Freddie Hubbard: The Complete Blue Note & Impulse ‘60s Studio Sessions

  By their very nature, compilations of the recordings by a particular artist on one label tell just one part of the story of that era in a musician’s life. Mosaic Records has assembled a 7-CD boxed set of The Complete Blue Note & Impulse ‘60s Studio Sessions, with eight Blue Note titles and two Impulse recordings by the incomparable trumpet master Freddie Hubbard. Only the vagaries of corporate ownership allow the Blue Note and Impulse albums to be issued together, and it points up the problems of assembling a truly comprehensive view of Hubbard’s amazing odyssey in less than five years, from the time of Open Sesame, his initial Blue Note release recorded in June 1960, to February 1965, when he made his final album for the label, Blue Spirits. During that span, Hubbard did one live session for Blue Note (The Night Of The Cookers, with Lee Morgan), and appeared as a sideman on Blue Note sessions for Tina Brooks, Hank Mobley, Kenny Drew, Dexter Gordon, and Herbie Hancock. He also participated in sessions led by Ornette Coleman (Free Jazz), John Coltrane (Africa/Brass and Olé), Oliver Nelson (The Blues And The Abstract Truth), Curtis Fuller, Randy Weston (Uhuru Africa), J.J. Johnson, Benny Golson, Wayne Shorter and many others. As of late 1961, Hubbard became a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, recording a batch of live and studio dates for Blue Note, and with a whole new book of tunes to learn. In fact, I could go on and on with his credits in this period when he performed on an astonishing number of critically acclaimed albums. All of these sessions, plenty of opportunities to perform in clubs and concerts, and a slew of memorable compositions (including Birdlike, Arietis, Lament For Booker, Thermo and Hub-tones) point to Hubbard’s powerful work ethic in this period, his ability to shine in any and all musical situations, and the obvious esteem in which he was held by other musicians. In his typically astute and insightful essay that graces the 20-page booklet, Bob Blumenthal writes of Hubbard’s “skill at sight-reading orchestral parts...,” but even that facet of Hubbard’s tool-box can’t account for the sheer volume of material he seemed to master in no time at all. It’s been said of Coleman Hawkins that he could arrive at the studio and be shown the lead sheet for a song he’d never played. He’d look it over, step up to the microphone and play it like he had written it. I suspect the same could be said of Hubbard. The albums presented here, in stellar sound and with all the bonus tracks that have been issued on CDs over the years, are an education by themselves. We can hear how the 22-year old leader of Open Sesame, featuring tenor saxist Tina Brooks and pianist McCoy Tyner, making his own Blue Note debut, grew quickly and steadily into one of the greatest trumpeters of the modern era. An immersion in The Complete Blue Note & Impulse ‘60s Studio Sessions will all by itself provide an intense look at this period of Hubbards’ career. If all of this great music provokes you into a more detailed exploration of Hubbard’s artistry in a myriad of contexts, you’ve got many, many hours of inspiring music to look forward to. Highest recommendation! 

Mosaic MD7-274; Disc 1 (72:17): (A) Open Sesame (6/19/60), (B) Goin’ Up (11/6/60)/ Disc 2 (72:16): Goin’ Up continued, ©) Hub Cap (4/9/61)/ Disc 3 (76:15): (D) Ready For Freddie (8/21/61), (E) The Artistry Of Freddie Hubbard (7/2/62)/ Disc 4 (59:02): (E) The Artistry Of Freddie Hubbard continued, (G) Here To Stay (12/27/62)/ Disc 5 (72:46): (F) Hub-Tones (7/2/62), (J) The Body And The Soul (5/2/63, small group session)/ Disc 6 (71:52): (H) The Body And The Soul (3/8/63, strings session), (I) The Body And The Soul (3/11/63, big band session), (K) Breaking Point (5/7/64)/ Disc 7 (62:02): (L) Blue Spirits (2/19/65, first session), (M) Blue Spirits (2/26/65, second session), (N) quintet session, 3/5/66, two tracks completed. All tracks recorded in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, except session (H), recorded in NYC. The Artistry Of Freddie Hubbard and The Body And The Soul originally on Impulse Records; the remainder on Blue Note Records. For complete discographical details, go here. Limited edition of 5,000 sets available directly from Mosaic at www.mosaicrecords.com

