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Freddie Hubbard – Music is Here (We Want Sounds) | Album Of The Day

Freddie Hubbard’s live session at Studio 104 Maison de la Radio (ORTF)—recorded in 1973 in front of an enlivened Parisian audience—sees its first ever vinyl issue on We Want Sounds, a double LP set featuring stretched out versions of some of Hub’s finest compositions. Enlisted are pianist George Cables on Fender Rhodes, Michael Carvin on drums, Junior Cook on tenor saxophone and flute and Kent Brinkley on upright, all of which do a superb job of marshalling the sound along while keeping up with the fluidity and the genius of Hubbard’s playing power. The live concert, viewable on YouTube, is a flamboyant and exiting affair, Hubbard meanders intermittently between his musicians on stage, wryly nodding in approval as he swaps trumpets or towels down his hands. Carvin sweats profusely, hunched furtively over his drums—seemingly enlisting primordial inspiration.

 

The music is deeply nuanced throughout, oftentimes mystical sounding and enchanted. The improvisational prowess of each member of the quintet and their seemingly innate ability to communicate with each other onstage through their various mediums creates a singular sense of urgency and dynamism that cut through the recorded music. It is an intoxicating listen, a journey into a higher plane of musical consciousness and certainly, to the uninitiated, a serious Jazz album, a transformative performance that doesn’t hold back. This would have stood at the forefront of the Jazz vanguard when it was initially recorded in the early seventies, a soulful and pertinent expression of new musical ideas and styles of playing for its time, a forward thinking and visionary performance which serves as testament to Hubbard’s insurmountable and unique talent as a bandleader and arranger.

 

The album highlight is the 24 minute long version of First Light, the titular track from Hubbard’s Grammy award winning album on CTI, starting off with a fierce horn duet between Cook and Hubbard. Cables then brings you back down to terra firma, establishing the recognisable chord progression to which the quintet respond after some elongated tinkling, Hubbard playing a true to life sized cowbell onstage before switching back to trumpet. Carvin thunders away during the breakdowns and warm ripples of applause and appreciative murmuring mark the end of each solo section, each one invariably wandering off into heady adjacents. It is a highly engaging—if not slightly drawn out—performance, the neon glow of Cables’ Rhodes illuminate the soundscape while the cool, gunmetal sheen of Hubbard’s notes pierce the air around him.

Buy the LP HERE

Listen to First Light HERE