Freddie Hubbard

Outpost Freddie Hubbard

„Comparable to his recordings with V. S. O. Q., OUTPOST marks Hubbard’s return from so-called „fusion“: Here he’s right back, doin’ jazz. “Playing that music again really made me feel clean” he says, and then you can find him joking about the commercial albums he produced the years before. Anyway, they didn’t earn him the smash hit he was looking for. After playing Miles’ trumpet part in company with Hancock, Shorter, Carter and Williams (V. S. O. P.), only the very best musicians were adequate to sit in with Freddie. How else would you classify a rhythm section made up of Kenny Barron, Buster Williams and Al Foster ? “Santa Anna Winds” is an almost free-form piece, proving Hubbard to be an adventurous musician, who is breaking new grounds once again in his career. His interpretation of “You Don’t Know What Love Is” shows him handling the popular ballad with complete control and delicate taste. He swings lightly and with sparkling technique through “The Outpost Blues” and “Dual Force”, spitting forth jagged bursts and trills, and finally ends up with Eric Dolphy’s “Loss”, that the band gives a solid and down-to-earth rendering. OUTPOST won Freddie Hubbard some four stars from Downbeat. And, furthermore, the old respect from an audience, that seemed puzzled for a short periode.“