Wednesday Jul 30, 2025
Freddie Hubbard
Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard (born April 7, 1938) was one of the most gifted and technically proficient of any of the jazz trumpet players of his generation. His fiery, athletic, harmonically rich, seemingly effortless style influenced virtually all trumpet players who came after him. Serving his apprenticeship with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, his compositions provided a springboard for that group as well as his own groups, and he was a popular sideman on quintessential recordings by Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and many other jazz greats.
4 months ago
Good conversation overall, but it’s really unfortunate that the episode repeats as fact the unverified and frankly suspect claim that Freddie Hubbard injured his lip on a crack pipe. There’s no credible evidence for this, and the story has long circulated more as rumor -- often fueled by resentment of his “I Am the Greatest” bravado and, not insignificantly, by racial bias given the era. It’s not to deny Hubbard’s well-known struggles with “hard living,” but presenting that rumor as fact is misleading and undercuts the episode’s credibility. Worse, it took up airtime that could have been devoted to his extraordinary collaborations with artists like Ornette Coleman or Oliver Nelson. I’d recommend a little more fact-checking in future episodes so the focus stays where it belongs -- on the music and the artistry.