Greetings Freddie Hubb Fans;

The Freddie Hubbard Foundation will be starting soon. I'm Creating a Scholarship,which will help college bound music students with furthering their love for music.

                                                                           GOD Bless;

                                                                            Duane F. Hubbard 5/5/12

                                                                            Hello Friends;

  Hope all is well. I added some new Arrangements of Freddie's,more arrangements,transcripts,free downloads and other goodies to come. Stay Blessed and Prosperous!!!

                                                                           Duane F. Hubbard 12/09/11

                                                                           Hello once again;

  I added some fresh Freddie Hubb tee-shirts and hats from his concert tour in the summer of 1995. More great stuff comming soon.  GOD Bless!!                                                    

                                                                           Duane F.Hubbard 9/1/2011

                                                                           Geetings   Freddie Hubb fans;

   I just added some wonderful new photos,found in my Dad's personnal collection. Hope you enjoy them,and lets keep the Jazz alive and kicking.  GOD Bless!!

                                                                           Duane F. Hubbard 8/21/2011

                                                                           Greetings  Freddie Hubb fans;

  We have some great things comming onto the store soon. Arrangements,Transcripts,memoriabillia,and much more wonderful items,so stay tuned and GOD Bless!!

                                                                          Duane F. Hubbard   8/15/2011                                                                                                                                                                                           

                                                                         TRIBUTES

~Clark Terry:
Freddie was one of the last of the outstanding trumpet players that came on the scene in the 60′s. We did several recordings and jazz festivals together over the years, and I always admired him. A lot of us called him “Hubcap,” although I’m not sure who gave him that nickname. He was a fun cat and an extraordinary player. He could play anything! He was a stylized player – a very individual player in the category among greats like Louie, Diz, and Roy. He was one of the finest trumpeters who came down the pike. He will always be remembered, not only by fellow trumpeters, but everybody who heard him.
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Charles Tolliver:
There have been only a minuscule few who have unquestionably demonstrated why they are a true king of the trumpet instrument no matter the idiom or milieu. Frederick (Freddie) Dwayne Hubbard was and always will be one of these rare true kings, forever.

Freddie, barely twenty and I barely sixteen, met in the summer of 1958 during my last year in high school. A young Charli Persip was fronting a quintet of young terrors which included Freddie, Roland Alexander, Walter Davis, Jr., and John Ore providing music on a boat ride around the Hudson River. From that moment for the next fifty years Freddie and I have been close confidants. My relationship with Freddie was never as a student. He never demonstrated, nor did I ask for, how to pull off the miraculous things he did with the trumpet. He didn’t have to, I already knew from listening to his recordings. My relationship was more as an observer of the human aspect during the many times we spent together. He possessed a big heart and the trumpet was his extension of that big heart. He truly loved those close to him and vice-versa. He lived big and performed big-time because of it.

Freddie reigned supreme not only with his dazzling physical execution, but, as importantly, because what came out of the bell of his trumpet was pure magnificent magic, not sometime, but every time.

Before arriving to New York City, he had already developed during his formative school years in his native Indianapolis, a model brass setup (i.e. trumpet,mellophone, french horn, etc.). Providence had provided him with a near perfect embouchure [the position and use of the lips, tongue, and teeth in playing a wind instrument]. And therein lay one of the secrets to the greatness of Freddie Hubbard. By slightly modifying an already great embouchure he was able to physically fashion and create the style he was aiming for; to execute and muscle the trumpet in a saxophone-like pianistic manner resulting in incredible improvisational feats and solos never heard before, AND at the same time delivering a big, sassy, warm, brass sound. To boot, and as important, each and every solo performance, whether live or on the more than 300 recorded works, was crafted without ever sacrificing those crucial inherent elements of our artform, swing, the blues, and pure sophistication.

Another secret to the greatness of Freddie, and one which is also a must for any aspirant seeking to master the trumpet, was his ability to perform a ballad song crafted with beautiful melodic lines, a marvelous velvet tone, and elegant taste sending a thrill to the heart and a chill up the spine leaving one breathless.

The final secret to the greatness of Freddie Hubbard that may defy a simple explanation; how is it that one human being could sustain this highest level of pure excellence on the trumpet for forty straight years like none other, might be found in the scripture-based hymn where it says, “[the Lord] God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.”

The Wonder of Freddie Hubbard will live forever!
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Herbie Hancock:
Freddie Hubbard was, I believe, the greatest jazz trumpet stylists of my generation. His influence is still being felt in the sound of many young trumpeters today. His warm tone and formidable technique will be considered marvels well into the future.

