Time to pick up The Jazz Chain again! This is my exploration of jazz where for each entry I look at an album led by a musician who appeared as a player on the previous entry. Last time on the jazz chain I went over Max Roach’s Drums Unlimited. Freddie Hubbard played trumpet on that album and this week we’ll check out his 1970 album Red Clay.
Red Clay – Freddie Hubbard – 1970
Freddie Hubbard is the first trumpet player we’ve featured on the Jazz Chain and he is one of the legendary greats. He is not as famous as the most famous trumpet players but, as the instrument was played by some of the absolutely most famous musicians of all time,1You may have heard of guys like Miles Davie, Dizzy Gillespie, and Louis Armstrong? that’s not a knock on anyone. He was prolific as both a band leader and played with many of the best musicians in jazz, many of whom have or will appear here in The Jazz Chain I’m sure.
Red Clay was Hubbard’s seventeenth album as leader and it ended up standing as the beginning of a new era for him as he brought soul and funk influences to the bop styles he’d played before. Joining Hubbard is a pretty fantastic selection of important and talented musicians in their own right including Ron Carter on bass, Joe Henderson on tenor sax and flute, Herbie Hancock2Whose own 70s jazz-funk I’m really fond of. on piano and electric piano, and Lenny White on drums. It was originally a 5 track album with most modern version of it including a bonus live version of Red Clay with an almost entirely different lineup. Every track was written by Hubbard except the original closer “Cold Turkey” which is a John Lennon song.
I have considered getting back to the Jazz Chain series and writing this post many times over the last half a year. Each time I pick this album up and listen to it a few times or more and it never really grows tired for me. It is not my favorite album by any means, but I enjoy it very much. Hubbard, in particular, has such a wonderful sound and command of his instrument and is so enjoyable to listen to.
Strangely, perhaps, I’m not as fond of the group parts in a lot of the tracks, but when individual players, mostly, Hubbard, take center stage it becomes such a rewarding listen. Hancock’s electric piano work, an instrument which, along with the organ, I’m always a fan of, is great if not flashy and Henderson’s solos, such as on Suite Sioux, make you realize what a master of his instrument he is.
Most songs on this album have a quirk of starting with a soundscape that I more associate with the way jazz songs often end and it’s an interesting effect as the crash of instruments opens most of the affairs before getting into their grooves. The one strong exception to this is my favourite track, “Delphia”, which begins with the quiet clear soulful trumpet sounds I associate with the best kind of late night jazz music. It’s beautiful and though it does break out into some slightly more lively moments it mostly stays there and it is a joy to fall into Hubbard’s sound on that track. Much of the rest of the album is busier, louder and faster paced than that track though so as I whole I certainly wouldn’t call this album 3am music. I would say that the package all works well together.
In total it’s a great album with a lot to offer both on it’s own and as an important piece of a great jazz musician’s personal oeuvre. Given the amount of talent Hubbard has performing with him on this album I could really go any direction for the next part of the jazz chain and find great albums to explore but I have chosen to go for Joe Henderson and I’m going to be listening to his 1973 album The Elements.
If you’d like to see a list of all the posts for The Jazz Chain you can find them at this page.
If you’d like to listen to check out a playlist of all the albums featured on The Jazz Chain6 check them out at this playlist here.