Freddie Hubbard's second Impulse album The Body & The Soul features the 25-year consolidating a reputation as an important new voice of Jazz and one of the best to emerge of the 60's. Playing along with a tenor sax backed by strings, Skylark, I Got It Bad and Chocolate Shake are all given beautiful treatments with a 16-piece band and in a septet with Eric Dolphy and Wayne Shorter.

• Limited Edition
• Numbered Edition
• Mastered by Kevin Gray at AcousTech
• Audiophile All Analog cut
• 2LP 45rpm 180 Grams Vinyl Pressed at RTI USA
• Deluxe Gatefold Cover

Freddie Hubbard was 25 when he entered the studio with this fantastic band in 1963. The boss of the Jazzmessengers, Art Blakey (in whose quintet Hubbard followed in the footsteps of such brilliant trumpeters as Clifford Brown and Lee Morgan), had given him a few days off, and Bob Thiele, producer with Impulse, got hold of the very best soloists and wind instrumentalists he could find for him to record with. In particular their performance of such standards as Body And Soul, Skylark and I Got It Bad reveals not only a sensitivity and respect for the melody, but also avantgard phrasing (and still considered so even today!) which is lent emphasis by the restrained accompaniment of the strings. Freddie Hubbard’s colleague Wayne Shorter is not only leader of the formation but also the arranger. Particularly pleasing is that other soloists such as Eric Dolphy and Cedar Walton are given ample opportunity to display their talents.

The re-release of this album, an album which easily deserves to be called a “milestone in jazz history”, is long overdue, especially when one recalls that Rudy van Gelder, one of the very best sound engineers, was hired specially for this Impulse recording, thus guaranteeing an absolutely first-class sound quality for the nine titles on this album – even after almost 40 years.

"At age 25, Freddie Hubbard made inroads into modern jazz most trumpeters could not imagine, much less come through with. As a soloist, one of Hubbard's crowning achievements in his early period was this recording on which he teamed with Wayne Shorter, marginally as a performer but prominent in the role of arranger/conductor for his first time ever. Utilizing a septet, 16-piece big band, and orchestra plus stings to play concise, tight tunes, Shorter provides the backdrop to employ Hubbard's bold toned trumpet and all of its devices in a full display of his powerful melodic talents. Yeoman Reggie Workman plays bass on all selections, with drummer Louis Hayes in the seven-piece combo, and great work from Philly Joe Jones in the larger bands. Interestingly enough, the three tracks with the smaller ensemble are the most interesting, due to the presence of Eric Dolphy, Curtis Fuller, Cedar Walton, and Shorter on the front line. "Clarence's Place" is a post-bop jewel with spiky brass accents and Dolphy's ribald and outre alto sax solo contrasting Shorter's relatively reserved tenor, "Dedicated to You" is a wisp of a tune, while "Body & Soul," an atypical choice for the opening selection, is a straight read of the classic ballad with a chart that sounds larger than the small horn section, and a wavering flute via Dolphy. The big band does an unusual soul-jazz treatment of the Brazilian number "Manha de Carnaval" flavored by Robert Northern's French horn, while "Aries" is a hard bop show stopper with two-note accents buoying Hubbard's great lyrical lines, and goes further into hard bop with "Thermo" as the horns demand attention with the trumpeter as an afterthought. The string section, ten pieces strong, joins the big band on the film noir type Duke Ellington piece "Chocolate Shake," the stock "I Got It Bad," and "Skylark," with its soft clarion intro bubbling underneath with the violins, violas, and cellos. The manner in which this recording is programmed is thoughtful in that it lends to the diversity of the project, but is seamless from track to track. Dan Morgenstern's hefty liner notes also explain the concept behind this ambitious project, one which did not compare to any of Hubbard's other recordings in his career. Therefore it stands alone as one of the most unique productions in his substantive discography, and a quite credible initial go-round for Shorter as an orchestrator." - Michael G. Nastos, All Music

Musicians:

Wayne Shorter (leader, arranger)
Freddie Hubbard (trumpet)
Cedar Walton (piano)
Tommy Flanagan, (piano)
Curtis Fuller, (trombone)
John Gilmore, (tenor saxophone)
Philly Joe Jones (drums)
Curtis Fuller (trombone)
Jerome Richardson (basson)
Eric Dolphy (alto saxophone, flute)
Seldon Powell (tenor saxophone)
Clark Terry (trumpet)
Louis Hayes (drums)
Many others and strings...

Track Listing:

1. Body And Soul
2. Carnival (Manha De Carnaval)
3. Chocolate Shake
4. Dedicated To You
5. Clatence's Place
6. Aries
7. Skylark
8. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
9. Thermo

Recording:

March and May 1963 at Englewood Cliffs, N.J., USA by Rudy Van Gelder and Frank Abbey
Production: Bob Thiele

Click here to listen to samples on YouTube.com ♫