RIP: Freddie Hubbard

RIP: Freddie Hubbard (1938-2008)

It seems we can't make it through the holidays with out losing a great jazz legend. In late December 2007, we lost pianist Oscar Peterson, and on December 29, 2008, we lost trumpeter Freddie Hubbard.

I'm a bit late to post; I've been out of town and internet free for the past week or so and didn't read the news until today. It truly saddens me that time must continue to distance us from those who created the music we live and breathe today. As the living pool of the original jazz masters inevitably diminishes, it is crucial that these musical mavericks (to use the term more accurately than some), and more importantly, their music, not be forgotten. It seems already that many of today's younger jazz musicians are listening less and less to what came before them and are more interested in today's jazz/indie/rock/hip hop fusions. Which is cool, but there is validity in knowing where your music comes from, particularly if you allow it to be labeled "jazz."

Here's to Freddie.

Obits & Remembrances:
Ethan Iverson at Do The Math
Gregory Dudzienski at The Ear of the Mind
Downbeat
Dave Douglas at Greenleaf Music
Darcy James Argue at Secret Society
Andrew Durkin at Jazz: The Music of Unemployment
David Ryshpan at Settled in Shipping
LA Times
CNN
David Brent Johnson at All About Jazz (via Night Lights)