Link to Ted Panken 2001 DownBeat piece: https://tedpanken.wordpress.com/category/freddie-hubbard/
Billboard ( 1:00)
Welcome to Night Lights… I’m David Brent Johnson. At the end of the 1950s a young trumpeter burst onto the jazz scene and quickly established himself as a player of note, eventually recording with a wide array of jazz artists such as John Coltrane, Art Blakey, Ornette Coleman, Herbie Hancock, and Bill Evans that complemented his own work as a leader. In the next hour we’ll hear some of those recordings that capture early standout moments in Hubbard’s ascension as a giant of jazz trumpet. It’s “Side Star: Freddie Hubbard, 1958-1965”… coming up on this edition of Night Lights.
Music/newshole:
Wes Montgomery, “Billie’s Bounce” ( 4:42)
Guitarist Wes Montgomery in the company of several fellow Indianapolis musicians, including a 19-year-old Freddie Hubbard making his recording debut on trumpet, performing Charlie Parker’s “Billie’s Bounce,” with Wayman Atkinson and Pookie Johnson on saxophones, Buddy Montgomery on vibes, Monk Montgomery on bass, Joe Bradley on piano, and Paul Parker on drums… recorded on December 30, 1957, from the album FINGERPICKIN’.
Segment 3: music bed: Art Blakey “Crisis” Hubbard trumpet part
Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard burst onto the New York City jazz scene when he was barely out of his teens in the late 1950s, arriving by way of his Indianapolis hometown, the same city that bequeathed J.J. Johnson, Slide Hampton, and Wes Montgomery to the jazz world. Hampton was a crucial link for the young trumpeter, introducing him to the New York City jazz circuit and giving him a place to live as well. Hubbard was still maturing as a trumpeter, but he’d already moved beyond his early Clifford Brown influence, developing a brash, brassy attack with a knack for modal improvisation and a fat, lyrical ballad sound. After proving himself in some high-profile jam sessions, Hubbard ended up working with saxophonists Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, fellow Hoosiers Hampton and Johnson, drummer Philly Joe Jones, and other top names on the scene. He’d go on to play on numerous landmark jazz albums of the 1960s such as Eric Dolphy’s Out To Lunch, Herbie Hancock’s Maiden Voyage, Ornette Coleman’s Free Jazz, Wayne Shorter’s Speak No Evil, and Oliver Nelson’s The Blues and the Abstract Truth. We’ll start off with a track from the latter album, a showcase of inventive and original jazz composition skills. Taking inspiration from a number of non-jazz musical styles, Nelson features musicians who have a dynamic musical range, but still know how to swing hard. Oliver Nelson, Freddie Hubbard, and “Stolen Moments” on Night Lights:
Oliver Nelson, “Stolen Moments” ( 8:45)
Oliver Nelson and “Stolen Moments,” with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Eric Dolphy on flute, Nelson on tenor sax, Bill Evans on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Roy Haynes on drums, from Nelson’s 1961 album The Blues and the Abstract Truth.
Saxophonist John Coltrane had begun to come into his own as a player in the late 1950s, working with Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, and it was a badge of honor for Hubbard to join him on some of his leader dates for the Prestige and Atlantic labels as Coltrane’s star began to soar. In 1961 Coltrane moved to the Impulse label and made his first project there a large-ensemble session titled Africa/Brass, with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner helping to helm the orchestral charts of Coltrane’s music. Hubbard was among the musicians joining him for this unusual date, and he’s heard to good advantage on the following track--John Coltrane, Freddie Hubbard, and “Blues Minor” on Night Lights:
John Coltrane, “Blues Minor” ( 7:23)
John Coltrane performing “Blues Minor” with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, from Coltrane’s 1961 album AFRICA/BRASS.
In the summer of 1962 pianist Bill Evans was still making his way back onto the jazz scene after taking a long break following the death of his bassist Scott La Faro in a car crash. Evans usually recorded in a trio setting, but for his next album he decided to put together a quintet. Originally-slated trumpeter Art Farmer was unable to make the session, and Evans turned instead to Hubbard, who was coming into his prime as a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Evans also employed a powerhouse rhythm section of bassist Percy Heath, drummer Philly Joe Jones and guitarist Jim Hall, making for a unique and formidable combination. As the lone horn player, Hubbard utilizes this stellar rhythm section by leaving plenty of space and dishing out 8th note lines that fall perfectly into place across a variety of emotional ranges. Bill Evans, Freddie Hubbard and “When You Wish Upon a Star,” on Night Lights:
Bill Evans, “When You Wish Upon a Star” ( 5:42)
Pianist Bill Evans performing “When You Wish Upon a Star” in 1962, with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Jim Hall on guitar, Percy Heath on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. I’ll have more of the early sideman recordings of Freddie Hubbard in just a few moments, including recordings he made with Herbie Hancock, Art Blakey, and Wayne Shorter. You can listen to many previous Night Lights programs on our website at indianapublicmedia.org. I’m David Brent Johnson, and you’re listening to “Side Star: Freddie Hubbard, 1958-1965,” on Night Lights.
