FREDDIE HUBBARD & ART BLAKEY-FEEL THE WIND

Welcome to ‘Feel The Wind’…maybe one of the greatest team-ups in Jazz history featuring jazz superstars Art Blakey and Freddie Hubbard!

Art Blakey (1919–1990) needs little introduction, the American Jazz drummer and bandleader made a name for himself in the 1940s & 1950s playing with contemporaries such as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. He is often considered to have been Thelonious Monk’s most empathetic drummer (he played on both Monk’s first recording session in 1947 and his final one in 1971). In the decades that followed Blakey recorded for all THE labels that mattered in the field of jazz (Columbia, Blue Note, Atlantic, RCA, Impulse!, Riverside, Prestige, Verve, etc.). His collaborations were numerous and include working with equally legendary artists such as Sonny Rollins, Max Roach, Chet Baker, John Coltrane….and countless others. Art Blakey was a major figure and a pioneer for modern jazz, he assumed an aggressive swing drumming style early on in his career and is known as one of the inventors of the modern bebop style of drumming. Blakey was sampled and remixed by major acts such as The Black Eyed Peas, Digable Planets, Buscemi, KRS-One and Madlib. The legacy of Art Blakey is not only the music he produced, but also the opportunities they provided for several future generations of jazz musicians.

Freddie Hubbard (1938-2008) also needs little introduction, he was one of the most renowned American jazz trumpeters who played bebop, hard bop and post-bop from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives for modern jazz and bebop. At the age of 20, in New York, he began playing and recording with some of the best jazz players of the era, including Don Cherry, Quincy Jones, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Oliver Nelson and Herbie Hancock. Freddie Hubbard recorded for labels such as Blue Note and Atlantic and he became a prominent member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Hubbard achieved his greatest popular success in the 1970s with a series of landmark albums. Hubbard’s trumpet playing was featured on the track “Zanzibar” from the 1978 Billy Joel album 52nd street (the 1979 Grammy Award Winner for Best Album) and in 1988, Hubbard played with Elton John contributing trumpet and flugelhorn solos. In 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts accorded Hubbard its highest honor in jazz, the NEA Jazz Masters Award. Freddie Hubbard was sampled and remixed by renowned artists such as Raekwon, A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, Jungle Brothers and Kamasi Washington.

On the album that we are presenting you today (Feel The Wind from 1989) , you’ll find six sublime tracks recorded in 1988 by renowned engineer Max Bolleman at the Studio 44 Monster in Holland. These recordings were originally released on the legendary Dutch jazz label Timeless Records (and produced by its owner Wim Wigt). Supporting Hubbard and Blakey is an all-star line-up of musicians from the likes of Leon Dorsey (Lionel Hampton), Lonnie Plaxico (Dizzy Gillespie, Ravi Coltrane), Benny Green (Joe Henderson, Houston Person, Milt Jackson), Mulgrew Miller (Frank Morgan, Donald Byrd) and Javon Jackson (Cedar Walton, Curtis Fuller, John Hicks).

The combination of this being one of Art Blakey’s final recordings near the end of his life and a glorious rejuvenating return by Freddie Hubbard gives us all the ingredients for a unique album that sounds as innovating today as back in the day when it was released. Expect supercharged hard bop with striking notes, no-holds-barred musicianship, high swinging solos, screaming choruses and plenty of solid virtuosity to spare. This release is not only a classic but also a bonafide hit and a must have for any self-respecting jazz fan or collector.

Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents this much-needed vinyl reissue that pairs up two iconic jazz legends at the top of their game. Originally released in 1989, this is the first time these unique sessions are being reissued as a deluxe 180g vinyl edition w/obi strip.