One of the great jazz trumpeters of all time, Freddie Hubbard formed his sound out of the Clifford Brown/Lee Morgan tradition, and by the early '70s was immediately distinctive and the pacesetter in jazz.
Never one to take lyricism for granted, trumpeter and composer Freddie Hubbard entered Creed Taylor's studio for the third time in 1971 with the express purpose of making a record radically different from anything he'd cut before; he was looking for it to use electricity and to be out of the soul-jazz mold, but was also more ambitious and wanted to push that envelope and himself. Taylor and Hubbard assembled a band that included Herbie Hancock on Rhodes, guitarists Eric Gale and George Benson, bassist Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette on drums, Airto Moreira on percussion, and Richard Wyands on acoustic piano to back him.
This album captured the event that more or less shouted the existence of the CTI label - previously little-known outside of musician circles - to the world. Along with veterans such as Stanley Turrentine and Hank Crawford, the album showcased the playing of Billy Cobham - about to emerge from the Mahavishnu Orchestra in a big way (stealing most of that band's energy and excitement with him when he left) - and comparatively new talents such as George Benson. Not all of the music has aged well - "Blues West" was definitely of its time, though it's still a great showcase for Benson's guitar and Freddie Hubbard's trumpet and, perhaps a little less enduringly so, Hubert Laws' flute. But "Fire and Rain" (a great jazz take on James Taylor's song), "Red Clay," and "Sugar" need no justification for a return visit four decades after the fact, with solos and explorations that will always stand the test of time.
Import 25 CD boxset containing 25 of the finest Jazz albums ever released. Each album is packaged in a card wallet, and the box set includes a 40 page booklet in both English and French. The collection contains the following albums: Duke Ellington - Ellington Uptown; Dave Brubeck - Jazz Goes To College; Louis Armstrong - Satch Plays Fats; Miles Davis - Round About Midnight; Various Artists - The Sound Of Jazz; Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um; Sonny Rollins - The Bridge; Paul Desmond - Desmond Blue; Thelonious Monk - Underground; Freddie Hubbard - Straight Life; Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds Of Fire…