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Freddie Hubbard

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Freddie Hubbard
Hubbard in 1976
Hubbard in 1976
Background information
Birth nameFrederick Dwayne Hubbard
Born(1938-04-07)April 7, 1938
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
DiedDecember 29, 2008(2008-12-29) (aged 70)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • bandleader
  • composer
Instruments
Years active1958–2008
Labels

Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter.[1] He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives for modern jazz and bebop.[2]

Career beginnings

Hubbard started playing the mellophone and trumpet in his school band at Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. Trumpeter Lee Katzman, former sideman with Stan Kenton, recommended that he begin taking trumpet lessons at the Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Music (now the Jordan College of the Arts at Butler University) with Max Woodbury, principal trumpeter of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. In his teens, Hubbard worked locally with brothers Wes and Monk Montgomery,[3] and worked with bassist Larry Ridley and saxophonist James Spaulding.

In 1958, at the age of 20, he moved to New York and began playing with some of the best jazz players of the era, including Philly Joe Jones, Sonny Rollins, Slide Hampton, Eric Dolphy, J. J. Johnson, and Quincy Jones.[3] On June 19, 1960, Hubbard made his first record as a leader, Open Sesame, at the beginning of his contract with Blue Note Records, with saxophonist Tina Brooks, pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Clifford Jarvis. Six days later he returned the favor to Brooks and recorded with him on True Blue.

1960s

In December 1960, Hubbard was invited to play on Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz, after Coleman heard him performing with Don Cherry.[4] In May 1961, Hubbard played on Olé Coltrane, John Coltrane's final session for Atlantic Records. Coltrane also hired Hubbard, Eric Dolphy and Art Davis, who all appeared on Olé, to record Africa/Brass, Coltrane's first album with Impulse!, which was begun just after Olé.

In August 1961, Hubbard recorded Ready for Freddie (Blue Note), which was also his first collaboration with saxophonist Wayne Shorter. Hubbard became Shorter's bandmate when he replaced Lee Morgan in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers later in 1961.[3] He played on more than 10 live and studio recordings with Blakey during one of the most acclaimed eras of the Jazz Messengers, including Caravan, Ugetsu, Mosaic, and Free for All. In all, during the 1960s, he recorded eight studio albums as a bandleader for Blue Note, and more than two dozen as a sideman.[5]

Hubbard remained with Blakey until 1966, leaving to form the first of several small groups of his own, which featured, among others, his Blue note associate James Spaulding, pianist Kenny Barron and drummer Louis Hayes.[3] This group recorded for Atlantic. It was during this time that he began to develop his own sound, distancing himself from the early influences of Clifford Brown and Morgan, and won the DownBeat jazz magazine "New Star" award on trumpet.[6]

Throughout the '60s, Hubbard played as a sideman on some of the most important albums from that era, including Oliver Nelson's The Blues and the Abstract Truth, Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch!, Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage, and Wayne Shorter's Speak No Evil.[7] Hubbard was described as "the most brilliant trumpeter of a generation of musicians who stand with one foot in 'tonal' jazz and the other in the atonal camp".[8] Though he never fully embraced the free jazz of the 1960s, he appeared on two of its landmark albums: Coleman's Free Jazz and Coltrane's Ascension, as well as on Sonny Rollins' "new thing" track, "East Broadway Run Down" (on the 1966 album of the same name), with Elvin Jones and Jimmy Garrison.

1970s

Hubbard with DJ Harry Abraham of WHAM, Rochester, c. 1978

Hubbard achieved his greatest popular success in the 1970s with a series of albums for Creed Taylor and his record label CTI Records, overshadowing Stanley Turrentine, Hubert Laws, and George Benson.[9] Although his early 1970s jazz albums Red Clay, First Light, Straight Life, and Sky Dive were particularly well received and considered among his best work, the albums he recorded later in the decade were attacked by critics for their commercialism. First Light won a 1972 Grammy Award and included pianists Herbie Hancock and Richard Wyands, guitarists Eric Gale and George Benson, bassist Ron Carter, drummer Jack DeJohnette, and percussionist Airto Moreira.[10] In 1994, Hubbard, collaborating with Chicago jazz vocalist/co-writer Catherine Whitney, had lyrics set to the music of First Light.[11]

In 1977, Hubbard joined the all-star V.S.O.P. band, which also featured Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, Ron Carter and Wayne Shorter. All of the band's members except Hubbard were members of the mid-1960s Miles Davis Quintet.[3] Several live recordings of this group were released as V.S.O.P, V.S.O.P. The Quintet, V.S.O.P. Tempest in the Colosseum (all 1977) and V.S.O.P. Live Under the Sky (1979).[2]

Hubbard's trumpet playing was featured on the track "Zanzibar" from the 1978 Billy Joel album 52nd Street (the 1979 Grammy Award Winner for Best Album). The track ends with a fade during Hubbard's performance. An unfaded version was released on the 2004 Billy Joel boxed set My Lives.

