mark Stryker

[AllenLowe]

1) there's definitely a Miles quote saying Hubbard just plays scales - and

2) sounds like a south-of-the-border bugle guy to me, honestly - not deaf, just hearing the note below the note below the note next to the note - it's a talent that I have -

besides, haven't you ever heard of the Baja Marimba band? (full of Jews named Wechsler and Goldberg; now THAT's Latin music) -

[marcello]

Nice post, Matk Stryker.

Don't forget that Freddie could play the shit out of the flugelhorn too.

One of the better practitioners, in my estimation.

[Free For All]

Don't forget that Freddie could play the shit out of the flugelhorn too.

One of the better practitioners, in my estimation.

One my favorite examples of Freddie on flugel is his performance of "A Child is Born" on the recording Mel Lewis and Friends.

[CJ Shearn]

the Keystone Bop albums are some of my favorite 80's Hubbard. Great playing by Booby and JoHen on that, tho I think at that point at times Freddie would sort of resort to licks a lot when he'd stretch out on those tunes. I do get a kick out of tho, that that lip trill/shake lick shows up on "Ascension" that must be where it was first used.

[Quasimado]

Lennie Tristano was pretty effusive about Freddie's playing through to the mid 60s. A quote from Shim's Tristano book, " ...It's about in '59 when Freddie started to record. Oh, I would say for six or seven years he played a lot of great music ... I like to say that Freddie Hubbard, in my opinion, is one of the great musicians to come out of the 60s. Absolutely. And of all the people who've been out there making it, in my opinion, he is the greatest. And I'm not speaking about Freddie in the last seven or eight years..."

The only thing I have him of him is on Kenny Drew's "Undercurrent" with Mobley, and he plays fluent, swinging jazz trumpet, although I would have liked to hear him on harmonically richer, more varied material.

I heard him live in Honolulu in the mid 80s with a band led by altoist Gabe Baltazar, and he played great ... although towards the end of the night he began to obviously ride Gabe, a local favorite, who was playing pretty well. That kind of put a chill on proceedings ... but he could play, no mistake.

Q

[david weiss]

1) there's definitely a Miles quote saying Hubbard just plays scales - and

2) sounds like a south-of-the-border bugle guy to me, honestly - not deaf, just hearing the note below the note below the note next to the note - it's a talent that I have -

besides, haven't you ever heard of the Baja Marimba band? (full of Jews named Wechsler and Goldberg; now THAT's Latin music) -

1) Yes, I've read that quote as well but Miles also got him on Blue Note and was very supportive of him through the years (Freddie has told me many stories). Also, Miles was pretty rough on just about everyone...

2) Hopefully this is mostly tongue and cheek as Freddie certainly has one of the best sounds ever on the instrument but who the fuck am I so how about this story which I was present to witness and can almost relay verbatim. Last year the Kennedy Center had a Jazz Legends award show with 30 of the greatest jazz guys left in attendance getting a metal etc. At the reception, there was lots of reminiscing as guys hadn't seen each other in ages. Ornette Coleman was there and for the most part sat alone (with a female companion) as the rest of the guys carried on. I guess he was the only avant-garde guy there, didn't really know everyone per se etc. I recall him talking to Barry Harris for a minute as me and a friend kind of kept an eye on him to see if there would be any interaction between Ornette and the rest of the guys. As it was winding down and we were all getting ready to go to the ceremony/concert, Freddie saw Ornette and went over to him (with me in tow). After some discussion about Ornette's wardrobe at the Grammy's and why he wasn't wearing a similar get-up that night, Freddie said, you put me on that record (Free Jazz) because I could play some high notes (or something to that effect) and Ornette said no, I got you for that record because you had such a beautiful tone.

Edited April 24, 2008 by david weiss

[david weiss]

After reading through this thread, I stick by everything I said in the initial article posted and feel it's more correct than I suspected when I said it.

For the record, Freddie made every gig on the tour (San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles), had some very good nights and some very special moments (he does tire easier these days so second sets can be a bit much for him at times). Also for the record, outside of these 70th Birthday shows, he has been playing with my group, The New Jazz Composers Octet for the past 8 years (we have a new CD coming out with him in June) and over the years has made over 90% of the gigs (he has missed a couple here and there because of recent health problems). His playing fluctuates over these gigs, he's had some really great nights where the band looks at each in disbelief at all the incredible stuff coming out of his horn and then there are of course rougher nights where things don't seem to work well for him at all.

I do think he is one of the 5 most important trumpet players ever and his effect on a certain era, the Blue Note era, hard bop or whatever you want to call it was immense. If you don't like this era or style of music than I guess you don't have to have an appreciation of Freddie but if you do, he was one of the most valuable guys there was.

Here's a review of the recent Catalina's, it's pretty accurate

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/...1,4027933.story

while these were great shows, the shows in San Francisco with Bobby Hutcherson and Lenny White were really special.

