FREDDIE HUBBARD
FASTBALL: Live at the Left Bank
Label M
To many jazz fans, Freddie Hubbard represented
the next great trumpet playing wave right from his meteoric
rise with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in 1961. His technique
and mastery of the horn and of jazz structure and improvisation
came straight from Clifford Brown and Lee Morgan. He had
some of the qualities of Miles Davis, too, particularly
the way he could play a ballad in an almost whispered tone
while still conveying a lot of strength. And he was confident,
maybe a little flamboyant. In short, he was everything a
post-bop jazz trumpeter could hope to be. His work with
Herbie Hancock further strengthened his reputation as well
as some of the comparisons to Miles. But Freddie was very
much his own man, as his playing clearly demonstrated.
In the 70s, Hubbard worked with Creed Taylor
and produced some fusion-oriented recordings that continued
to set the pace for a new generation of jazz musicians,
recordings like Red Clay and Sky Dive. Then
came the VSOP tours with Hancock, and again, there was a
lot of good work there, even though the group was certainly
no longer breaking new ground. There were some forgettable
disco experiments (they appear to be out of print now, mercifully)
and an uneven set of recordings leading into the 80s. Recently,
Hubbard has battled lip injury, though he is now returning
to recording. There are those who feel that Hubbard never
really lived up to his promise as the next great jazz trumpet
player. Fastball refutes this, giving us a glimpse
of Hubbard in a "wide-open" live jam where he
demonstrates that he fully deserves to take his place with
Clifford, Lee, and Miles.
The latin Pensativa kicks off the proceedings
with Hubbard up front right from the get go. Freddie states
the melody and launches right into his first solo, using
a hard-edged post-bop tone and playing some long, looping
phrases that are offset by a stacatto attack that he alternates
with a smoother set of phrases and some hot trill-laced
explosions. Benny Maupin's solo isn't anything special,
and one has to wonder why Hubbard bothered with a quintet--the
rhythm section is hot, and Hubbard does more than the lion's
share of soloing.. Kenny Barron, rises above an out of tune
piano to get in some nice licks before the number winds
down. Apparently there was some problem with the lights,
because after this number Freddie says "What's happening
with the lights? Is this an LSD joint or something?"--a
reasonable question in 1967, I suppose.
Echoes of Blues is a meaty blues jam
such as you don't get to hear too much these days. Barron
provides the introduction before Hubbard comes in with the
theme, echoed by Maupin's tenor. Hubbard sounds truly weary
on this number--not weary in his playing, which is full
of energy, but in the way in which a blues should sound
in order to be convincing. Here Hubbard doesn't get too
fancy--he is straightforward and plays with a beautiful
tone. Hubbard is the only soloist on this 10-plus minute
track, but you won't get tired of listening to him in the
least.
Crisis is a Hubbard original that comes
off as a fresh breeze following the blues, and Freddie plays
some of his fine post-bop runs here, amazing with his technique.
Maupin blows a more impressive, muscular solo here, and
is nicely boosted by Barron and the drumming of Freddie
Waits. Willow Weep for Me is given a pretty bluesy
reading here as well, and it should suprise a lot of people
to hear just how much blues Freddie was blowing in 1967.
Again, he is the main soloist here, ably backed by the rhythm
section. Blues rise again, this time uptempo and in a minor
key, to end the set with Bob's Place. Maupin finally
comes into his own on this track, but Hubbard takes a number
of hot choruses here to leave the audience with no doubt
that he is the man to watch on this night in 1967.