Later life

Hubbard at the Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, 1977

In the 1980s Hubbard was again leading his own jazz group – this time with Billy Childs and Larry Klein, among others, as members – attracting favorable reviews, playing at concerts and festivals in the US and Europe, often in the company of Joe Henderson, playing a repertory of hard bop and modal jazz pieces.[3] Hubbard played at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1980 and in 1989 (with Bobby Hutcherson). He and Woody Shaw recorded two albums as co-leaders for Blue Note and played live concerts together from 1985 to 1987. In 1987, he was a co-leader with Benny Golson on the Stardust album.[3]

In 1988, he again teamed up with Blakey at an engagement in the Netherlands, from which came Feel the Wind.[3] In 1988, Hubbard played with Elton John, contributing trumpet and flugelhorn and trumpet solos on the track "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (Part Two)" for John's Reg Strikes Back album. In 1990, he appeared in Japan headlining an American-Japanese concert package which also featured Elvin Jones, Sonny Fortune, pianists George Duke and Benny Green, bass players Ron Carter, and Rufus Reid, with jazz vocalist Salena Jones.[3] He also performed at the Warsaw Jazz Festival, at which Live at the Warsaw Jazz Festival (Jazzmen 1992) was recorded.[2]

Following a long setback of health problems and a serious lip injury in 1992 when he subsequently developed an infection, Hubbard was again playing and recording occasionally, even if not at the level he set for himself during his earlier career.[12] His best records ranked with the finest in his field.[13]

Legacy and honors

In 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts accorded Hubbard its highest honor in jazz, the NEA Jazz Masters Award.[6]

On December 29, 2008, Hubbard died in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California from complications caused by a heart attack he suffered on November 26. Hubbard's body was cremated, with his ashes given to his family.[14]

Hubbard had close ties to the Jazz Foundation of America in his later years. The Jazz Foundation of America's Musicians' Emergency Fund took care of him during times of illness. He is quoted as saying, "When I had congestive heart failure and couldn't work, the Jazz Foundation paid my mortgage for several months and saved my home! Thank God for those people."[15] After his death, Hubbard's estate requested that tax-deductible donations be made in his name to the Jazz Foundation.[15]

