Freddie Hubbard: On Fire: Live From The Blue Morocco

Freddie Hubbard was never one to play it safe. Even at a time when jazz was bending in myriad directions—from the structural freedom of Ornette Coleman's harmolodics to the modal explorations of Miles Davis—Hubbard maintained a singular focus on the power of his horn. In the newly unearthed performance On Fire: Live from Blue Morocco, Resonance Records, in conjunction with Record Store Day, has released a deluxe 2CD package that includes new interviews with Bennie Maupin and Kenny Barron, notes by jazz authority John Koenig, and appreciations from Charles Tolliver, Eddie Henderson, Steve Bernstein, and Jeremy Pelt.

Backed by his working group of the day, a crack unit featuring tenor saxophonist Bennie Maupin, pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Herbie Lewis and drummer Freddie Waits, Hubbard delivers a storming, no-holds-barred set that captures him at his fiercest.

CD 1 opens with a Hubbard composition, "Crisis," the opening riff showing it as one of his most recognized tunes. His burnished tone and pinpoint articulation reveal he is in control of the message. Maupin is an equally fearless foil, while Barron's playing is filled with elegant lyricism. Another Hubbard original is "Up Jumped Spring," an ode to the joy and wonder of spring done in a groovy-waltz tempo. On muted horn, Hubbard delivers the interpretation in a plush tone with tender and lyrical phrasing. Maupin is understated, keeping within the guardrails of the theme all the while Waits holds to the 3/4 tempo with his strategic brushwork. Barron builds his lines with angular elasticity. The closer on this side is "True Colors," with a very brief segue to Hubbard's theme, the samba "Breaking Point." This is an up-tempo burner as Waits' drumming is urgent and propulsive. Both Hubbard and Maupin are audacious with sweeping flurries that threaten to burst through the club's roof. Barron builds a solo filled with unparalleled control of dynamics and texture.

CD 2 The side opens with "Bye Bye Blackbird" which vaulted into jazz prominence on the 1956 Columbia Record set by Miles Davis entitled 'Round About Midnight. Davis' interpretation anchored in his muted trumpet is a masterclass in introspection, mood, subtlety and melodic harmony. Hubbard's approach is more straightforward, full of splattering notes in frenzied bursts and triple-tongued bravado. It shows him at his virtuosic best. The George and Ira Gershwin classic "Summertime " follows. It is a mannered change of pace played as a medium-tempo waltz. Hubbard fills the number with creativity, energy and technical brilliance. The band's playing is filled with vinegar and pepper, stretching the tune's form with rhythmic displacements. The closer is " Breaking Point," Hubbard's theme, is a samba and is set up in such a way as to provide everyone with a chance to showcase their powers and wield them with force and beauty.