Album Reviews

Freddie Hubbard’s group leading debut may not have been his finest album but it was a great one and an auspicious debut for the then 22 year old who would go on to play on some of the greatest jazz albums ever, some of which he fronted.

This group featuring tenor sax player Tina Brooks, pianist McCoy Tyner, who was then also a relative youngster and playing in the classic John Coltrane quartet, drummer Clifford Jarvis who went on work in free jazz ensembles with Sun Ra and Archie Shepp among others and bassist Sam Jones, then with Cannonball.

Freddie Hubbard’s group leading debut may not have been his finest album but it was a great one and an auspicious debut for the then 22 year old who would go on to play on some of the greatest jazz albums ever, some of which he fronted.

This group featuring tenor sax player Tina Brooks, pianist McCoy Tyner, who was then also a relative youngster and playing in the classic John Coltrane quartet, drummer Clifford Jarvis who went on work in free jazz ensembles with Sun Ra and Archie Shepp among others and bassist Sam Jones, then with Cannonball.

The set opens with the sizzling title tune that gives Hubbard and Brooks opportunities to fire off some hot licks, with Hubbard’s Clifford Brown influence immediate and up front.

That’s followed by “But Beautiful,” a gorgeous ballad spotlighting Hubbard’s lyrical side. Brooks’ minor key beauty “Gypsy Blue” alters the mood yet again as does the standard “All or Nothing at All” taken at a blistering pace.

A smart cover of The Clovers’ R&B hit “One Mint Julep” sounds influenced by Cannonball Adderley and is one of the set’s small jewels set off by Hubbard and Brooks’ tight interplay out of the left and right channels.

A Hubbard original, “Hub’s Nub” closes out a really enjoyable Blue Note session that sounds as fresh today as it did fifty years ago.

Hubbard would go on to a stellar career as a front and sideman, playing on classics like Ornette Coleman’s Free Jazz, Coltrane’s Olé Jazz,/i> and Oliver Nelson’s brilliant The Blues and the Abstract Truth and Eric Dolphy’s Out to Lunch. Albums he fronted like Ready For Freddie were equally distinguished. His later “commercial” albums like Red Clay for Creed Taylor’s CTI label brought him a new generation of fans while not alienating the core, though when he played on Billy Joel’s 52nd Street he pushed the limits and for his efforts he was faded out mid-solo.

Hubbard died in 2008 at the age of 70.

This exciting debut is a great part of his legacy and easy to recommend. The sound is typical Rudy Van Gelder of the time. No surprises. The horns sound good, the drums do to but the piano is somewhat lost in the murk. I compared this to Bernie Grundman’s mastering for Classic’s reissue from some ago and you can hear why some of the of those early Bernie cuts were criticized: the top end is too hot! Though that also brought the piano out of the underwater and onto dry land.

Still, you can’t beat this beautifully packaged, sonically rich, double 45rpm set. I don’t claim to be a Blue Note scholar but this is one of my favorites, however the experts rate it.