R.I.P. Freddie Hubbard

[sidewinder]

Mark, as always, thanks for sharing the great photos.

Yeah - these are excellent. Thanks.

[JohnS]

Such sad news. Thanks for everything Freddie. I'll always remember fondly seeiing you at Ronnie Scott's.

[Peter Friedman]

I remember seeing Freddie Hubbard with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers at THE MINOR KEY in Detroit in 1961. I really liked his playing as leader and sideman on many Blue Note albums from the 1960's. His recordings on Impulse and Riverside from that same period are also things I highly enjoyed.

Most of his later recorded work was not as satisfying (in my view) as his earlier sessions, though there were some exceptions.

Hubbard has been an important part of the jazz scene for about 50 years, and I am saddened to hear of his passing. R.I. P.

[king ubu]

Sad news - I hoped he'd pull through... r.i.p., thanks for all the music!

[ghost of miles]

Michael's reports are usually very reliable, but is there confirmation of this anywhere else yet?

[NSJ]

Very sorry to hear this. He was one of the all time greats.

[Ted O'Reilly]

An overlooked item in Freddie's recorded legacy is his beautifullly clear, beautifully recorded work on a SABA lp (don't know if it ever made it to CD) with Friedrich Gulda. I'll be digging out "Minuet", a duet with Gulda at the piano, from Music for 4 Soloists and Band No. 1 featuring Freddie, JJ Johnson and Sahib Shihab . It's from mid-September 1965, when the 27 year old was at the peak of his abilities. Stunning trumpet playing, showing off his studies with a 'legit' trumpet teacher...

[blajay]

I was hoping for a recovery. RIP.

[Michael Weiss]

Michael's reports are usually very reliable, but is there confirmation of this anywhere else yet?

A legitimate concern, but all I can tell you is Cedar called me early this morning with the news.

Edited December 29, 2008 by Michael Weiss

[J.A.W.]

Michael's reports are usually very reliable, but is there confirmation of this anywhere else yet?

A legitimate concern, but all I can tell you is Cedar called me early this morning with the news.

Freddie Hubbard's passing has now been confirmed by downbeat.

[ghost of miles]

Thanks, J.A.W. Just heard a report on NPR's 2:01 newscast as well.

[BruceH]

Sad news. I too was hoping he would recover. RIP

[skeith]

A marvelous musician with a tremendous legacy. THanks for the music, Freddie.

[Royal Oak]

Signing in

[felser]

Sad news. I too was hoping he would recover. RIP

Really sorry to hear this. At his best, he was my favorite trumpet player of all.

I only ever saw him once, and it was too late in his career to really experience his gifts, but it was quite entertaining all the same. At Penn's Landing in Philly in the early 90's (92?) there was weekend afternoon show which was supposed to be Dizzy Gillespie big band (I guess the United Nations Orchestra), but Dizzy took ill (he would die later that year), and the show instead was a big band tribute to Dizzy. The trumpet section was pretty awesome - Hubbard, Jon Faddis. and Wynton Marsalis. Hubbard and Faddis started messing around just doing high note pyrotechnics on every solo, having fun, and Marsalis looked like he wanted to throw up and purposely did all of his soloing in middle register in protest. The best moment of the show was when David Sanchez, then the supposed young hotshot on tenor (I was never very impressed), played a solo that you could tell he thought was hot stuff. Mario Rivera was next up at the mike, and Rivera first played Sanchez's solo note perfect, then played a comic, burlesque, version of the same solo, then played his own solo which blew away Sanchez's. Beautiful stuff.

My favorite Hubbard solos are "Aries" on the Impulse album 'The Body & the Soul', and "Ugetsu" on the Blakey Riverside album 'Ugetsu'. I consider his Blue Note/Impulse/Atlantic/CTI run from '60 to '73 to be an amazing accomplishment, covering a stunning range of styles incredibly well, and he had moments of brilliance even after that. I liked the first Columbia, 'High Energy', and liked his 80's work except for the blatant sell-out moments. He had a wonderful career and gifted us with some beautiful music.

Edited December 29, 2008 by felser

[Guest Bill Barton]

Shit! Sad, sad news indeed. R.I.P. Mr. Hubbard and thanks for all of the great music over the years.

I was thinking about him yesterday as I was listening to the Sam Rivers Mosaic. So many Bright Moments as both leader and sideman spanning a bunch of years.

[Daniel A]

John, thanks for your reminiscences.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Someone notes on the favourite Hubbard sides thread that he was always there when history was being made. "Takin' off"; "Out to lunch"; "Free jazz"; "Ascension". Probably not a coincidence.

Although his "blatant sell out moments" are generally the ones I like best, I think I value the stuff I like less, just as much, though a lot of it isn't usually my cup of tea. When I'm in the mood for it, Freddie does it like no one else.

RIP

MG

[sheldonm]

..and one other image of Freddie from June of this year.

[Harold_Z]

RIP Freddie. Playin' MF!

[Duvivierlover1960]

....

Here is the Billboard report below, he had a heart attack Nov. 26 and never really recovered, I wonder how much of this is attributed to his many years of drug and alcohol abuse?

Jazz Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard Dies

Freddie Hubbard

December 29, 2008 03:14 PM ET

Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

Jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, who played with legends such as John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, McCoy Tyner, Art Blakey and Herbie Hancock, died today (Dec. 29) in Sherman Oaks, Calif.

Hubbard, who had suffered a heart attack on Nov. 26, was 70.

Born in Indianapolis, the artist moved to New York in 1958 and quickly began playing and recording with Coleman, Coltrane and Eric Dolphy. In 1961, he released "Ready for Freddie," the first of many collaborations with saxophonist Wayne Shorter.

Hubbard's "hard bop" stylings can be heard on some of the landmark free jazz albums of the 1960s, including Coleman's "Free Jazz" and Coltrane's "Ascension." In the 1970s, he recorded more commercial-leaning albums for CTI Records, and maintained an active presence in the studio and onstage throughout the 1980s.

Hubbard was bestowed with the National Endowment for the Arts' Jazz Masters Award in 2006.

According to a spokesperson, a New York memorial is being planned.

[sheldonm]

....

Here is the Billboard report below, he had a heart attack Nov. 26 and never really recovered, I wonder how much of this is attributed to his many years of drug and alcohol abuse?

Jazz Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard Dies

Freddie Hubbard

December 29, 2008 03:14 PM ET

Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

Jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, who played with legends such as John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, McCoy Tyner, Art Blakey and Herbie Hancock, died today (Dec. 29) in Sherman Oaks, Calif.

Hubbard, who had suffered a heart attack on Nov. 26, was 70.

Born in Indianapolis, the artist moved to New York in 1958 and quickly began playing and recording with Coleman, Coltrane and Eric Dolphy. In 1961, he released "Ready for Freddie," the first of many collaborations with saxophonist Wayne Shorter.

Hubbard's "hard bop" stylings can be heard on some of the landmark free jazz albums of the 1960s, including Coleman's "Free Jazz" and Coltrane's "Ascension." In the 1970s, he recorded more commercial-leaning albums for CTI Records, and maintained an active presence in the studio and onstage throughout the 1980s.

Hubbard was bestowed with the National Endowment for the Arts' Jazz Masters Award in 2006.

According to a spokesperson, a New York memorial is being planned.

...who knows.

[Hardbopjazz]

Thanks for all the great music. R.I.P.

[Guest youmustbe]

David Weiss deserves a lot of credit for his love and support of Hub over these past years. Getting him recorded and booking him in US and Europe.

[sheldonm]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28424855/

A mention of David in this article as well.

m~

Edited December 29, 2008 by sheldonm