FREDDIE HUBBARD
Fastball (Label M)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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While Freddie Hubbard's recorded output during the last couple of decades has been disappointing to many, there's no denying that for a period of time in the sixties and seventies, he was the heir apparent to the jazz trumpet throne. In fact, the assessment of his later career has been colored to a degree not entirely fair to Hubbard by the high expectations created during his early days as a leader.

Listening to Fastball, from the Label M "Live" At The Left Bank series, those high expectations are easy to understand. Cut free of the constraints of the recording studio, and surrounded by an excellent supporting cast, this 1967 date at Baltimore's Famous Ballroom offers five extended selections that demonstrate not only Hubbard's strong tone and technical facility, but his ability to extend a theme creatively, pushing beyond his hard bop roots to the edge of outside and back.

The quintet he led that night was well suited to allow Hubbard to demonstrate his full creative range. Tenor saxophonist Benny Maupin was always one of the best reed counterparts to Hubbard. Beside his memorable sessions with Freddie, he may be best known for the Miles Davis Bitch's Brew recordings, and there are hints here of the atmospheric edge he would offer there. Kenny Barron is best known today as a leader, but he is also one of the great jazz piano accompanists, and his work here, a year out of his early tenure with Dizzy Gillespie, demonstrates those skills in fine form. The rhythm section is rounded out by rock solid performances from bassist Herbie Lewis and drummer Freddie Waits.

Bluesy, boppin', edgy and tight, Freddie Hubbard threw nothing but strikes the night he recorded Fastball. This is a valuable addition to his catalog.

Track List:

Pensativa * Echoes Of Blue * Crisis * Willow Weep For Me * Bob's Place

© 2001 - Shaun Dale