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Freddie Hubbard: One Of A Kind
ByThese are, unfortunately, the sort of harsh judgments that well established but aging playersthe physical demands of the trumpet only add to the stressoften hear. Like it or not, time runs in only one direction, and the artist deals with it as best as he or she can.
Here one gets a taste of Hubbard live in a quintet that includes Billy Childs and Larry Klein, both solid players. Probably the recorded concert format must have led to the inclusion of some tracks that were intended to close out a set, such as "There is no Greater Love," which starts out as a percussion feature. It barely gives Hubbard enough time to state the theme in a way that makes you think Miles Davis, not Freddie Hubbard On the other hand, "Birdlike" is pure Hubbard, and when Hubbard was doing Hubbard, familiar licks or no, he was always worth listening to. Childs and Klein give a good account of themselves here, and Hubbard's trademark upper-register squeals do draw some love from the crowd. Childs and Klein kick off "One of a Kind," and if Hubbard really does not do anything novel, what he does he does well. The band does seem to get to cooking on "First Light." And that is true of "UK Forty One" which may not break any new ground either, but is, at least, energetic.
No one will mistake what is on offer for classic Freddie Hubbard, but he hardly sounds like a spent force either. Listeners have the luxury of hearing what they want when they want it. Touring musicians, alas, even the stars, are out of luck and not every performance will be memorable. Sometimes, a gig is just a gig.
Track Listing
UK Forty; One of A Kind; First Light; There Is No Greater Love; Love Connection; One of Another Kind; UK Forty One.
Personnel
Additional Instrumentation
Larry Klein: Bass
Album information
Title: One Of A Kind | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Arkadia Records
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Freddie Hubbard
Album Review
Richard J Salvucci
One of a Kind
Self Produced
Woody Shaw
Billy Childs
Larry Klein
Miles Davis