So not that long ago I lied, and said that the focus of my musical listening was going to be jazz and New Age, since then I don’t think I’ve really written about either genre! That doesn’t mean that I haven’t been listening to artists in those genres because I have, I just haven’t written about them yet. One of the albums that I’ve been listening to is the début album of Freddie Hubbard Open Sesame which was released way back in 1960, when Freddie was 22 years old. I listened to this album because it was on a list of essential albums. It’s not like I haven’t listened to and enjoyed Freddie’s trumpet before, because I have, music from when he was a teenager and was playing with the Montgomery Brothers in and around Indianapolis, Echoes of Indiana Avenue.
Open Sesame was Hubbard’s first record as a band leader and was released in June of 1960. When I first listened to this album, in addition to Hubbard’s great playing, which to me is some of the best I’ve ever heard, I really loved the piano many of the solos are outstanding.So tonight I looked to see who was on piano on the session and the pianist was non-other than a young and up-coming musician McCoy Tyner! Saxophonist Tina Brooks, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Clifford Jarvis round out the rest of the quintet.
After the release of Open Sesame, Hubbard was invited in December to play on Ornette Coleman’s Free Jazz. Coleman asked Hubbard to play with him after he heard Hubbard playing with Don Cherry.
Next, Hubbard played on Olé, John Coltrane’s final recording session with Atlantic Records. Together with Eric Dolphy, Hubbard was the only ‘session’ musician who appeared on both Olé and Africa/Brass, Coltrane’s first album with ABC/Impulse! You can read more about Freddie at his Wikipedia page
His last album was On the Real Side which was recorded in 2007 to celebrate his 70th birthday in 2008 (April 7) The album was released June 10th, 2008 on the Times Square label.He died on December 29 of 2008. from complications from a heart attack he suffered on November 26.After his death…..
Down Beat called him “the most powerful and prolific trumpeter in jazz.” Embedded in his massive body of recorded work is a legacy that will continue to influence trumpeters and other jazz artists for generations to come. – Freddie Hubbard Biography
So here’s some nighttime jazz from Freddie, the title track from Open Sesame!
