Freddie Hubbard and Satchmo Legacy Live in Lugano
Estival Jazz 1987
Cast
Freddie Hubbard — Bandleader, Trumpet
Al Casey — Bass guitar
Alan Dawson — Drums
Alvin Batiste — Clarinet
Kirk Lightsey — Piano
Red Callender — Double bass
Urbie Green — Trombone
Program notes
For this 1987 concert at Estival Jazz Festival, the trumpetist Freddie Hubbard downs his hard-bop, post-bop and jazz-funk tendencies in favor of a trip into the past ... we find ourselves instead in the dim and dusty history of New Orleans, with the musicians who invented jazz.
Known for his blistering speed and work alongside the Jazz Messengers, Hubbard was a defiantly modern trumpet player for the most part. Here, he is joined by Satchmo Legacy, a band pulled together to pay homage to the genius of Great American Music, the chosen one: Louis Armstrong.
From the first moment they launch into early swing and ragtime tracks like “Struttin’ With Some Barbecue,” “Gut Bucket Blues,” and “Musket Rambler,” before finishing on Hubbard’s own compositions. Among the composers whose music was played that night are Kid Ory and Jelly Roll Morton, two giant figures of Armstrong’s upbringing and pioneers alongside him.