Cast
Freddie Hubbard — Bandleader, trumpeter
Al Casey — Bass guitarist
Alan Dawson — Drummer
Alvin Batiste — Clarinetist
Kirk Lightsey — Pianist
Red Callender — Double bassist
Urbie Green — Trombonist
Program notes
For this 1987 concert at Estival Jazz Festival, the trumpetist Freddie Hubbard downs his hard-bop, post-bop and jazz-funk tendencies in favor of a trip into the past ... we find ourselves instead in the dim and dusty history of New Orleans, with the musicians who invented jazz.
Known for his blistering speed and work alongside the Jazz Messengers, Hubbard was a defiantly modern trumpet player for the most part. Here, he is joined by Satchmo Legacy, a band pulled together to pay homage to the genius of Great American Music, the chosen one: Louis Armstrong.
From the first moment they launch into early swing and ragtime tracks like “Struttin’ With Some Barbecue,” “Gut Bucket Blues,” and “Musket Rambler,” before finishing on Hubbard’s own compositions. Among the composers whose music was played that night are Kid Ory and Jelly Roll Morton, two giant figures of Armstrong’s upbringing and pioneers alongside him.