Requisites

Ready For Freddie ~ Freddie Hubbard | By Eddie Carter

Freddie Hubbard steps into the spotlight of this morning’s discussion with an excellent 1962 blowing session titled Ready For Freddie (Blue Note BLP 4085/BST 84085). This choice from the library is the trumpeter’s fourth album as a leader and he’s working with a stellar supporting cast. Bernard McKinney on euphonium, Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, McCoy Tyner on piano, Art Davis on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums complete the sextet. For those who don’t know about the euphonium, it’s a medium-sized, tenor-voiced brass instrument that’s usually featured in a brass band and is a member of the tuba family. My copy used in this report is the 1995 Blue Note Connoisseur Series US Stereo Audiophile reissue (B1-32094).

Arietis by Freddie Hubbard starts Side One with the sextet grabbing the listener’s attention from the opening notes of their swinging melody. Freddie takes us on an exuberant joyride in the opening solo. Wayne continues surging ahead on the second statement, then Bernard digs into the third reading with agility. McCoy soars into a satisfying summation ahead of the song’s finale. Weaver of Dreams by Jack Elliot and Victor Young begins at a deceptively slow tempo with McKinney and Shorter’s introduction segueing into Hubbard’s sensitive theme. The pace picks up for a beautifully delicate opening statement by Freddie. McCoy comes in next for an affectionate interpretation leading to Hubbard’s haunting climax.

Wayne Shorter’s Marie Antoinette affords everyone except Elvin a solo opportunity beginning with the group establishing a relaxed mood in the opening chorus. Wayne begins with an easy-going toe-tapper. Freddie infuses an optimistic spirit into the second solo. Bernard moves things along at a comfortable pace, then McCoy gives us a few compelling moments. Art adds to the fun with a few airy bass notes leading to the closing chorus that dissolves into nothingness. Birdlike by Freddie Hubbard begins Side Two at a brisk beat with the group’s collective melody. Hubbard gets things going first, then Shorter puts together a mesmerizing performance. McKinney has a few attractive lines in the third spot. Tyner and Davis keep the energy going with two quick readings into the quintet’s finale.

Freddie Hubbard’s Crisis opens with the trio’s simple introduction segueing into a soothing melody. Freddie, Wayne, Bernard, and McCoy all make their point in four enchanting interpretations. Elvin offers an impressive climax into the sextet’s reprise and fadeout. Ready For Freddie was produced by Alfred Lion and Rudy Van Gelder was the recording engineer. The reissue producer is Michael Cuscuna and Larry Walsh did the mastering from the original analog tapes. The sound quality is excellent with a spacious soundstage and the instruments come through your speakers vibrantly as if the musicians are playing in front of you. The record is pressed on 180-gram Virgin Vinyl and is silent until the music starts. If you’re in the mood for an excellent Hard-Bop album, I invite you to check out Ready For Freddie by Freddie Hubbard. It’s sure to occupy a proud place in any novice or seasoned jazz fan’s library for years to come!

~ Euphonium – Source: Wikipedia.org
~ © 2022 by Edward Thomas Carter

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Mamadouh Bahri was born July 31, 1957 in Sfax, Tunisia and grew up there until  the age of 25 when he moved to Montpellier, France where he later taught music at Jazz Action Montpellier (JAM) until 1991.

From 1989 to 1993, he played in a quartet with pianist Horace Parlan, Italian bassist Riccardo Del Fra and New Orleans drummer Idris Muhammad. In 1991, they recorded From Tunisia with Love, live in Carthage, Tunisia. The same year, Bahri moved to New York City, where he joined the collective Spirit of Life Ensemble with saxophonist T.K. Blue, trumpeter Ted Curson and drummer Winard Harper among others. He recorded seven albums with the group between 1993 and 2002.

He has played many concerts throughout France and performed in northern Europe, the Middle East, China and the United States. Mamadouh has appeared on broadcast television in Tunis and Abu Dhabi. His recordings have gotten radio airplay in France, New York City and Tunisia. Guitarist Mamadouh Bahri continues to combine Afro-Mediterranean music with a jazz tradition.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Walt Weiskopf was born in Augusta, Georgia on July 30, 1959 and grew up outside of Syracuse, New York. His father, a physician by profession, was also a serious classical pianist. Classically trained, it wasn’t the albums of Al Hirt or Herb Alpert his mother brought home but Miles Ahead that turned his attention. Already filled with Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon and John Coltrane at 14 he set his sight in earnest on jazz. At 16, he began playing alto saxophone in a local big band alongside the great tenorist J.R. Monterose, who became his first mentor.

Heading to the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, Walt acquired a B.A. and after a move to New York City at twenty in 1980 he made a name for himself in jam sessions and was drafted into the Buddy Rich Big Band, adding tenor to his arsenal. By 1983, he began a 14-year association with Toshiko Akiyoshi, touring and recording with her jazz orchestra and small group.

The late ’80s, saw him playing with and writing for his first quartet that included his brother Joel, bassist Jay Anderson, and drummer Jeff Hirshfield. In 1989, he released his debut album as a leader, Exact Science, with that band. A sextet album followed as his sophomore project with Conrad Herwig, Andy Fusco, Joel Weiskopf, Peter Washington, and Billy Drummond. This began a long association with Criss Cros,s Jazz in which eleven albums were recorded and released.