Discography

As leader/co-leader

Recording date Title Label Year released Notes
1960-06 Open Sesame Blue Note 1960
1960-11 Goin' Up Blue Note 1961
1961-04 Hub Cap Blue Note 1961
1961-08 Groovy!/Minor Mishap Fontana/Black Lion 1989
1961-08 Ready for Freddie Blue Note 1962
1962-07 The Artistry of Freddie Hubbard Impulse! 1963
1962-10 Hub-Tones Blue Note 1963
1962-12 Here to Stay Blue Note 1976 [2LP] The Blue Note Re-Issue Series
1963-03,
1963-05 		The Body & the Soul Impulse! 1964
1964-05 Breaking Point! Blue Note 1964
1965-04 The Night of the Cookers Blue Note 1965 Live
1965-06 Jam Gems: Live at the Left Bank with Jimmy Heath Label M 2001 Live
1965-02,
1966-03 		Blue Spirits Blue Note 1967
1966-10 Backlash Atlantic 1967
1967-04 Fastball: Live at the Left Bank Hyena 2005 Live
1967-11 High Blues Pressure Atlantic 1968
1968-12,
1969-01 		A Soul Experiment Atlantic 1969
1969-05 The Black Angel Atlantic 1970
1969-12 The Hub of Hubbard MPS 1970
1969-12 Without a Song: Live in Europe 1969 Blue Note 2009 Live
1970-01 Red Clay CTI 1970
1970-07,
1970-08 		Straight Life CTI 1971
1970-11 Sing Me a Song of Songmy with İlhan Mimaroğlu Atlantic 1971
1971-09 First Light CTI 1971
1972-10 Sky Dive CTI 1973
1973-03 Freddie Hubbard/Stanley Turrentine in Concert Volume One CTI 1973 Live
1973-03 In Concert Volume Two with Stanley Turrentine CTI 1973 Live
1973-10 Keep Your Soul Together CTI 1974
1974-04,
1974-05 		High Energy Columbia 1974
1975-03 Gleam CBS/Sony 1975 Live
1975-03,
1975-04 		Liquid Love Columbia 1975
1976 Windjammer Columbia 1976
1977 Bundle of Joy Columbia 1977
1978-03,
1978-04 		Super Blue Columbia 1978
1979-02,
1979-03 		The Love Connection Columbia 1979
1979-12 Skagly Columbia 1980
1980-07 Live at the North Sea Jazz Festival Pablo 1980 Live
1980-09 Mistral East World (Japan)/Liberty 1981
1981-03 Outpost Enja 1981
1981-05 Rollin' MPS 1982 Live
1981-06 Ride Like the Wind Elektra/Asylum 1982
1981? Splash Fantasy 1981
1981-11 Keystone Bop: Sunday Night with Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson Prestige 1982 Live
1981-11 Keystone Bop Vol. 2: Friday & Saturday with Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson Prestige 1996 Live
1981-12 Born to Be Blue Pablo 1982
1982-06 Above & Beyond Metropolitan 1999 Live
1982-08 Back to Birdland Real Time 1983
1983-06 Sweet Return Atlantic 1983
1983-12 The Rose Tattoo Baystate 1984
1985-11 Double Take with Woody Shaw Blue Note 1985
1987-01 Life Flight Blue Note 1987
1987-06 The Eternal Triangle with Woody Shaw Blue Note 1987
1988-10,
1988-11 		Feel the Wind with Art Blakey Timeless 1989
1989? Times Are Changing Blue Note 1989
1989-12 Topsy – Standard Book Alfa 1990
1990-12,
1991-01 		Bolivia MusicMasters 1991
1991-10 At Jazz Jamboree Warszawa '91: A Tribute to Miles Starburst 2000 Live
1991-12 Live at Fat Tuesday's MusicMasters 1992 Live
1992-12 Blues for Miles Alfa 1992
1994-08,
1995-01 		MMTC: Monk, Miles, Trane & Cannon MusicMasters 1995
2000-10 –
2000-12 		New Colors Hip Bop 2001
2007-12 On the Real Side Times Square 2008

Compilation

As sideman

Sortable table with main artist alphabetically as primal order.

