Freddie Hubbard

一九三八年四月出生的Freddie Hubbard（佛瑞迪·赫巴德）與波士頓塞爾提克隊神射手賴瑞·柏德都是印第安那州人。赫巴德的小號聲調(diào)風(fēng)格被認(rèn)為介於快眩神奇的克利佛·布朗(Clifford Brown)與狂野不羈的李·莫根(Lee Morgan)之間，當(dāng)他於一九五八年移居紐約后，他的黃金年代與此展開，先是與長笛之神艾瑞克·道菲(Eric Dolphy)同臺，接著先后加入菲力·喬·瓊斯(Philip Joe Jones)、桑尼·羅林斯、杰·杰·強生的樂團，一九六○年他更參與了自由爵士的大師歐涅·寇曼的「Free Jazz」錄音，與薩克斯風(fēng)救世主John Coltrane一起錄音。 但他生命當(dāng)中最輝煌燦爛的一頁卻才要到來，一九六一年至一九六四年間，他加入了爵士鼓大師亞特·布萊基(Art Blakey)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的「爵士信差」(The Jazz Messengers)，赫巴德第一次遇到最能激發(fā)他潛力的對手：韋恩·蕭特(Wayne Shorter)，蕭特變幻莫測的薩克斯風(fēng)即興遇到了無論如何都能接招回應(yīng)的赫巴德，再加上背后控制場面穩(wěn)如泰山的亞特·布萊基，這個組合被許多人認(rèn)為是歷任「爵士信差」(The Jazz Messengers)團員搭檔中創(chuàng)作默契最佳的組合。 無論從哪個角度來看，F(xiàn)reddie Hubbard的初試啼聲之作《Open Sesame》，其演奏成熟度真是驚人！這張專輯命名為《芝麻開門》，頗有雙關(guān)語的味道：藍(lán)調(diào)之音的老板Alfred Lion慧眼識英雄，像是天方夜譚中阿里巴巴的角色，敞開音樂大門，向大家介紹爵士新秀胡巴德。對胡巴德而言，透過藍(lán)調(diào)之音發(fā)行首張個人創(chuàng)作，透過傲人的演奏實力嶄露頭角，也為自己開啟了在紐約大顯身手之門。 《Open Sesame》以專輯同名曲開場，在火熱的合奏聲中，帶出胡巴德熱切激昂的獨奏，薩克斯風(fēng)手Tina Brooks接續(xù)于后，兩位樂手你來我往，互相呼應(yīng)，緊緊扣住對方丟出來的點子再予以發(fā)揮，令人想到精純咆勃培育中心，也就是由鼓手Art Blakey領(lǐng)軍的「爵士信差」樂團的演奏模式：精彩的和聲、漂亮的獨奏以及舒暢又不失緊湊的搖擺節(jié)奏感。 除了胡巴德老練沉穩(wěn)的表現(xiàn)之外，這張專輯最值得一提的，就是薩克斯風(fēng)手Tina Brooks。他與胡巴德相識于紐約的俱樂部，兩人都是精純咆勃的忠實信徒。才華洋溢的Tina Brooks擁有Lester Young的性感音色，Dexter Gordon的尾勁，以及Charlie Parker漂亮而又肌理分明的即興樂句，是胡巴德非常器重的好友。Tina Brooks為Open Sesame專輯寫了兩首曲子，分別為開場曲「Open Sesame」和「Gypsy Blue」的曲子，并為抒情歌謠「But Beautiful」編曲，在整張專輯中扮演了吃重的角色。事實上，接下來編號4041的True Blue，仍是由Tina Brooks與胡巴德合作，只是改由Tina Brooks掛名而已。終其短暫一生，Tina Brooks都不是鋒芒畢露型的樂手，但他雋永的藍(lán)調(diào)即興樂句，特別是在「Gypsy Blue」中暢快的獨奏，卻永遠(yuǎn)存于樂迷心中。
by Scott Yanow
One of the great jazz trumpeters of all time, Freddie Hubbard formed his sound out of the Clifford Brown/Lee Morgan tradition, and by the early 70s was immediately distinctive and the pacesetter in jazz. However, a string of blatantly commercial albums later in the decade damaged his reputation and, just when Hubbard, in the early 90s (with the deaths of Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis), seemed perfectly suited for the role of veteran master, his chops started causing him serious troubles.
Born and raised in Indianapolis, Hubbard played early on with Wes and Monk Montgomery. He moved to New York in 1958, roomed with Eric Dolphy (with whom he recorded in 1960), and was in the groups of Philly Joe Jones (1958-1959), Sonny Rollins, Slide Hampton, and J.J. Johnson, before touring Europe with Quincy Jones (1960-1961). He recorded with John Coltrane, participated in Ornette Colemans Free Jazz (1960), was on Oliver Nelsons classic Blues and the Abstract Truth album (highlighted by Stolen Moments), and started recording as a leader for Blue Note that same year. Hubbard gained fame playing with Art Blakeys Jazz Messengers (1961-1964) next to Wayne Shorter and Curtis Fuller. He recorded Ascension with Coltrane (1965), Out to Lunch (1964) with Eric Dolphy, and Maiden Voyage with Herbie Hancock, and, after a period with Max Roach (1965-1966), he led his own quintet, which at the time usually featured altoist James Spaulding. A blazing trumpeter with a beautiful tone on flügelhorn, Hubbard fared well in freer settings but was always essentially a hard bop stylist.
In 1970, Freddie Hubbard recorded two of his finest albums (Red Clay and Straight Life) for CTI. The follow-up, First Light (1971), was actually his most popular date, featuring Don Sebesky arrangements. But after the glory of the CTI years (during which producer Creed Taylor did an expert job of balancing the artistic with the accessible), Hubbard made the mistake of signing with Columbia and recording one dud after another; Windjammer (1976) and Splash (a slightly later effort for Fantasy) are low points. However, in 1977, he toured with Herbie Hancocks acoustic V.S.O.P. Quintet and, in the 1980s, on recordings for Pablo, Blue Note, and Atlantic, he showed that he could reach his former heights (even if much of the jazz world had given up on him). But by the late 80s, Hubbards personal problems and increasing unreliability (not showing up for gigs) started to really hurt him, and a few years later his once-mighty technique started to seriously falter. Freddie Hubbards fans can still certainly enjoy his many recordings for Blue Note, Impulse, Atlantic, CTI, Pablo, and his first Music Masters sets.