His latest project, the debut of the European Quartet takes him further into his composing, arranging and thematic compositions. The group has released a number of albums, such as Worldwide, Introspection and Introspection 2.0, and a three song ep A Little Christmas Music.

As outstanding as this output is and all of his efforts as a sideman are (he is especially great on Billy Drummond’s Dubai), Weiskopf is best known to many fans for his work with Steely Dan over the past 20 years—before and after the untimely passing of its genius co-founder Walter Becker in 2017.

As an educator he has taught at numerous schools including the Eastman School of Music, Temple University, New Jersey City University and the New School. He published numerous books, Intervalic Improvisation, Around the Horn, and Understanding the Diminished Scale. Moving to Virginia, he retired from teaching and working commercially and is concentrating on practicing and composing.

Tenor saxophonist, composer, arranger and educator Walt Weiskopf, who was a 20 year staple of the studio-only jazz rock fusion band Steely Dan, continues to push the realm of his music.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Alan Lee was born on July 29, 1936 in Melbourne, Australia. He was one of the first Australian jazz musicians to fuse classical music with jazz and to utilize Latin American rhythms in his music.

He led several jazz bands in Melbourne and Sydney from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Some of his recorded albums include his Seventies’ projects Gallery Concerts, The Alan Lee Jazz Quartet, Moomba Jazz ’76, Live from the Dallas Brooks Hall, and Alan Lee and Friends: Jazz at the Hyde Park Hotel in 1990, among others.

Bandleader, vibraphonist, guitarist, and percussionist Alan Lee at 86 continues to dabble in music.

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The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

The Jazz Voyager is still taking the variants very seriously and wearing his mask and social distancing as conditions present themselves. There is no evidence that stipulates that this is over and recommendations are still in place to wear your mask when in indoor public spaces.

Standing On The Rooftop is the sixth studio album by jazz vocalist Madeleine Peyroux. It was produced by Craig Street and released on June 14, 2011 on the Decca/Universal record label. All songs except 1, 6, 8, & 11 were written by Madeleine Peyroux 2 to 5, 7, 9, 10, 12 to 15.

The fifteen songs were recorded in February 2011 at several studios – Sear Sound in New York City on February 14~17 and Motherbrain Studio in Brooklyn, NY on February 26th, with additional recording at Downtown Music Studios and Wild Arctic in NYC, Vel Studios~ Brooklyn, Phantom Vox~Los Angeles, The Odd Bedroom, Basement & Garage and Sterling Sound. The mixing was done by Kevin Killen (tracks: 5 to 8), Matthew Cullen (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 9 to 12), and Tony Maserati (tracks: 2, 13 to 15)

This was the first album of Peyroux with Decca Records and her first with producer Craig Street, interrupting her longtime collaboration with Larry Klein. Standing on the Rooftop featured originals, along with three covers, Martha My Dear, I Threw It All Away and Love In Vain, plus Marc Ribot’s Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love. It also paired Peyroux with new songwriting partners.

1. Martha My Dear (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) ~ 2:32
2. The Kind You Can’t Afford (Peyroux, Bill Wyman) ~ 3:59
3. Leaving Home Again (Peyroux, Wyman) ~ 3:35
4. The Things I’ve Seen Today (Peyroux, Jenny Scheinman) ~ 3:44
5. Fickle Dove (Peyroux, Scheinman) ~ 3:28
6. Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love (music by Marc Ribot, lyrics by W. H. Auden) ~ 3:23
7. Standing on the Rooftop (David Batteau, Peyroux) ~ 5:46
8. I Threw It All Away (Bob Dylan) ~ 3:15
9. The Party Oughta Be Comin’ Soon (Peyroux) ~ 5:00
10. Superhero (Jonatha Brooke, Peyroux) ~ 3:21
11. Love In Vain (Robert Johnson) ~ 3:40
12. Don’t Pick a Fight with a Poet (Peyroux, Andy Scott Rosen) ~ 4:28
13. Meet Me in Rio (Peyroux) ~ 3:51
14. Ophelia (Batteau, Peyroux) ~ 5:12
15. The Way of All Things (Peyroux) ~ 4:02

• Madeleine Peyroux ~ vocals
• John Kirby ~ keyboards
• Glen Patscha – keyboards
• Patrick Warren ~ keyboards
• Allen Toussaint ~ piano
• Jenny Scheinman ~ violin
• Christopher Bruce ~ guitar
• Marc Ribot ~ guitar
• Meshell Ndegeocello ~ bass guitar
• Charley Drayton ~ drums
• Mauro Refosco ~ percussion

• Creative Director ~ Pat Barry (3)
• Design Concept [Package Coordination] ~ Rafael Hernandez (2)
• Design [Graphic] ~ Rebecca Meek
• Engineer ~ Matthew Cullen
• Photography By [Cityscape Panorama] ~ Keith Sirchio
• Photography By [Portrait] ~ Mary Ellen Mark

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