Red Clay - Freddie Hubbard

Jan

15

Red Clay - Freddie Hubbard

≡ Category: 1970s, Highly Recommended, Jazz Funk, Post Bop, Reviews |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

JAZZBO NOTES HIGHLY RECOMMENDED RECORDING

Rating:

Back in 1970, when Red Clay was recorded, jazz was undergoing an identity crisis. Miles was doing his experiments, Tony Williams was pursuing a jazz rock direction, and the public was becoming less interested in mainstream post bop.

In the past, jam sessions would have been based around chord change tunes, often common ones that everyone knew, and people would blow on the changes. For Red Clay, a different strategy was taken, at least for the eponymous tune.

Red Clay is a simple tune that devolves into a one chord groove for the solos, in a style heavily influenced by then current R&B. But with musicians like Herbie Hancock (keyboards), Ron Carter (bass), Lenny White (drums) and Joe Henderson (saxes) backing you up, it doesn’t get boring.

The solos by Hubbard, Hancock, and Henderson are tasteful, incorporating R&B tropes while still incorporating chord substitution, out of register squealing, and similarly advanced jazz techniques, but not to an extent that it would make mainstream listeners uncomfortable. Hubbard himself is in fine voice on trumpet. Drummer Lenny White’s facility with an urban groove should come as no surprise, but Ron Carter does just fine on bass, thank you. For his solo, he sticks within the key center and elaborates on the groove — not very interesting, but not offensive either.

For a minute, on Delphia, it sounds like the band is reverting to a chord change ballad, but soon enough we get an urban groove that acts like a bridge. Hancock switches from electric piano to organ on this cut, giving Delphia a nice warm feel. Henderson adds flute on this selection. Check out where Freddie Hubbard quotes Volare, the Italian pop hit from 1958.

On Suite Sioux, we’re squarely back in post bop territory with a swing tune featuring complex chord changes. The head is reminiscent of a Horace Silver tune, but don’t be fooled. Soon enough, the rhythm section starting switching back and forth between sedate swing and quadrupal timing it.

On the Intrepid Fox, there isn’t a trace of R&B. This is full-on Blue Note label style post bop, with all the complexity of a tune from the songbook of Miles’ second great quintet. It’s great stuff.

Red Clay finishes up with a cover of John Lennon’s Cold Turkey, of all things. Like Red Clay, it’s a relatively simple tune, played in an R&B style. Not my favorite tune, but these musicians squeeze out what little juice there is in it.

And finally, we realize Freddie Hubbard’s strategy. Hook the listener with the R&B of Red Clay and slip in the post bop while they aren’t paying attention. Close with Cold Turkey and the suckers probably won’t know what hit ‘em. If they do notice, maybe they’ll discover that they like post bop. At least that’s the way the wishful thinking probably went.

Red Clay didn’t cause a surge in the popularity of post-bop, but it was commercially successful enough to lead to a string of Freddie Hubbard albums on the CTI label, so Hubbard’s experiment worked out for everyone.

Especially listeners, who get some superior groove-based jazz and post bop from a dream quintet.