[Mark Stryker]

David: Thanks for relaying that Ornette story, as well as your role in viz. Freddie's most recent activities.

Jazz.com has a nice "dozens" feature with Randy Brecker picking 12 essential Freddie Hubbard moments on record. It's here: http://jazz.com/dozens/brecker-picks-hubbard. Also, in my previous post, one record I should have also mentioned was "Empyrean Isles." Freddie's solos on "One Finger Snap" and "Oliloqui Valley" are peerless. Actually, the whole band is extraordinary on this record; "Maiden Voyage" gets more ink, and deserves it compositionally, but "Empyrean Isles" is the record I put on when I want to hear Herbie, Freddie, Ron and Tony really play.

Edited April 24, 2008 by Mark Stryker

[sidewinder]

Nice interview with Freddie in today's UK press:

Hubbard Article

[BillF]

Nice interview with Freddie in today's UK press:

Hubbard Article

Thanks for posting that, Sidewinder. Perhaps I should look at the Telegraph more often!

Edited August 24, 2008 by BillF

[sidewinder]

Nice interview with Freddie in today's UK press:

Hubbard Article

Thanks for posting that, Sidewinder. Perhaps I should look at the Telegraph more often!

No problem. As it was, I found it just by chance !

[BillF]

Nice interview with Freddie in today's UK press:

Hubbard Article

Thanks for posting that, Sidewinder. Perhaps I should look at the Telegraph more often!

No problem. As it was, I found it just by chance !

I'm a Guardian reader and they certainly do their bit for jazz; e.g. a lengthy obituary of Lee Young yesterday.

Edited August 24, 2008 by BillF

[Alexander Hawkins]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU2D053yUK8.

[Alex.Z]

I'm a new member here and I'm a big time

[Daniel A]

...fan of Freddie Hubbard?

[Alex.Z]

I'm a new member here and I'm a big time Freddie Hubbard fan.I love his Blue Note stuff to bits including his side-man appearances(he was particularly great with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock).I won't hear a word against him!.

Edited August 25, 2008 by Blue Note Boy

[keith3355]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...0/PK8BVNEEN.DTL

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard celebrates 70th

DAVID RUBIEN

Sunday, March 30, 2008

For a guy who's considered to be one of the four or five greatest trumpet players in jazz history, Freddie Hubbard sure has taken some lumps.

Back in the '70s, when adopting electric instruments and rock stylings earned jazz artists the scarlet "sellout" S - unlike today, when it's a badge of innovation - it seemed Hubbard took the most flak, even though many of his peers were doing it. It was as if a collective "Freddie, say it ain't so!" went up. It's why Hubbard's producer and arranger, trumpeter David Weiss, calls Hubbard the Barry Bonds of jazz.

"He's the one guy who seems to be taking the brunt of the s- for everybody's whatever," Weiss says, "whether it's fusion, irresponsibility, drug use."

Hubbard doesn't get too exercised over it, though.

"They've got to jump on somebody," he says.

Fact is, he's got bigger things to worry about. For example, his own trumpet turned on him. This occurred in 1992, when Hubbard was on a pressure-cooker tour that brought him to New York, Finland and Japan in a single week. At the Blue Note in New York, "I was playing so hard, my lip popped," he says. A blister formed, but instead of taking some time off, Hubbard flew straight to Finland for another gig, and the blister popped onstage.

"Blood was everywhere, man," Hubbard says.

Then the lip became infected. When it failed to heal, a doctor ordered a biopsy. It came back negative, but Hubbard kept trying to play, which wasn't good for his lip or his reputation. Eventually, he slowed down so much it looked as if he was going to cash in his career, at which point, in the late '90s, Weiss rode to the rescue.

"I call him my baby," Hubbard says, chortling heartily. "He brought me back to work. He called me out of the blue and said, 'C'mon, Freddie, you've got to play some more.' "

On April 7, Hubbard turns 70, and he's celebrating with a series of shows Thursday through Saturday at the San Francisco Yoshi's. Four of his band members - vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, alto saxophonist James Spaulding, drummer Lenny White and pianist George Cables - have been playing with Hubbard since the '60s, and Spaulding grew up with him in Indianapolis. The other players for the birthday shows are tenor saxophonist Craig Handy, bassist Dwayne Burno and Weiss.

"It'll be good to be back at Yoshi's. I used to play there all the time, But what with my lip, they've been scared to book me," he says, laughing.

Hubbard is speaking by phone from his Sherman Oaks home in Southern California's San Fernando Valley. He's lived in the area since the early '70s, the period of his brightest stardom, when he was putting out big-selling records such as "Sky Dive," "Red Clay" and "First Light," which won a Grammy for the title song.

By then he had already made dozens of records as a leader and played on hundreds of others. He wasn't only the hardest-working trumpeter in show business, he was also the best, with a gleaming, quicksilver sound that combined the brass of Louis Armstrong with the bebop power of Clifford Brown and the melodic grace of Miles Davis.

