Freddie Hubbard

Many grave rumors are floating around about the current condition of seminal jazz trumpeter, Freddie Hubbard. Reports say this cock-sure Gabriel may have blown himself out after three decades of constant touring. Personal malaise and and physical decline have "sharply hampered his playing," according to a recent article in Downbeat magazine.

So I asked Zanzibar Blue's jazz program director, Buzzy Wilson, if trumpeter Hubbard's chops would be in good shape for his two day gig at the Philadelphia Clef Club. According to Wilson, who had asked Hubbard the same question, the 57-year-old Indianapolis native said, "I'm not coming to Philly to embarrass myself!"

The angelic office Hubbard's trumpet once held is now obviously flawed by severe damage to his lips. His new recording MMTC — Monk, Miles, 'Trane and Cannon (Music Masters), his first in three years — is an account of his current circumstances. The ebullient tone which fired Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, John Coltrane's Ascension, Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz, and Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch is now meshed with an earthy vulnerability.

However, Hubbard's performance with his quintet (young tenor Javon Jackson; veteran drummer Louis Hayes; bassist Michael Boone; and Uri Caine on piano) is still worthwhile. Not only for Hubbard's music being born-out-of-a-fruitful career, but also for his bravado as one of jazz' supreme improvisers.

The Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts, 736-8 S. Broad St., Fri., Dec. 8 and Sat., Dec. 9. For info call Zanzibar Blue, 829-1990, or Upstage's Box Office, 893-1145.

— Ludwig Van Trikt