FREDDIE HUBBARD

ON FIRE: LIVE FROM THE BLUE MOROCCO

Resonance Records

Freddie Hubbard, trumpet/composer; Herbie Lewis, bass; Kenny Barron, piano; Bennie Maupin, tenor saxophone; Freddie Waits, drums.

It hardly seems possible that I attended Freddie Hubbard’s funeral in Los Angeles more than fifteen years ago.  His recordings are still as fresh and inspirational as they were back in the 1970s. Hubbard was born April 7, 1938, and died December 29, 2008. This album release is a celebration of one of America’s gifted and iconic jazz trumpeters.

As usual, Resonance Records has discovered never-before-heard ‘live’ recordings to enchant and entertain their jazz public. This recording was a live performance by Freddie Hubbard with an all-star group of legendary musicians. They were performing at a popular club in the Bronx borough of New York, the Blue Morocco. It was located at 1155 Boston Road in the Bronx neighborhood of Morrisania. The place was a familiar night spot that featured the who’s-who of jazz musicians, until the day they shuttered their doors in the 1970s.

“We were excited about Freddie Hubbard coming to the Blue Morocco. By 1967, when this album was recorded, Freddie was laying his claim, (as Dizzy Gillespie put it) as the greatest trumpet player in the world.  Freddie was a dynamo, full of energy and full of pepper.  As you can hear, he was on fire.  I’m proud to have documented this page in the annals of Freddie’s career,” said Bernard Drayton, co-producer of this project along with his son, Charley Drayton, and the Jazz Detective, Zev Feldman.

A legend in his own right, Bennie Maupin is part of Hubbard’s aggregation. He spoke about his love and respect for Freddie Hubbard.

“Playing with Freddie was very, very intense.  It was really exciting for me to be able to be a part of the group. … It was … just great musical fun.  For me, playing with someone who had been working with people like Art Blakey, who had that kind of incredible experience, I realized what I needed to do just to keep up with him. I had to really practice a lot.  It inspired me to really up my game,” Maupin talked about Hubbard being a serious inspiration to him.

Freddie Hubbard became a monumental force in jazz from the very first moment he emerged in New York.  It was1958 when young, energetic, twenty-year-old Hubbard made a fiery entrance onto the heavy-weight, East Coast, jazz scene. His big, fat sound just blew everyone away who heard Hubbard play.  His tone and presentation were unique and immediately recognizable. He was no Lee Morgan, Booker Little, or Dizzy Gillespie.  He was pure and brilliantly distinct: the one and only Freddie Hubbard.

In less than ten years, Freddie Hubbard had already recorded nine studio albums as band leader. When they recorded this album, he was signed to Blue Note records. They were promoting his release of “Ready for Freddie” recorded in 1961.

There is a wonderful booklet included in this two-set cd package with lots of interviews and stories about Hubbard’s life and music. On this historic album, Freddie Hubbard and his band of iconic musicians play tunes we know and love, like “Bye Bye Blackbird” and “Summertime,” as well as several original compositions by Hubbard.  On the first CD of this duel-set he flies high on “Crisis.” They play one of my favorite Hubbard tunes, “Up Jumped Spring,” plus a medley of “True Colors” and “Breaking Point.” On the second CD, “Breaking Point” is played again as a singular tune.

Every song, every solo, every arrangement is stuffed like a pinata with emotional and exceptional performances.  Hubbard is at the peak of his career and his playing is both thrilling and a testament to his enduring legacy.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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