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Indianapolis-born trumpeter Freddie Hubbard demonstrated his extraordinary talent at Blue Note Records with a series of remarkable albums recorded in the early 1960s. Initially rooted in hard bop, Hubbard began to expand his approach with his masterpiece “Ready For Freddie”. “I'm most interested in a style similar to Coltrane's”, Hubbard explained to liner notes author Nat Hentoff. Hubbard had recorded with Coltrane earlier that year on the Atlantic album “Olé Coltrane” and “Africa/Brass” for Impulse. Hubbard went on to explain, “I mean different ways of playing the changes to get a wider range of sound”. To paint with these colors, Hubbard assembled a band that included three musicians from Coltrane's circle: bassist Art Davis, pianist McCoy Tyner and drummer Elvin Jones. This date also marked the first collaboration between Hubbard and Wayne Shorter, an astonishingly original saxophonist and Hubbard's soon-to-be bandmate in The Jazz Messengers when the trumpeter replaced Lee Morgan in Art Blakey's flagship band later that year.
Rounding out the unique sextet on “Ready For Freddie” is Bernard McKinney on euphonium, enriching the ensemble's sonic palette. The album opens with Hubbard's lively piece “Arietis”, a nod to his zodiac sign, before transitioning into the sublime ballad “Weaver Of Dreams”, a breathtaking performance by Hubbard that showcases both his brilliant tone and impressive technical mastery of his instrument. After Shorter's “Marie Antoinette”, the band pays homage to Charlie Parker with Hubbard's “Birdlike”. The album ends with the expansive and explosive “Crisis”, an original by Hubbard, who sought to capture the simmering tensions of the early 1960s.
As part of the extremely popular “Blue Note 85th Anniversary Reissue Series” Universal Music Japan presents the sonically impressive remastering of this jazz classic by the legendary Kevin Gray, who is also responsible for Blue Note US's analog reissues such as “Tone Poet” and “Classic Vinyl” – as a limited Japan only UHQCD with OBI stripe. The original recording session for “Ready For Freddie” took place on August 21, 1961, at Rudy Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
1. Arietis2. Weaver Of Dreams3. Marie Antoinette4. Birdlike5. Crisis