FREDDIE HUBBARD

A TRIBUTE TO

FREDDIE HUBBARD
1938-2008

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.

OPEN SESAME (1960)
320 KBPS

Freddie Hubbard's first recording as a leader, Open Sesame features the 22-year-old trumpeter in a quintet with tenor saxophonist Tina Brooks, the up-and-coming pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Sam Jones and drummer Clifford Jarvis. This set shows that even at this early stage, Hubbard had the potential to be one of the greats. On the ballad "But Beautiful" he shows maturity; other highlights include "Open Sesame," a driving "All or Nothing at All" and "One Mint Julep." It's an impressive start to what would be a very interesting career.

1 Open Sesame
2 But Beautiful
3 Gypsy Blue
4 All or Nothing at All
5 One Mint Julep
6 Hub's Nub