Freddie Hubbard - Blue Note - Sealed LP - Open Sesame New - See Pic

Freddie Hubbard's first recording as a leader, Open Sesame features the 22-year-old trumpeter in a quintet with tenor saxophonist Tina Brooks, the up-and-coming pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Sam Jones and drummer Clifford Jarvis.

This set shows that even at this early stage, Hubbard had the potential to be one of the greats. On the ballad "But Beautiful" he shows maturity; other highlights include "Open Sesame," a driving "All or Nothing at All" and "One Mint Julep." It's an impressive start to what would be a very interesting career.

Track Listing:

1 Open Sesame
2 But Beautiful
3 Gypsy Blue
4 All or Nothing at All
5 One Mint Julep
6 Hub's Nub

The Quintet:

Freddie Hubbard - Trumpet
Tina Brooks - Tenor Sax
McCoy Tyner - Piano
Sam Jones - Bass
Clifford Jarvis - Drums

Recorded 1960 on the Blue Note Label. This reissue LP carries catalog number 4040.

Review:

It's 1960. Freddy Hubbard still looks like a teen-ager. It's his first feature recording. His sidemen? An unknown pianist named McCoy Tyner (who would become Coltrane's accompanist, one of the great keyboard stylists). For tenor, try the new kid from North Carolina, Tina Brooks, who sounds like a reborn Lester Young. Delighted with their invitation to record for Blue Note, they blow fresh and clear with no pretension, and probably have no idea they're making a classic.

Buy it NOW if you care about modern jazz or even about history. The blowing is tight, passionate yet cool. It shimmers with an innocence all too fragile, since Tina Brooks would self-destruct after only a handful of recordings and Hubbard would never find such clarity and lightness again. Brooks' compositions ('Open Sesame' and 'Gypsy Blue') are eloquent bop structures based in the blues with a Horace Silver tinge. They're destined to enter the canon of great bop recordings. Of no less merit is the funky Rudolph Toombs composition, 'One Mint Julip'. Hubbard's own 'Hub & Nub' gets a sharp treatment, as good as any later version. And the two ballads ('But Beautiful', 'All Or Nothing At All') are treated with maturity and lyricism.

We have an important addition to the canon of classic bebop here, no less beautiful for its youth and innocence. Right up there with Lee Morgan's 'Sidewinder' and Hancock's 'Takin' Off.' Rarely does such rediscovery come to us! And if you're a tenor sax player like me, here's a precious footnote to the short tragic history of Tina Brooks, who would have been a titan had he stayed this fresh and avoided the addictions that ruined so many of his troubled generation.

"Open Sesame" is, without a doubt, Hubbards best work for bluenote. His tone is clear and he gets the fullest sound out of his instrument. If there ever was a straight ahead Hardbop album recorded, this is it. The way Hubbard picked his sidemen, you can tell that he knew what he was doing, for example there is Tina Brooks with the sharp puncturing sound, McCoy Tyner with the swift technical fluidity, Sam Jones with the big beautiful sound, and Clifford jarvis with hard penetrating drive. Sometimes it seems that the sidemen are overshadowed by their brilliant leader yet they get their fair share too. The title track, which alternates between latin-samba and swing, has a catchy melody and has incredible solos from Freddie an Brooks. The real cooker, though, is the fiery version of the standard "All or nothing at all". Harold "Tina" Brooks was another unsung bluenote genius who lived much to short to gain any real recognition. Though this session belongs to Hubbard, without Brooks, Tyner, Jones, and Jarvis, it wouldn't be half as good as it is. "Open Sesame" is a killer session. Any fan of jazz should have this one.

End Review:

This is a new sealed Blue Note LP. Jacket is in new condition, no minor edge wear, no split seams, no bar code.

It will ship with a clear vinyl jacket protector as well as a Mo-Fi protective inner sleeve.

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