Freddie Hubbard had a jazz pedigree that is truly impressive. Where and who he has appeared with, this sizeable body of work, includes many albums which would be on the aficionado's top ten list. He got his start with one of trombonist J.J Johnson's groups. He was also seen early on with Dexter Gordon, in Dexter's first Blue Note album, Doin' Alright.  His most steady home initially was on the front line of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Many of the people Freddie worked with early on had also been in Art Blakey's band, a sort of jazz college they all attended, just not necessarily at the same time.  

Another inherent strength of both Blue Note and, in general the jazz world at this time, was a steady stable of artists who appeared on each other's albums, creating an artistic familiarity greatly to everyone's advantage. There was an almost tangible connection among these artists, inspiring and borrowing from each other over the course of cross connecting informal partnerships. During this period, Freddie Hubbard was part of the holy trinity of trumpet greats (Lee Morgan and Donald Byrd) sharing this generation's Mount Rushmore.

Personally, the appeal of Freddie Hubbard lay not only in his chops and tone, but his compositions too. While his peers would occasionally venture into extended forward thinking pieces (Donald Byrd's A New Perspective, Lee Morgan's Search for the New Land, Hank Mobley's Thinking of Home), his albums often featured multi-horn front lines playing harmonically complex pieces that combine sophistication with emotion. His debut album, Breaking Point (Blue Note), was the first made after leaving the Jazz Messengers and introduced the important partnership he would have with flautist/alto sax player James Spaulding. Freddie would go on to incorporate even larger instrumental lineups into his compositions and recordings, often including James.  

During this time, there was a never accurately named jazz emerging from musicians who had far transcended being just entertainers. It was traditional jazz instruments now often combining with less obvious ones. They were playing music which merged the roots of jazz and blues with something new, a modern chamber-type sound far different from the once novel third stream marriage of classical and jazz. This music also embraced some of the discordance of the free-jazz movement and some of the harmonically complex ideas which had been the cornerstone of Europe's 20th century classical composers, all the while maintaining the exciting air of improvisation, one of jazz's key ingredients.  

Through no fluke, Freddie appeared on a lot of these albums, enriching them with his own take on this complex, heady amalgam. Both Freddie's writing and playing really seemed to shine on larger ensemble pieces. John Coltrane's Ole (1961), perhaps one of jazz's most epic statements, included him. Ole was a rarer large ensemble effort for John Coltrane, containing his core “classic quartet” and also making use of multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy and added bassist Art Davis. Soon after, Eric Dolphy would recruit Freddie to play on his own classic Out to Lunch along with Bobby Hutcherson, who would also incorporate Freddie into his band for his first album as leader, Dialogue. 

Aside from James Spaulding, another important musical connection was made with Herbie Hancock. Herbies' 1964 debut album as a leader, Empyrean Isles, featured a saxless group, with Freddie achieving a richer sound by substituting on cornet. The rest of the group was what would become core ingredients in Miles Davis's immortal free-bop group. The follow-up album, Maiden Voyage, had the immediate precursor to Miles Davis's free-bop group, including Wayne Shorter's predecessor and short-lived member of the band, George Coleman on tenor sax. 

In the late 1970s the full free-bop group with Freddie in place of Miles would tour under the banner of VSOP. All the members of the band had been voted best at their instrument, which is what birthed the name. They would release two live albums, VSOP--The Quintet Live and the only recently available VSOP Live Under The Sky, the latter of which is said to be one of if not the first direct digital live recording. It was recorded at the Denen Coliseum in Tokyo and the energy of the 10,000 fans who braved the rain is palatable. Unlike some of his peers, Freddie Hubbard was not better or worse when comparing studio to live performances. He always seems to intuitively know the best approach for the situation.

The Night of the Cookers is a two-CD RVG edition Blue Note. Originally it was released as two separate records, using the same graphic, just in different color for each record. For their multi-record live recordings, Blue Note always did this, although Freddie's record was the last to use this packaging, after which the marketing department wanted something to better pull in the youth-rock market. Even though it is a live recording the sound quality is excellent. Each CD has only two songs on it, but each song averages about twenty minutes. It includes the original liner notes and also “A new look at” notes which examine the artist and album through the hindsight of history. 

The perfect bookend to this set is Freddie Hubbard's Blue Spirits. Blue Spirits was recorded only two months before this album. It was made up of three sessions which included changing four-horn front lines and three different pianists (separately). The songs on this album are complex and what could be considered Freddie's core group here would be found again on Night of the Cookers with the addition of Lee Morgan. Some of the same songs are presented on both albums with different feel but to great effect. Blue Spirit presents an overall darkness, not the type which could signify an end. It is more an urban darkness, where beauty and desolation meet. Hearing the same piece from both settings also allows a fuller appreciation of how perfectly Freddie was able to marry song structure conception with what he wanted to say in his own solos. 

Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard had both been in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, usually at different times. Two years before this recording they had worked together in Jazz Messengers for the Broadway musical Golden Boy for Colpix and also on the Limelight album, Soul Finger. While not bad, neither truly allowed them the opportunity to combine complexity with cutting loose. 

What is immediately apparent with Night of the Cookers is that, despite being a live recording containing two titans, it is not mere blowing contest. Throughout the two CDs the entire band sets up long, soulful grooves in lieu of filling in space while waiting their turn to solo. Truly, it is the interplay among the musicians that make this one of the most compelling documents of a live band in full flight.   

Some standout moments for me include “Walkin,” which includes a James Spaulding solo playing over the locked groove of drums and conga. His tone here transcends hard bop and verges on the free. Within his solo statement James Spaulding manages a musical alto summation of all that had happened, from Bird's bop to Eric Dolphy's free/new thing. On some songs James Spaulding does switch between alto and flute, which I have never been a big fan of, but the flute is far more a flavoring than a feature. “Breaking Point” sounds like a joyous Latin tinged revival meeting. The piano sets up a pattern which creates a rolling tension for all the others to call out over. Within this recording, too, is one of the rare times Lee Morgan tries his hand at mute horn playing, achieving a warm vibrato hum effect similar to a piccolo trumpet sound. Overall, there are no weak links in this band, no moments to disrupt the tension and joy. All these artists had worked together over the years and they all wanted to achieve the same thing with their art, which clearly shows here.

There is a lot of debate about Freddie Hubbard's post Blue Note years. Too often if a great artist later stumbles, it seemingly detracts from what initially made their reputation. To some extent art is subjective anyway, but no matter what a great artist goes on to do, the initial greatness should not be forgotten. It is this we should treasure, it is this which lasts. 

Night at the Cookers, Live at Club La Marchal, Volumes 1 & 2: Freddie Hubbard-trumpet; Lee Morgan-trumpet; James Spaulding-alto sax/flute; Harold Mabern-piano; Larry Ridley-bass; Pete La Roca-drums; Big Black-congas