Main artist Title Year recorded Label Year released
Manny Albam The Soul of the City 1966 Solid State 1966
Carl Allen and Manhattan Projects Piccadilly Square 1989 Timeless 1993
Roberto Ávila & Sarava Come to Brazil 1989 Sonet 1989
George Benson The Other Side of Abbey Road 1969 A&M/CTI 1970
Walter Benton Out of this World 1960 Jazzland 1960
Art Blakey Mosaic 1961 Blue Note 1962
Art Blakey Buhaina's Delight 1961 Blue Note 1963
Art Blakey A Jazz Hour with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers: Blues March 1961 Jazz Hour 1995
Art Blakey Three Blind Mice 1961–62 United Artists 1962
Art Blakey Caravan 1962 Riverside 1963
Art Blakey Ugetsu 1963 Riverside 1963
Art Blakey Kyoto 1964 Riverside 1966
Art Blakey Free for All 1964 Blue Note 1965
Art Blakey Golden Boy 1963 Colpix 1963
Art Blakey Soul Finger 1965 Limelight 1965
The Big Apples Autumn Leaves 1989 Pony Canyon 2001
Tina Brooks True Blue 1960 Blue Note 1960
Kenny Burrell God Bless the Child 1971 CTI 1971
George Cables Cables' Vision 1979 Contemporary 1980
Betty Carter Droppin' Things 1990 Verve 1990
Paul Chambers Go 1959 Vee-Jay 1959
Ornette Coleman Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation 1960 Atlantic 1961
John Coltrane Olé Coltrane 1961 Atlantic 1961
John Coltrane Africa/Brass 1961 Impulse! 1961
John Coltrane Ascension 1965 Impulse! 1966
Richard Davis Muses for Richard Davis 1969 MPS 1970
Eric Dolphy Outward Bound 1960 New Jazz 1960
Eric Dolphy Out to Lunch! 1964 Blue Note 1964
Kenny Drew Undercurrent 1960 Blue Note 1961
Charles Earland Leaving This Planet 1973 Prestige 1974
Booker Ervin Booker 'n' Brass 1967 Pacific Jazz 1967
Bill Evans Interplay 1962 Riverside 1963
Joe Farrell Sonic Text 1979 Contemporary 1980
Curtis Fuller Boss of the Soul-Stream Trombone 1960 Warwick 1961
Curtis Fuller Soul Trombone 1961 Impulse! 1961
Curtis Fuller Cabin in the Sky 1962 Impulse! 1962
Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry and Oscar Peterson The Trumpet Summit Meets the Oscar Peterson Big 4 1980 Pablo 1980
Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry and Oscar Peterson The Alternate Blues 1980 Pablo 1980
Benny Golson Take a Number from 1 to 10 1960–61 Argo 1961
Benny Golson Pop + Jazz = Swing — jazz part also released as Just Jazz! 1962 Audio Fidelity 1962
Benny Golson Time Speaks 1982 Baystate 1983
Benny Golson Stardust 1987 Denon 1987
Dexter Gordon Doin' Allright 1961 Blue Note 1961
Dexter Gordon Clubhouse 1965 Blue Note 1979
Dexter Gordon Generation 1972 Prestige 1973
Dexter Gordon The Other Side of Round Midnight 1985 Blue Note 1986
Slide Hampton Slide Hampton and His Horn of Plenty 1959 Strand 1959
Slide Hampton Sister Salvation 1960 Atlantic 1960
Slide Hampton Drum Suite 1962 Epic 1964
Herbie Hancock Takin' Off 1962 Blue Note 1962
Herbie Hancock Empyrean Isles 1964 Blue Note 1964
Herbie Hancock Maiden Voyage 1965 Blue Note 1965
Herbie Hancock Blow-Up 1966 MGM 1967
Herbie Hancock V.S.O.P. 1976 Columbia 1977
Herbie Hancock V.S.O.P. The Quintet 1977 Columbia 1977
Herbie Hancock V.S.O.P. Tempest in the Colosseum 1977 CBS/Sony 1977
Herbie Hancock V.S.O.P. Live Under the Sky 1979 CBS/Sony 1979
Herbie Hancock Round Midnight (soundtrack) 1985 Columbia 1986
Jimmy Heath The Quota 1961 Riverside 1961
Jimmy Heath Triple Threat 1961 Riverside 1962
Joe Henderson Big Band 1996 Verve 1997
Andrew Hill Pax 1965 Blue Note 2006
Andrew Hill Compulsion!!!!! 1965 Blue Note 1967
Bobby Hutcherson Dialogue 1965 Blue Note 1965
Bobby Hutcherson Components 1965 Blue Note 1966
Bobby Hutcherson Knucklebean 1977 Blue Note 1977
Bobby Hutcherson Highway One 1978 Columbia 1978
Milt Jackson Sunflower 1972 CTI 1973
Milt Jackson Goodbye— trumpet on "S.K.J." only 1972 CTI 1974
Billy Joel 52nd Street — trumpet on "Zanzibar" only 1978 Columbia 1978
Elton John Reg Strikes Back 1987–88 Rocket/Mercury 1988
J. J. Johnson J.J. Inc. 1960 Columbia 1961
Quincy Jones I Dig Dancers 1960 Mercury 1961
Quincy Jones The Quintessence 1961 Impulse! 1962
Quincy Jones Golden Boy 1964 Mercury 1964
Quincy Jones I/We Had a Ball 1964–65 Limelight 1965
Quincy Jones Walking in Space 1969 A&M/CTI 1969
Quincy Jones Gula Matari 1970 A&M 1970
Chaka Khan Echoes of an Era 1981–82 Blue Note 1982
John Lewis Essence 1960–62 Atlantic 1965
Mel Lewis Mel Lewis and Friends 1976 A&M/Horizon 1977
Kirk Lightsey Temptation 1991 Timeless 1991
Jeff Lorber Water Sign 1979 Arista 1979
Ronnie Mathews Doin' the Thang! 1963 Prestige 1964
Jackie McLean Bluesnik 1961 Elektra/Musician 1962
The Modern Jazz Quartet MJQ & Friends: A 40th Anniversary Celebration 1992–93 Atlantic 1994
Wes Montgomery Fingerpickin' 1957–58 Pacific Jazz 1958
Wes Montgomery Road Song 1968 A&M 1968
Hank Mobley Roll Call 1960 Blue Note 1961
Alphonse Mouzon By All Means 1980 Pausa 1980
Oliver Nelson The Blues and the Abstract Truth 1961 Impulse! 1961
Cecil Payne Cerupa 1993 Delmark 1995
Duke Pearson Dedication!/Minor Mishap (Hubbard) 1961 Prestige/Black Lion 1970/1989
Duke Pearson Sweet Honey Bee 1966 Blue Note 1967
Duke Pearson The Right Touch 1967 Blue Note 1968
Oscar Peterson Face to Face 1982 Pablo 1982
Sam Rivers Contours 1965 Blue Note 1967
Max Roach Drums Unlimited 1965–66 Atlantic 1965
Sonny Rollins East Broadway Run Down 1966 Impulse! 1966
Rufus Numbers 1979? ABC 1979
Poncho Sanchez Cambios 1991 Concord Picante 1991
Lalo Schifrin Once a Thief and Other Themes 1965 Verve 1965
Don Sebesky Giant Box 1973 CTI 1973
Wayne Shorter Wayning Moments 1961 Vee-Jay 1962
Wayne Shorter Speak No Evil 1964 Blue Note 1966
Wayne Shorter The Soothsayer 1965 Blue Note 1979
Wayne Shorter The All Seeing Eye 1965 Blue Note 1966
Leon Thomas A Piece of Cake 1980 Palcoscenico 1980[16]
Stanley Turrentine Sugar 1970 CTI 1970
Stanley Turrentine More Than a Mood 1992 MusicMasters 1992
McCoy Tyner Together 1978 Milestone 1979[17]
McCoy Tyner Quartets 4 X 4 — on three tracks as part of one quartet 1980 Milestone 1980
Cedar Walton Soundscapes 1980 Columbia 1980
Randy Weston Uhuru Afrika 1960 Roulette 1961
Randy Weston Blue Moses 1972 CTI 1972
V.A. One Night with Blue Note Preserved 1985 Blue Note 1985