George Freeman: The Good Life

  Guitarist George Freeman, of the eminent Freeman clan of Chicago, made his debut on record with Joe Morris and his Orchestra in 1947 when he was just 20 years old and one of the earliest electric guitarists in jazz. Starting in his teens, he’s performed with a long list of prominent musicians including Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Groove Holmes, Gene Ammons, Jimmy McGriff, Johnny Griffin, Red Holloway, brothers Bruz and Von Freeman, and nephew Chico Freeman. He’s also recorded frequently as a leader, and his latest opus, The Good Life, find him in stellar company with two separate trios. Whatever he may have lost in dexterity, and it doesn’t sound like he’s lost much, he more than makes up for it with deep feeling and well-chosen and imaginative phrasing. First up is an organ ensemble, with Joey DeFrancesco at the keyboard and Lewis Nash on drums. It’s the instrumental setting in which Freeman feels most comfortable, and the enveloping soulfulness of organ-oriented jazz is apparent from the first downbeat of If I Had You. This extended version of a song that dates from the late Twenties draws the listener right into the trio’s sound. DeFrancesco, in one of his final recordings, establishes a calm and easy-going mood for this lengthy excursion. Nash’s ever-tasty and swinging drumming is a plus on any session. He takes a beguiling solo that sounds like he’s dancing on the drums, and he and Freeman trade some licks along the way. I’m not sure that opening a CD with a track that runs just over eleven minutes is the best sequencing idea, but it works here just fine. The organ unit plays two more songs, both composed by Freeman. The guitarist was excited about playing with Joey DeFrancesco, and Mr. D was written in his honor. It’s a bright, finger-snapping groove, and they make the most of it. Then there’s the smoking Up and Down, an utter romp that features bold drumming from Nash, a intensely hard-driving solo by DeFrancesco, and best of all, a definitive George Freeman solo, touching on the blues and bebop, and full of quotes and surprising twists and turns. As Michael Cuscuna writes in his highly appreciative liner notes, this is one of “the ‘outside’ solos that have prompted people since 1945 to ask, Who is this guy?” The other session is another trio, this one with the superb bassist Christian McBride and the widely accomplished drummer Carl Allen. McBride is characteristically rock-solid and exceptionally supportive, contributing succinct solos along the way. A basic blues original by Freeman, Lowe Groovin’, kicks things off as they get down and dirty with a piece that sounds like it would perfect in a smoky club late at night. Another Freeman tune, 1,2,3,4, swings hard with guitar and bass having a spirited conversation amid appropriate commentary from the drums. Sister Tankersley, the last of Freeman’s originals, might just have you out of your seat and slow-dancing to the snaky groove. The finale is an utterly gorgeous version of Sacha Distel’s The Good Life, first heard in 1962, and recorded hundreds of times over the years. It starts out as a slow stroll through the melody, picks up some momentum in the middle section, and calms down again for the last minute in a beautifully arranged ending. It’s the fitting conclusion for this highly enjoyable release. Happily recommended. 

