Freddie Hubbard
Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard was born in Indianapolis and his first playing and recording experiences were with fellow Indianapolis native Wes Montgomery. In 1958 he moved to New York where he was able to play with well-established musicians such as: J.J. Johnson, Slide Hampton, Sonny Rollins and Philly Joe Jones. In 1961 Hubbard joined Art Blakeys Jazz Messengers. With the Messengers he was able to contribute songs (like his wonderful composition, and now standard, “Up Jumped Spring”), arrangements and take away the wisdom offered by Blakey which would help him on his way to becoming a successful leader of his own groups. During his three years with Blakey and afterwards, Hubbard took part in some great sessions as a sideman and as a leader. He worked with Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Hank Mobley, Dexter Gordon, and Wayne Shorter to name an impressive few. A great technician on his instrument, Hubbard was equally at home with bop, hard bop, and modal styles. In the early sixties he even participated in more avant-garde sessions such as Ornette Colemans Free Jazz and John Coltranes Ascension. In the 1970s Hubbard made forays into jazz-rock with the acclaimed albums for CTI Red Clay and Straight Life. Later he turned his attention towards more commercial music, but has seemed to make a return to straight-ahead jazz with his recordings in the 1990s. Hubbard, clearly influenced by Clifford Brown and Lee Morgan, is a technically brilliant player with, a great melodic sense, a beautiful tone, and quite a bit of soul — utilizing half-valved notes with a serious bluesy feel. The most striking thing about his solos may be his clean, brilliant playing in the high register.
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