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A Freddie Hubbard Tribute With David Baker

Freddie Hubbard

Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, who died on Monday at the age of 70, was one of Indiana's true jazz giants, rubbing historical shoulders with the likes of J.J. Johnson, Wes Montgomery, and Hoagy Carmichael. On Tuesday, December 30, longtime Hubbard friend and musical colleague David Baker stopped by the studio while I was guest-hosting WFIU's Just You and Me and offered some remembrances and reflections during our 90-minute Hubbard tribute. He also brought along a rare live recording of the teenaged Hubbard's 1957 Indianapolis group the Jazz Contemporaries, which included saxophonist James Spaulding and bassist Larry Ridley. Listen to the Just You and Me tribute to Freddie Hubbard with special guest David Baker, including classic Hubbard sides as a leader and as a sideman with Tina Brooks, Ornette Coleman and others.

Since Hubbard's death numerous homages have appeared online from Doug Ramsey, Marc Myers, Ethan Iverson, Darcy James Argue; they are all well worth reading. We'll never hear a sound like Freddie Hubbard's again--or perhaps we will, all too much. Either way it's an indication that he left the kind of legacy that every jazz musician dreams of having.

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