Filmography

References

  1. ^ "Freddie Hubbard Dies". Downbeat. December 29, 2008. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c Scott Yanow. "Freddie Hubbard | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 216. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
  4. ^ Martin Williams, sleeve notes to Free Jazz (1960)
  5. ^ "Freddie Hubbard The Blue Note Years 1960–1965". Dan Miller Jazz. Archived from the original on August 7, 2011. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Freddie Hubbard", NEA Jazz Masters, 2006.
  7. ^ Larkin, Colin. The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Guinness (1995), pp. 2018–2019 – ISBN 1-56159-176-9
  8. ^ Berendt, Joachim E (1976). The Jazz Book. Paladin. p. 191.
  9. ^ Scott Yanow, Jazz on Record: The First Sixty Years, Backbeat Books, 2003, p. 821 – ISBN 0-87930-755-2
  10. ^ Thom Jurek. "First Light – Freddie Hubbard | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  11. ^ "LoroMusic.com and Gopam Enterprises". Gopammusic.com. Archived from the original on February 16, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  12. ^ "Freddie Hubbard @ All About Jazz". Allaboutjazz.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  13. ^ Yanow, Scott. Jazz: A Regional Exploration, Greenwood Press, 2005, p. 184 – ISBN 0-313-32871-4
  14. ^ Heckman, Don (December 30, 2008). "Freddie Hubbard, jazz trumpeter, dies at 70". Los Angeles Times.
  15. ^ a b "Freddie Hubbard" Archived April 7, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Jazz Foundation of America.
  16. ^ "A piece of cake – Leon Thomas – Muziekweb".
  17. ^ "Together – McCoy Tyner | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  18. ^ "Studiolive – Freddie Hubbard | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  19. ^ "One Night with Blue Note Preserved – Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  20. ^ "Live at the Village Vanguard – Freddie Hubbard | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. June 29, 2004. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  21. ^ "All Blues [DVD] – Freddie Hubbard | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. July 19, 2005. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  22. ^ "One of a Kind – Freddie Hubbard | User Reviews | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
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