Personally, I was so fortunate in that Freddie played on my very first album as a leader “Takin’ Off”. He was exactly the person I wanted and his contribution was groundbreaking. On a tune called “One Finger Snap” on a subsequent album of mine, his beginning improvised solo line worked so seamlessly that it became a kind of generic “melody” that most musicians still believe was the composed melody, when in fact it was not. He and I crossed paths musically in several albums. In the group VSOP he was a founding member who’s artistry helped propel that project, which began as a one time tour, to a decade of memorable musical inspirational moments for me.

His legacy is secure in that he played a seminal role of the shaping of the evolution of America’s foremost contribution to the musical arts, jazz.
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Brian Lynch:
The greatest, the most significant giant left on trumpet has left the building. Freddie Hubbard passed away on the morning of December 29th, 2008, having enriched the world of music immeasurably and influenced the world of jazz and trumpet profoundly in his 70 and 2/3rd years on earth. He was and is my greatest hero. Since the first time I heard “Red Clay” at 14 years of age, Hub has personified the music to me, and I consider it an honor to have known him, as a fan and as a (very junior) colleague. The times we played together with Art Blakey on special concerts were life-changing experiences for me; Hub had so much music emanating from him that some of that magic could almost stick to you if you were really aware and sensitive to it. I’ll be continuing to learn from him as long as I’m around.
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Dave Douglas
Freddie Hubbard was one of the most skilled practitioners of this art. The joy and freedom in his playing came in part from this complete mastery of the instrument. It always sounded effortless. In the high range his control of air was so sublime that his lines sometimes defied the laws of physics and harmony, resolving in odd ways just by dint of his total domination of the instrument. Freddie grabbed the opportunity of those alternate fingerings to pop in and out of chromatic chord and scale ideas. His attack was always precise and his dodging and darting lines flowed like water through a sluiceway. A lot of people can play the trumpet well. Technical mastery is far from the reason Freddie Hubbard is the most imitated player of the last half-century. It was what he did with that mastery — the inventiveness of his harmonies and the ingenuity of his rhythmic propulsion. Freddie’s impact is so profound that you often don’t have to mention him when noting a young player’s influences. Freddie is always there. He had a lot to say, and we all soaked it up.

As a young player Freddie listened to Clifford Brown for sure. He also drank deeply at the well of Clifford’s inspirations: Fats Navarro, Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge, and Louis Armstrong, among many others. But trumpeters aren’t the only influence for trumpeters. In the same way that Clifford Brown talked about putting Charlie Parker’s language on the trumpet, Freddie Hubbard brought the practices of John Coltrane, his occasional practice-mate, directly into the brass world.

Freddie’s lines drove the harmony. Freddie toyed with the music, anticipating and delaying resolutions in unexpected ways. But at the end of the day it was the maturity of his improvisations that were the most powerful aspect of his musical expression. Freddie at his best could go nuts with the lines and the harmony, but he would also ease off and play with bluesy simplicity when it more effectively served the moment.

The VSOP records of the mid-seventies show Freddie in an unusual and revealing light. This had been Miles Davis’ band in the mid-sixties: Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. With Miles this music was spare and enigmatic — no extra notes and no bravura energy added to the brilliance of the tunes. Freddie brings something quite different. He is generous with notes and all flowing grace. A different kind of grace, like a gregarious toastmaster. Freddie is so on top of the music and the horn that he is unable to restrain the joyful exuberance of his ideas and his ability to pull them off.

That explains a lot about why he is more imitated than Miles Davis — his style gave so much more material to hold onto. Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard were two very different visions of the modern esthetic. Echoes of Miles are heard a lot, but you hear the sound of Freddie everywhere.

We can be thankful for the joy Freddie Hubbard brought to us in his seventy years on the planet. He will be missed.
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Dave Liebman:
We all know that in the past decade or so Freddie Hubbard was not really playing much, but the truth is that if he had stopped playing after the late 60s, I would still say the same thing about him, which is that he was the best of all time for me. His sound and ideas, his fire, his tunes and most of all his time were all incredible. He had the widest beat of anyone and made you really feel the pulse. He did it all-in and out harmonies-soft and loud-abstract with the blues, etc. He influenced everyone who is serious about jazz.
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Freddie Jacobs:
In the 70s, I did a Downbeat transcription workshop piece on “Sing Me A Song Of Songmy,” which I think Freddie valued in validating the serious side of his musical concept. This led to my connection with Freddie, by doing lead sheets of his compositions, so that he could register them for royalties.  Then I had the opportunity to take a couple of trumpet lessons, and hang with him at some record sessions and gigs, being mesmerized by his prolific creativity. His playing and writing epitomized the essence of jazz, swinging melodical improvisation, with soulful feeling. A tremendous influence on me and all the jazz musicians I’ve associated with.

