(Photo of Freddie Hubbard by John McKenzie from www.jazzprofessional.com)
Sad to say that another jazz great has passed. Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard died today at the age of 70 (from the Associated Press):
Freddie Hubbard, the Grammy-winning jazz musician whose style influenced a generation of trumpet players and who collaborated with such greats as Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, died Monday, a month after suffering a heart attack. He was 70.
Hubbard died at Sherman Oaks Hospital, said his manager, fellow trumpeter David Weiss of the New Jazz Composers Octet. He had been hospitalized since suffering the heart attack a day before Thanksgiving.
A towering figure in jazz circles, Hubbard played on hundreds of recordings in a career dating to 1958, the year he arrived in New York from his hometown Indianapolis, where he had studied at the Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Music and with the Indianapolis Symphony.
Soon he had hooked up with such jazz legends as Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley and Coltrane.
“I met Trane at a jam session at Count Basie’s in Harlem in 1958,” he told the jazz magazine Down Beat in 1995. “He said, `Why don’t you come over and let’s try and practice a little bit together.’ I almost went crazy. I mean, here is a 20-year-old kid practicing with John Coltrane. He helped me out a lot, and we worked several jobs together.”
In his earliest recordings, which included “Open Sesame” and “Goin’ Up” for Blue Note in 1960, the influence of Davis and others on Hubbard is obvious, Weiss said. But within a couple years he would develop a style all his own, one that would influence generations of musicians, including Wynton Marsalis.
“He influenced all the trumpet players that came after him,” Marsalis told The Associated Press earlier this year. “Certainly I listened to him a lot. … We all listened to him. He has 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.”
Hubbard played on more than 300 recordings, including his own albums and those of scores of other artists. He won his Grammy in 1972 for best jazz performance by a group for the album “First Light.”
As a young musician, Hubbard became revered among his peers for a fiery, blazing style that allowed him to hit notes higher and faster than just about anyone else with a horn. As age and infirmity began to slow that style, he switched to a softer, melodic style and played a flugelhorn. His fellow musicians were still impressed.
In tribute we’re posting one of his more out-there titles, Sing Me a Song of Songmy, a collaboration from 1971 with the Turkish electronic composer Ilhan Mimaroglu. You can download the album here.
(Photo of Brett Ralph from this nice review here.)
One of our favorite people of all time, Mr. Brett Eugene Ralph, is bringing his Kentucky Chrome Revue to the Air Devils Inn tomorrow night (that’s Saturday, December 20th if you’re scoring at home). Here’s what Brett says:
Come on out to our first show in nearly a year. We’ve got two new members, lots of new songs, and even a few Xmas surprises. The current line-up includes Chris Reinstatler on drums, Kirk Kiefer on keyboards, Mark “Lupe” Hamilton on lead guitar, Justin Miller on bass, and Jamie Daniel on violin.
The show is a measly $5, and also includes both Jon Ashley and the Whiskey Bent Valley Boys on the bill.
The Air Devils Inn, one of Louisville’s greatest divey bars, is located at 2802 Taylorsville Road, across the street from Bowman Field and right next to Queen of Sheba (one of the best restaurants in town!).
The weekend starts early around here, because there’s a ton of stuff going on in Louisville, Lexington and all around. So even though we haven’t done an event listing post in a while, let’s get started!
First off, tonight at Skull Alley (1017 E. Broadway), Mose Giganticus, Emotron, Mowgli! and the Robot Affair play at 7 PM, for $5. We don’t know anything about these bands, but we like Skull Alley, so there. Oh, it’s also all-ages.
Second, tonight at the 21c Hotel (700 W. Main Street), Bay Area troubadours Vetiver play a special concert with local heroes Kings Daughters and Sons (featuring members of Rachel’s, Shipping News, Dead Child, etc.). Doors are at 8 PM, tickets are $12 at the door (also available at Ear X-Tacy for a limited time today), and here’s the press release:
Celebrating their third major studio release, Vetiver will be taking a break from their national tour with the Black Crows to give a special performance at 21c Museum. Vetiver’s new album, Thing of the Past, breaks from the traditional covers album by paying tribute to little-known songs by little-known musicians who influenced band leader Andy Cabic. California-based, Vetiver is no stranger to experimentation and has shared the stage with Joanna Newsom, The Shins, Colm O’Ciosoig of My Bloody Valentine, and Bright Eyes. Perhaps Vetiver is best described by occasional collaborator Devendra Banhart as an “impossibly ethereal yet terrestrial songwriting.”
Our friends at Backseat Sandbar have an interview with Vetiver’s Andy Cabic you can read here.
Also tonight in Lexington, our faves Hair Police, noise goddess Leslie Keffer, local weirdos Caboladies and Laloux are playing at the Cat’s Den, inside the UK Student Center at 8 PM. It’s all-ages and it’s FREE!
Friday night the 2nd Annual Deck The Halls show of skateboard art opens at Derby City Espresso, 331 E. Market Street. Ben Purdom & the Swedish Eagles will be providing live music, starting at 10 PM and it’s free.
Also Friday night Julia Christensen’s Big Box Reuse show opens at the Green Building Gallery (as we told you about yesterday). 732 E. Market Street, 5 to 9 PM, free.
Saturday at the Rudyard Kipling, Straight A’s, Toads and Mice and Siberia will play, starting at 10 PM for $5. Our friend Brett Holsclaw (of the Glasspack) will be djing between bands.
Also Saturday at Lisa’s Oak Street Lounge (1006 E Oak St), New York friends D. Charles Speer & The Helix (featuring members of No Neck Blues Band and Sunburned Hand of the Man) will be playing with recent arrival Zak Riles (of Grails), Twos & Fews label proprietor (and our good friend) Nathan Salsburg, and R. Keenan Lawler.
If you miss them in Louisville (and you really shouldn’t!), D. Charles Speer & The Helix will play Lexington on Sunday, December 7th with Warmer Milks at Al’s Bar, 6th and N. Limestone, at 9 PM, $4, all-ages.
Saturday night in Louisville also brings the TRAFOZSATSFM release show at Skull Alley with the Phantom Family Halo, the Slow Break, IamIs, Whistle Peak, Trophy Wives, and Six White Horses. TRAFOZSATSFM is the local tribute album to David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, curated by John King. The show starts at 8 PM and is $5.
Finally, Saturday night also is the opening of Sarah Lyon’s 2009 Female Mechanics Calendar at the Green Building, 732 E. Market Street, 5 PM to 9 PM, and featuring music spun by DJ Kim Sorise. And of course it’s FREE!
Whew! That’s a lot of stuff. Get out there!
