Disc of the day: 11-06-09

Freddie Hubbard: Without A Song: Live in Europe 1969 (Blue Note)
Were you in Colston Hall in Bristol on 14 December 1969, or at the Royal Festival Hall in London a day earlier? Was it intended as a pre-Christmas treat before the duties of the festive season took over? If so, you were hugely rewarded and can count yourself extremely lucky.

For Freddie was in fine form indeed. The opening number – the title tune – and the final one here, Freddie’s own Hub Tones, are taken from the RFH gig, tracks two to four, The Things We Did Last Summer, A Night In Tunisia and Blues By Five, are from Bristol, and the remaining Body And Soul (the only track previously released) and Space Track are from German dates on the same tour.

With Hubbard on trumpet are Roland Hanna on piano, Ron Carter on bass and Louis Hayes on drums.

Hubbard is straight in on Without A Song, and in commanding form. Although Hayes’s splash cymbals sometimes verge on the wrong side of deluge, the recording is generally good, and Hanna turns in a lovely solo, too. That big, popping sound Hubbard gets, with such rich overtones in the timbre of the long-held notes, and the impeccable sudden flurries of notes – all these are heard to great effect here.

In ballad mode, his breathy tone is just gorgeous. It’s entertaining to think how Miles might play The Things We Did…, and compare how Hubbard might sometimes try for the introspective tone and demeanour, but just can’t help himself – the big, bold, outgoing Hubbard must out. His statement of the tune and solo could be a mine of delights as study piece for the aspiring trumpet student.

Tunisia offers the chance to compare Freddie’s way with the tune and Dizzy’s original – two different methods of romping. Again, Hanna is on great form and Hayes pushes hard. As in many live recordings of this time, double bass players tend to draw the short straw, though I am sure Carter is helped by the best attempts of the modern mixing engineers to give him the best show policy.

Hubbard’s solo on Blues By Five is yet another different mood from a multi-faceted inproviser. He worries riffs, races up and down scales, and really adds some fire to his sound. Body And Soul is another big and broad ballad, with Hubbard almost whispering lowdown to start with, but again, not for long as he squeezes on the mid-range and heads upwards. Carter is better recorded in Germany, while Hanna suffers a little. It’s possibly my favourite – especially as in the middle of his solo he suddenly steals a riff from Surrey With The Fringe On Top and works a pattern from it, and the on mic/off mic cadenza at the end is great too – but it’s hard to choose from the consistently top notch performances on this disc.

Hubbard heard these tapes again before his death and was able to help with the selection for release. A fitting tribute to the man, and a sample of him at his peak.