Art Blakey, “Skylark” ( 1:00)
I’m featuring recordings that trumpeter Freddie Hubbard made as a sideman in the early years of his career on this edition of Night Lights. Hubbard began to record as a leader for the Blue Note label in 1960, but he continued to work as a sideman for many recording dates, both for Blue Note and other labels, throughout the first few years of the 1960s. It was perhaps inevitable that he would end up joining Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in 1961; as Hubbard told jazz writer Ira Gitler in 1962, his teenage group in Indianapolis had pretty much played a Blakey book. It was a big step up for Hubbard, as he was filling the shoes of a daunting predecessor, trumpeter Lee Morgan. Decades later trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, who would also serve as a Messenger, said that “Freddie continued the trumpet tradition set by Lee. He brought that big sound, he had great phrasing, and he had a sense of being extremely modern.” Blakey also expected his musicians to write for the band, and Hubbard became a frequent contributor to the band’s repertoire along with saxophonist Wayne Shorter and pianist Cedar Walton. We’ll hear him featured here on a Shorter composition--Art Blakey, Freddie Hubbard, and “One By One,” on Night Lights:
Art Blakey, “One By One” ( 6:19)
Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers doing “One By One,” with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Cedar Walton on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Art Blakey on drums, from Blakey’s live 1963 album Ugetsu.
A seemingly perfect musical match, Freddie Hubbard and Wayne Shorter worked together during and after the end of their tour of duty in the Jazz Messengers, recording for the Blue Note and Impulse labels as they began to forge their own careers as leaders. Shorter’s critically revered 1964 Blue Note album Speak No Evil is full of standout Hubbard performances on songs such as Witch Hunt, Fee Fi Fo Fum, and this one: Wayne Shorter Freddie Hubbard, and “Wild Flower,” on Night Lights:
Wayne Shorter, “Wild Flower” ( 6:05)
Saxophonist Wayne Shorter performing his composition “Wild Flower,” with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums.
One of the most remarkable things about Freddie Hubbard’s run of sideman recordings in the early years of his career is its breadth, including big-band appearances, hardbop small group dates, and some of the era’s most notable “out” or avant-garde records, ranging from Eric Dolphy’s Out To Lunch to Ornette Coleman’s double-quartet Free Jazz LP and John Coltrane’s mid-sized ensemble recording of his challenging album-length work Ascension.
John Coltrane, “Ascension” excerpt ( 2:00?)
Freddie Hubbard heard soloing on John Coltrane’s 1965 avant-garde masterpiece Ascension.
Freddie Hubbard’s sideman appearances lessened somewhat after the mid-1960s, with his own status as a star leader firmly established. He would make some of his finest albums for the CTI label in the early 1970s, before pursuing a more commercial direction with Columbia Records throughout the rest of the decade. By the beginning of the 1980s he had returned to a more straightahead jazz sound, but he had already laid the foundation for his legacy with the numerous recordings made as both a leader and a sideman in the first decade of his career. I’ll close with Hubbard in the company of pianist Herbie Hancock, who, much like Hubbard, began to build an impressive catalogue as a leader in the 1960s while appearing on many other musician’s albums as a sideman. Hubbard’s solo on Hancock’s “Dolphin Dance” has been singled out for praise by writer Barry Kernfeld for his “use of motivic improvisation as a tool for creating coherence within an improvised melody of widely varying character.” Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, and “Dolphin Dance/One Finger Snap,” on Night Lights:
Herbie Hancock, “Dolphin Dance” ( 9:16) or “One Finger Snap” ( 7:20)
I closed with pianist Herbie Hancock performing “Dolphin Dance/One Finger Snap” with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, from Hancock’s Blue Note album EMPYREAN ISLES/MAIDEN VOYAGE. Thanks for tuning into this edition of Night Lights, which was written and produced with assistance from Tom Pieciak. You can listen to many previous Night Lights programs on our website at wfiu.org/nightlights. Night Lights is a production of WFIU and part of the educational mission of Indiana University. I’m David Brent Johnson, wishing you good listening for the week ahead.
At the end of the 1950s a young trumpeter burst onto the jazz scene, eventually recording with a wide array of jazz artists such as John Coltrane, Art Blakey, Ornette Coleman, Herbie Hancock, and Bill Evans that complemented his own work as a leader. I’m David Brent Johnson, inviting you to join me for “Side Star: Freddie Hubbard 1958-1965,” this week on Night Lights.
MORE FREDDIE
Freddie Hubbard: The CTI Years
Freddie Hubbard 2001 DownBeat interview (Hubbard talks at length about his time growing up in Indianapolis and his early years on the New York City jazz scene)
