MusicnRecordsnby Doug RamseynFreddy Hubbard, once an enfant terriblenof jazz trumpet, is now 42 and formidable.nHubbard is more impressivenon other people’s records than on hisnown, but there are indications, even onnhis commercially bland Columbia albums,nthat he is shedding his jazz-rocknfusion persona. His most recent recording,n”Skagly” (Columbia FC 36418),nbreaks away from the synthesized routinesnof his four previous Columbias.nIf the music isn’t notably interesting,nat least Columbia is no longer smotheringnHubbard in electronic and vocal goo.nOn albums by Joe Farrell (“SonicnText,” Contemporary 14002) andnGeorge Cables (“Cables Vision,” Contemporaryn14001), Hubbard displaysnboth power and taste. Until recently, henwas likely to let his virtuosity and highnspirits inspire a barrage of exhibitionismnthat obscured his inventiveness. In thentwo Contemporary albums, Hubbard isnexciting, often lyrical and reflective, andnhis solos have a comfortable dimensionnof order and thoughtfulness. In “ThenTrumpet Summit” (Pablo 2312-114),nHubbard can be forgiven his bravado.nThe competitive juices obviously flowednwhen he met Dizzy Gillespie and ClarknTerry for this studio jam session. It’snthe kind of thing producer NormannGranz loves to do—throw superior improvisersninto an unstructured situationnand see how the combination works.nThis time it was a success. The threentrumpeters play beautifully, with OscarnPeterson, Ray Brown, Joe Pass and BobbynDurham providing inspirational supportnon piano, bass, guitar and drums.nOn the slow blues called “ChickennWings,” Hubbard begins intimately andnMr. Ramsey is a jazz musicologist innNew Orleans.nsoftly, then uses a series of dynamic andntonal changes to build a solo of greatnbeauty. There is sloppiness in some ofnthe ensembles, but the playing is thenthing, and the playing is superb.n”The Legendary Freddie Keppard,nNew Orleans Cornet” (SmithsoniannCollection R 020) brings together 15nrecordings known (or, for two of them,nthought) to include a player often discussednas if his style were as mythicalnas Buddy Bolden’s. Keppard may havenrecorded after his prime, but in the earlyn1920’s he was still most impressiveimaginativenas well as powerful.nOften discussed, mostly unfairly, asna Fats Waller imitator, Donald Lambertnhad his own niche in the stride pianonschool. Lambert, who died in 1961,ncould swing passionately, and he possessednimpressive technique as well asna piquant, even bizarre, sense of humor.nAn example of his latter-day playing isnavailable in “Donald Lambert, Classicsnin Stride” (Pumpkin 110). Pianist DicknWellstood’s liner notes are helpful andnfunny.nOther Notables:nLee Konitz: “Yes, Yes, Nonet,”nSteeplechase SCS 1119. The third albumnby the alto saxophonist’s mediumsizednband is as witty and eclectic as thenFor Sentimental CognoscentinWho, today, remembers the namenof Jess Stacy.-* Or Lee Wiley.’ Only hardcorenjazz sentimentalists and devoteesnof romantic episodes in the early historynof syncopated music. Those are the onesnwho still get a catch in their throatsnwhen Benny Goodman’s 1938 Carnegiennnfirst two, with graceful, pungent solosnby Konitz and trombonist JimmynKnepper.nDexter Gordon: “Something Different,”nSteeplechase SCS 1135. Thengreat tenor saxophonist is in grand formnin a quartet in which he is complementednand challenged by the young Belgiannguitarist Phillip Catherine and by Gordon’snfavorite drummer, Billy Higgins.n”I Remember Bebop,” Columbia C2n35381. Eight bop pianists prove, withnvarying degrees of success, that thenidiom was, and is, glorious. For mynmoney, Al Haig, John Lewis, TommynFlanagan and Jimmy Rowles are mostnsatisfying. Duke Jordan and WalternBishop, Jr., two of Charlie Parker’snfavorite accompanists, are a bit listless.nAlthough Sadik Hakim, a.k.a. ArgonnenThornton, has been unjustly maligned,nhe does little here to redeem his goodnnames.n”Panama Francis and The Savoy Sultans,”nClassic Jazz 149. The Sultans,nunder Al Cooper, would often swingnother bands off the stand at the SavoynBallroom in Harlem in the 1930’s.nDrummer Francis’s re-creation of thenSultans catches the spirit and much ofnthe intense abandon that inspired ecstasynin dancers and frustration in competitors.nThe soloists do not have thenswing of the original Sultans, but thenrhythm is irresistible. DnHall concert is evoked. That was Stacy’snultimate moment of creative heroismn—his unforgettable solo in “Sing, Sing,nSing.”nAnd Lee Wiley.’* A unique additionnto the New York jazz scene in the laten1930’s (she was part Cherokee, andnIVovcmbcr/Dcccmbcr 1980n
January 1975April 21, 2022By The Archive
Leave a Reply