Freddie Hubbard: Hub-Tones (Blue Note)
Blue Note's celebratory remastering of some of the best of its great catalogue continues with this sublime 1962 exposition of trumpet by a very young Freddie Hubbard. Still a Blakey Messenger at the time, Hubbard stamps his personality as a player and composer all over the music; stylistically its affinities are hard bop, but there's also a cutting-edge sense of discovery to the session, which stretches the boundaries of the idiom without forfeiting the unity of the performances. He has some brilliant colleagues, notably pianist Herbie Hancock and James Spaulding - on alto, a splendid amalgam of Eric Dolphy and Ornette Coleman, who manages to sound completely personal; on flute, less so. Three alternate takes are included, reinforcing the impression of fecundity that suffuses the whole album.
Ray Comiskey
Javon Jackson: Pleasant Valley (Blue Note)
Jackson is one of the best young tenors around; a probing player, he seems just the one to add a fresh dimension to the old tenor and organ-guitar-drums format, particularly with these played by Larry Goldings, Dave Stryker and Billy Drummond. This is a working group and it shows; ensembles mesh seamlessly, and solo support is consistently good. Everyone plays well; Stryker, despite resorting to effects occasionally, is the most distinctive soloist, Goldings somewhat more adventurous than he showed on his recent visit here, Drummond performs with taste and power and Jackson, though he lacks individuality in terms of tone or style, spins out long lines of considerable intelligence and virtuosity. And yet . . . worthy and accessible though it is, somehow, there's a spark missing to lift it out of the ordinary.
Ray Comiskey