Freddie Hubbard - Blue Spirits

180-gram LP

Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio from the original master tape

Plated and pressed at RTI

Deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket

Blue Note Records has announced the 2023 line-up for the Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series. The acclaimed series is produced by the "Tone Poet" Joe Harley and features all-analog, 180-gram audiophile vinyl reissues that are mastered directly from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray of Cohearent Audio.

Tone Poet vinyl is manufactured at RTI in Camarillo, California, and packaged in deluxe gatefold tip-on jackets. The titles were once again handpicked by Harley and include acknowledged treasures of the Blue Note catalog as well as underrated classics, modern era standouts, and albums from other labels under the Blue Note umbrella including Pacific Jazz.

The prodigious trumpeter Freddie Hubbard debuted on Blue Note in 1960 and produced an astounding run of recordings over the first half of the decade that culminated with Blue Spirits, which was the last of his 1960s studio albums for the label. This bluesy and spirited album presented five evocative Hubbard originals, each of which was given a richly textured arrangement for an ensemble that included a dynamic four-horn lineup.

Drawn from two different sessions, the first date produced the gratifying opening track "Soul Surge" and the percolating "Cunga Black" with Hubbard joined by James Spaulding on alto saxophone and flute, Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone, Kiane Zawadi on euphonium, Harold Mabern on piano, Larry Ridley on bass, Clifford Jarvis on drums, and Big Black on congas. A week later Hubbard returned to Van Gelder Studio with Spaulding, Zawadi, and a slightly different line-up including Hank Mobley on tenor saxophone, McCoy Tyner on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Pete LaRoca on drums. This second session rounded out the album with hard-charging performances of "Outer Forces" and "Jodo," as well as the mesmerizing title track.

 

Side A

Soul Surge

Blue Spirits

Side B

Outer Forces

Cunga Black

Jodo

Be the first to write a review for this item OR just rate it