While trumpeter Freddie Hubbard made most of his early recordings for Blue Note Records, he did take a time out to record a couple of records for Impulse in the mid 1960's featuring singularly epic saxophone players. The Artistry of Freddie Hubbard is a burning small group date, featuring tenor saxophonist John Gilmore on one of his rare forays away from the Sun Ra Arkestra. Rounding out the cast are Curtis Fuller on trombone, Tommy Flanagan on piano, Art Davis on bass and Louis Hayes on drums. Gilmore and Hubbard are a very potent front line, particularly effective on the jazz standards "Caravan" and "Summertime" and the lengthy up-tempo original "Bob's Place." The Body and the Soul puts Hubbard at the center of a large band, with an orchestra and string section, and with a septet featuring Curtis Fuller, Eric Dolphy, Wayne Shorter, Cedar Walton, Reggie Workman and Louis Hayes. Hubbard plays with great gravity and weight on some of the more ponderous string draped songs, playing with a strong and stoic tone on the ballads, but picking up nicely on the extraordinary Eric Dolphy feature "Clarence's Place." Dolphy is incandescent in his short solo, lighting a fire under Hubbard and forcing him to follow suit. The small band sides tend to work better than the orchestral ones, but overall this is a reissue well worth hearing. The Artistry Of Freddie Hubbard / The Body And The Soul (Impulse 2-on-1) - amazon.com
Send comments to Tim.