HighNote HCD 7352; George Freeman (g) with Joey DeFrancesco (org) Lewis Nash (d); Chicago, IL, June 23, 2022; If I Had You/ Mr. D./ Up and Down; with Christian McBride (b) Carl Allen (d); Chicago, IL, May 7. 2022; Lowe Groovin’/ 1,2,3,4/ Sister Tankersley/ The Good Life; 50:57. www.jazzdepot.com

Denny Zeitlin: Crazy Rhythm: Exploring George Gershwin

  Beginning with the 2014 edition of his annual solo concert at Oakland, California’s Piedmont Piano showroom, pianist Denny Zeitlin has used the occasion to delve into the work of a single composer. In 2018, it was time to investigate the compositions of George Gershwin. As he told journalist Jesse Hamlin before the show “It’s hard to imagine better springboards into improvisation. They also lend themselves gracefully to re-harmonization, which attracts musicians who like to put their own stamp on a tune and stay with it at the same time.” If you think he’s including himself when he mentions “musicians,” you would be completely accurate. Crazy Rhythm: Exploring George Gershwin is a wonderful survey that offers deeply personal reimaginings of familiar tunes like The Man I Love and Summertime. As well-known as these songs still are after so many years and countless performances, Zeitlin’s reinventions make them new all over again. The most obscure composition is By Strauss, originally a piece played for comedic effect at parties and later adapted for a scene in An American In Paris. Zeitlin plays it slowly and compassionately, in a way that emphasizes its graceful melody. Among the many other high points of this set are a breakneck romp through S’Wonderful, an appropriately moody extended version of My Man’s Gone Now, and a marvelously complex jaunt through Fascinating Rhythm. In his short liner essay, Zeitlin, who heard much of Gershwin’s music as a child, mentions that the Miles Davis version of My Man’s Gone Now, as arranged by Gil Evans, “affected me deeply in my college years.” That would mean that Zeitlin, now 83 years young, very likely heard this famous rendition around the time that the Davis/Evans Porgy And Bess album was released in March, 1959. That’s given him a lifetime to ruminate on these songs and absorb their nuances. The audience in Oakland, and now listeners at home, are the clear beneficiaries of this long acquaintance, now immortalized on this thoroughly delightful CD. Highest recommendation! 

Sunnyside SSC 1693; Denny Zeitlin (p); Oakland, CA, December 7, 2018; Summertime/ How Long Has This Been Going On?/ S’Wonderful/ Bess You is My Woman Now/ It Ain’t Necessarily So/ By Strauss/ The Man I Love/ My Man’s Gone Now/ I’ve Got a Crush on You/ Fascinating Rhythm/ I Was Doing All Right; 68:33. www.sunnysiderecords.com

Zack Lober: NOFILL3R

  Bassist Zack Lober’s trio with trumpeter Suzan Veneman and drummer Sun-Mi Hong delivers an entertaining and lucid half-hour of original compositions on NO FILL3R. The music was recorded live in the famed Wisseloord Studios in The Netherlands, and the setting contributes to the lively interplay among the musicians. The tunes are mostly by Lober. We’re also treated to one each by Veneman (Loved Ones) and Hong (Sun Drums), along with the collectively composed title track. Lober is originally from Montréal, lived and played in New York City for more than a decade, and moved to The Netherlands in 2019. Trumpet, bass, and drums is one of the more perilous ensemble instrumentations, but Lober, Veneman and Hong navigate the territory with keen aplomb and a refreshing sense of mutual reinforcement. Trumpeter Veneman has a warm tone that’s centered in the lower reaches of her horn, and she displays plenty of imagination in her conversational improvising style. Lober’s sturdy bass lines, which remind me of Dave Holland’s quintet work in the Nineties, works quite well with drummer Hong and her dynamic approach to drums and cymbals. It’s a formidable ensemble, and my only complaint is that the set is too short. It’s one of the great pleasures of reviewing new releases to encounter talents that are new to you. Maybe next time out, they can get more expansive, but for now NO FILL3R is well worth hearing. 

ZenneZ 023002; Suzan Veneman (tpt) Zack Lober (b) Sun-Mi Hong (d); Hilversum, The Netherlands, August 24-25, 2021; Mid Music/ Force Majeure/ A Hymn/ No Fill3r/ Blues/ Chop Wood/ Sun Drums/ Luck (Alice)/ Loved Ones; 30:44. www.zennezrecords.com