"Nobody's played longer, higher, harder or faster than Freddie Hubbard, for more years," Weiss says by phone from New York. "Nobody. Not even close. There's nobody you can compare him to."

Hubbard was lucky, of course, to come up in an era where jazz giants not only roamed the Earth, but a lot of them also lived around the corner. That was the '60s, when the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn was something of a mecca for jazz artists.

"I lived with (saxophonist) Eric Dolphy for a year and a half," Hubbard says. "(Pianist) McCoy Tyner lived down the block." He ticks off the name of his neighbors: "(Bassist) Paul Chambers, (pianists) Cedar Walton, Bobby Timmons, Kenny Barron, Wynton Kelly."

The critical mass of these artists and the camaraderie among them are what distinguishes that era from today's, according to Hubbard.

"We would play with each other and study," he says. "I used to go over to somebody's house every day. Sonny Rollins. I would go over to his house and ask him questions, practice with him. Coltrane, too."

Not that it was easy for Hubbard to get accepted by this crowd when he first arrived in New York from Indianapolis in 1958.

"It took about a month before I had a chance to sit in" at the jam sessions, he says "They wouldn't let me. Finally, I just took my horn and walked up on the bandstand."

He made his mark, but paid gigs came slowly at first because, he says, everyone wanted trumpet players to sound like Dizzy Gillespie or Davis.

"I was playing like Clifford, and I met Miles, and he said (Hubbard imitates Davis' raspy growl), 'You like Clifford?' And I said, 'Yeah, I think he's the baddest around.' And Miles said, 'Nah, he plays too much. He's too staccato. He plays too many notes.'

"Then he said to me, 'Freddie, you play too many notes. Ain't nobody can hear all that s-.' But he got me my first gig with Blue Note records."

Hubbard cut about a dozen records for Blue Note, including "Hub Cap" and "Ready for Freddie," and he played on countless classics for the label: Wayne Shorter's "Speak No Evil," Dolphy's "Out to Lunch," Herbie Hancock's "Takin' Off." It wasn't just Blue Note, of course. Hubbard played on John Coltrane's "Ascension," Ornette Coleman's "Free Jazz," Oliver Nelson's "The Blues and the Abstract Truth" and far too many more albums to name.

"As a trumpet player, nobody's been able to do what he can do on the instrument," Weiss says. "It's just ridiculous."

Musicians who hired Hubbard "could expand how they wrote things because they knew Freddie would be able to play them," Weiss adds. "And that makes great records possible."

Now, of course, the spiel on Hubbard is that he's lost his chops. But, Weiss says, "he's still capable of doing things weakened that nobody else can do." For proof, listen to Hubbard's comeback album, "New Colors," released in 2001 on Hip Bop. Backed by Weiss' New Jazz Composers Octet, Hubbard's genius comes through on flugelhorn played on several of his classic tunes. Some of the pyrotechnics are missing from his arsenal, but his sense of melody and rhythm are 100 percent.

Hubbard has another CD with the octet in the can and an all-star date with drummer Louis Hayes, pianist Roland Hanna and bassist Ron Carter due for Blue Note.

"The trumpet is rough, man, especially the way I play," Hubbard says. "I used to play all over the horn, like a saxophone. It takes a little more stamina. I used to play so long ... 30 choruses. People don't do that s- no more."

So, yes, his trumpet struck back at him. Not that he holds it against the instrument.

"I was lucky. I got to play with everybody I wanted to play with. And that trumpet took me all over the world, man. I really appreciate it."

When i first got introduced to jazz, Freddie Hubbard was the first musican I was drawn too. I was a nineteen year old kid who just fell in love with what Freddie was capable of doing on the trumpet. Backed in high school I played the french horn but soon after graduating from high school I stopped playing. I met FReddie at this club in chicago called the Quiet Night in 1975. After the first set was over I noticed Freddie at an enclosed portion of the bar eating a sandwhich and enjoying a drink. Freddie must have noticed me staring and introduced himself and asked me what a young kid knew about him and his music. I was awe struck and since then have been hooked on jazz and in particular Freddie Hubbard. I have always considered him the most powerful trumpet player since Diz. He has always had that big fat sound and unbelieveable faclity and range on the trumpet and fulgehorn. Finally, when freddie plays all other trumpet players take notes, that's how bad my favorite trumpet is, thats right take notes from the master. Happiness!!!

[sidewinder]

Just seen Freddie the once from very long range at the Royal Festival Hall and it was part of an all-star Charlie Parker tribute organised by George Wein. In the lineup with Freddie were Curtis Fuller, Michael Brecker (not fully sure but I think it was Michael in that particular lineup - anyway he was on great form that night), Roy Haynes and Slam Stewart. Slam even did one of his trademark 'arco-bass plus vocal' solos !

Edited August 26, 2008 by sidewinder