The Hindu : Front Page : Jazz legend Freddie Hubbard dead

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Jazz legend Freddie Hubbard dead

— Photo: AP

Freddie Hubbard, a file photo.

LOS ANGELES: Freddie Hubbard, the Grammy-winning jazz musician whose blazing virtuosity influenced generations of trumpet players and who collaborated with such greats as Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, died on Monday, a month after suffering a heart attack. He was 70.

A towering figure in jazz circles, Mr. Hubbard played on literally hundreds of recordings in a career dating to 1958, the year he arrived in New York City from his hometown of Indianapolis, where he had studied at the Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Music and with the principal trumpeter of the Indianapolis Symphony.

Soon he had hooked up with such jazz legends as Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley, Rollins, Coltrane and others.

In his earliest recordings as a leader, which included “Open Sesame” and “Goin Up” for Blue Note in 1960, the influence of Davis, Chet Baker and others on Hubbard is obvious, David Weiss, his manager and fellow trumpeter said. But within a couple of years he would develop a style all his own, one that would influence generations of musicians, including such greats as Wynton Marsalis.

“He influenced all the trumpet players that came after him,” Mr. Marsalis said.“Certainly I listened to him a lot. ... We all listened to him. He had a big sound and a great sense of rhythm and time and really the hallmark of his playing is an exuberance. His playing is exuberant.”

Mr. Hubbard played on more than 300 recordings, including some of the most important jazz albums of the 1960s such as Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage,” Coleman’s “Free Jazz,” and his own classic, “Ready for Freddie.”

However, he enjoyed his biggest success in the 1970s with such albums for Creed Taylor’s crossover CTI label as “Red Clay” and “First Light.” The latter won him a Grammy in 1972 for best jazz performance by a group.

“Freddie made popular fusion records for CTI that reached a mass audience but were still artistic and unmatched,” fellow trumpeter Chris Botti said.

In 2006, he was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, the nation’s highest jazz honour. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Briggie Hubbard, and son, Duane. — AP

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