AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Freddie Hubbard

Artist:Freddie Hubbard

Song:Body and Soul

Album:The Essential Blue Note Collection

This is another in my Jazz for Beginners series. The only requirements are a live performance video clip and an album appropriate for beginners. Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard is best known for his 60s Blue Note recordings. He was born Apr. 7, 1938 in Indianapolis. He started playing trumpet in high school. Former Stan Kenton trumpeter Lee Katzman suggested that Hubbard take lessons at the Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Music with Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra trumpeter Max Woodbury. Hubbard played local clubs with Monk and Wes Montgomery, bassist Larry Ridley and saxophonist James Spaulding. He moved to New York in 1958 and started playing clubs. He signed with Blue Note in 1960 and his debut album Open Sesame was released. Meanwhile, Hubbard appeared on albums by Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane. In 1961, Hubbard replaced Lee Morgan in Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. So I think that's when jazz fans really started to notice Hubbard and listened to his Blue Note albums. Probably his most popular Blue Note album is Hub-Tones from 1962. Musicians are James Spaulding on alto sax and flute, Herbie Hancock on piano, Reggie Workman on bass and Clifford Jarvis on drums. His recording of the jazz standard Body and Soul is on the album Here to Stay. This was recorded a couple of months after Hub-Tones but wasn't released until 1976. Musicians are Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Cedar Walton on piano, Reggie Workman on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. Body and Soul is also on the 1964 album The Body & the Soul. This is one of two albums that Hubbard recorded for Impulse. It looks like he may have been haggling with Blue Note over money. The band is the same as Here to Stay with the addition of Curtis Fuller on trombone, Eric Dolphy on alto sax and flute and Louis Hayes replacing Jarvis on drums. Hubbard left Blue Note and Blakey in 1966. I recommend this 5CD box set of Hubbard's Blue Note recordings. It's available at a reasonable price. Hubbard recorded for Atlantic in the late 60s. Then he had success recording for CTI in the early 70s. He moved to Columbia in 1974 probably because they threw a lot of money at him. But his attempts to record disco among other things fell flat. After leaving Columbia in 1979, Hubbard recorded mostly for small labels. He continued to tour in the 80s. Hubbard started to have health problems in 1992 including a lip injury that became infected. He died from a heart attack on Dec. 29, 2008 at age 70. Here's Freddie Hubbard performing Body and Soul. It doesn't give a date or location or identify the musicians. But my guess is somewhere in Europe in the 70s.