The Grammy winner of jazz, Freddie Hubbard, whose glowing virtuosity influenced the trumpet players generation and who also collaborated with greats like Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman died on Monday.
It is reported that this popular jazz musician was suffering from a heart attack since a month and died at the age of 70 years. As commented by Hubbard’s manager, the jazz musician died at the Sherman Oaks Hospital.
He also said that Hubbard was hospitalized the day before he attended the celebrations of Thanksgiving. In his early recordings including “Goin Up” and “Open Sesame” in the year 1960, Chet baker and Davis’s influence on this great musician is obvious.
This exceptional jazz musician played over 300 recordings with some of the very crucial jazz albums in 1960s such as Maiden Voyage by Herbie Hancock, Free Jazz by Coleman, Ascension by Coltrane, Out to Lunch by Eric Dolphy, Speak No Evil by Wayne and Hubbard’s Ready for Freddie, a classic. When Hubbard was young, he became highly popular and admired among his competitors for a blazing, fiery style, allowing him for hitting notes faster and higher than like anyone else. As infirmity as well as age started to slow the style, Hubbard switched over to a melodic and softer style and also played the flugelhorn.
The musician’s career began to slow down in 1980s and Hubbard attributed this part to the period of partying and drinking with rock crowd. He once again returned in last decade with the release of New Colors and On The Real Side, both with New Jazz Composers Octet, the group playing advanced and restructured arrangements of Hubbard’s compositions like Theme for Kreem. Hubbard reported lat June that he played very elastic and loose style and used a large number of different moves and slurs. He advises any upcoming trumpeter not to follow his steps as that style can prove to be hazardous to health. A tribute has been planned for the next month.
