Record of the Day: Freddie Hubbard, “Here to Stay”

Freddie Hubbard
“Here to Stay” (Cd Blue Note B000h3096K)

Alfred Lion, owner of Blue Note, must have been spoiled for choice when it came to his own record releases between 1955 and 1964, surrounded as he was by masterpieces such as John Coltrane’s “Blue Train”, Cannonball Adderley’s “Somethin’ Else”, records by Horace Silver, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey and many others.
The wealth of great music was such that he could afford the luxury of not releasing records that, when listened to again, overshadow everything that is produced today by so-called mainstream jazz.

One such title is Freddie Hubbard’s “Here To Stay”, recorded in 1962; it was mysteriously shelved by Lion despite Hubbard himself rightly considering it one of his best works and was only released in 1975, when the Blue Note of the time
of gold was now a memory lost in the mists of fusion. Later it became part of the albums available on the market
Japanese and to get hold of it you had to shell out a considerable sum of money; today it finally sees the light again thanks to the RVG series.

A cast composed of the Jazz Messengers, but with Philly Joe Jones on drums, moves with the compactness of a platoon, bringing to mind the records that the same group created in those years. Cedar Walton’s piano is a marvel in the harmonies and dispenses solos perfect for conciseness and creativity. Wayne Shorter, through the crooked lines of his sax gives life to solo excursions whose melodic intelligence and originality do not cease to amaze even today.

Hubbard was also at the height of his powers, having amply demonstrated in previous releases such as “Open Sesame” and
“Goin’ up”; the fire that pervades every note shows us an artist with an impressive stylistic maturity despite his young age (25 years), perfectly in control of his instrument and of the most advanced vocabulary of the jazz language.
The album’s constant qualitative level is also ensured thanks to Reggie Workman’s rhythm section on the double bass, which loads up with exaggerated quantities of swing, with notable harmonic-rhythmic openings.

The group manages to create situations of great creativity in original pages such as “Philly Mignon” and “Assunta” but also in the well-tested “Body and Soul”, where Hubbard’s trumpet reaches levels of lyricism worthy of his colleague Miles Davis.

Carlo Boccadoro, composer and conductor, was born in Macerata in 1963. He lives and works in Milan. He collaborates with soloists and orchestras in different parts of the world. He is the author of numerous books on musical subjects.

This text is taken from “Lunario della musica: Un disco per ogni giorno dell’anno” published by Einaudi, courtesy of the author and the publisher.