The jazz world was more than ready for Freddie Hubbard when the trumpeter burst upon the national scene in 1960. Clifford Brown, an early influence on Hubbard, had died tragically four years earlier. While Lee Morgan was making his mark, Hubbard's arrival gave jazz a new explosive and colorful virtuoso. His trumpet solos made him a giant within a short time.

 

Ready For Freddie (1961) finds Hubbard completely emerging from the pack and taking his place among the elite. The trumpeter introduces two of his finest compositions, the uptempo blues "Birdlike" and the dramatic "Crisis" and plays beautifully on his ballad feature "Weaver Of Dreams." He shows sidemen Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones that he was in their league, despite being only 23. This is one of the quintessential albums for which Freddie Hubbard is best remembered.

 

To paint with those colors Hubbard assembled a band that included three musicians from Coltrane's orbit: bassist Art Davis, pianist McCoy Tyner, and drummer Elvin Jones. The date also marked the first collaboration between Hubbard and Wayne Shorter, a startlingly original saxophonist and Hubbard's soon-to-be bandmate in The Jazz Messengers when the trumpeter replaced Lee Morgan in Art Blakey's flagship band later that year on seminal Blue Note albums including Mosaic and Buhaina's Delight. Rounding out the unique sextet on Ready for Freddie is Bernard McKinney on euphonium, a mellow-toned brass instrument that enhanced the ensemble's tonal palette.

 

1. Arietis

2. Weaver Of Dreams

3. Marie Antoinette

 

Side 2:

4. Birdlike

5. Crisis