The bar has certainly been raised up quite a higher level.  Thanks for all the great music.

God bless Freddie Hubbard.
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John Beasley:
Freddie was endowed with a musical imagination that matched his technical precision. At the beginning of every set I played over a 10-year period, I had to face Freddie-style intimidation, but this made me the musician I am today.  Freddie would come on stage and start with a song with a blazing tempo. It was a big tease. The musicians had to keep up.  Then, he would call songs that I wasn’t familiar with, which made me learn on the set – old school style: listening and playing by ear.

He was a great teacher. I would not have the chops nor instinct, intuition, insight and musical imagination that I have today without his tutelage.  I would not have been able to face playing with Miles without the school of hard Freddie Hubbard-knocks.

Freddie took a chance hiring me – a 22 year old – in the early 80’s.  He knew he could shape me, teach me to accompany him in the way he wanted.  He did this with a lot of young musicians, some of which are still on the scene today.  I know I will always be indebted to him.
He charted the jazz landscape.  We have a lot of nurturing and spreading to do.
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Bernadette Brown:
Freddie Hubbard’s unique sound, talent and pure reflective, romantically classic and cool ambience has affected my whole life, as an artist. The endless times that I listened to, especially his beautiful and lilting recording of  “Little Sunflower” and many other his great recordings…will always be why I feel blessed to have heard this great legend, who has influenced so many people on this earth and for the ones who have yet to walk it, will hear of Freddie Hubbard’s great humanity through the breadth and motion of his great performances and music he has shared with us all, just by the motion of his fingers, the air that he breathed through his trumpet and the love of music that he spread… a sound and spirit that will never end

God Bless Freddie Hubbard…forever…

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Bradford Hayes:
I was a junior Music Education major at North Carolina A and T State University, when I was asked to chauffeur Freddie Hubbard and his band around while they were in town. I had never met him and really didn’t know who he was at the time, but I did it anyway. It was musically one of the most influential experiences that I have ever had. The rest of the band members with him were: Bill Saxton, Hilton Ruiz, Curtis Lundy and Carl Allen. These were friendships and acquaintances that began then and continued through to my move to New York. Freddie was this bigger than life figure, both musically and personally. I grew up in an R and B world, and because of Freddie and his band, that any doubts about wanting to be a jazz musician disappeared. I’m not working as much as I would like, but I do know that because of Freddie and musicians like him, I continue to move forward.
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Tamm E Hunt:
Many thanks to Freddie Hubbard who has invited me to his bandstand on many occasions from Harlem to Midtown where I have had the honor of singing with him and his bands.

A generous man, Freddie was instrumental in me getting many gigs. He appeared as a guest artist on my radio show where there is currently an archival interview with Freddie.

And of the great memories are the telephone conversations and invaluable lessons learned from Freddie, a great person with a very big heart.

Freddie Trivia:

“My sister played trumpet. Can you imagine having a sister blowing the trumpet around the house, Fred? And my brother, he played piano. Everybody was playing some kind of music, so it was natural for me to get into it”.
- Freddie Hubbard

In December 1960, Hubbard was invited to play on Ornette Coleman’s Free Jazz after Coleman had heard him playing with Don Cherry. Then in May 1961, Hubbard played on Olé Coltrane, John Coltrane’s final recording session with Atlantic Records. Together with Eric Dolphy, Hubbard was the only ‘session’ musician who appeared on both Olé and Africa/Brass, Coltrane’s first album with ABC/Impulse! Later, in August 1961, Hubbard made one of his most famous records, Ready for Freddie, which was also his first collaboration with saxophonist Wayne Shorter. Hubbard joined Shorter later in 1961 when he replaced Lee Morgan in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. He played on several Blakey recordings, including Caravan, Ugetsu, Mosaic, and Free For All. Hubbard remained with Blakey until 1966, leaving to form the first of several small groups of his own, which featured, among others, pianist Kenny Barron and drummer Louis Hayes.

It was during this time that he began to develop his own sound, distancing himself from the early influences of Clifford Brown and Morgan, and won the Downbeat jazz magazine “New Star” award on trumpet.