Freddie Hubbard: 1938 - 2008

Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard passed away yesterday morning in Sherman Oaks, California at the age of 70. The jazz legend participated in numerous iconic jazz sessions in the '60s, both as a leader and as a sideman with Art Blakey, Eric Dolphy, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Andrew Hill, and countless others. His fusion recordings in the '70s vexed purists but had huge commercial appeal, and injuries and illness sidelined him through much of the '80s and '90s. He had been enjoying something of a career resurgence with a June release on Hip Bop records backed by the New Jazz Composers Octet and a Downbeat cover story penned by STN contributor Howard Mandel ... please check out Howard's blog posting here.