Pennies from Heaven
5
By Mezz Mesirow
Why, this is a SUPERB record. iTunes is practically GIVING this music away. The compositions are funky and tuneful, the playing throughout is tasty and masterful. Check out Spaulding on the flute, for instance. I'd buy it again if I didn't already have it, man.
Greatness ...
5
By Brannu Sunyata
I have this album on vinyl and love every single second of it. This is some really incredible music. I'm not a jazz historian and I'm a generation removed from this era of greatness, but, some of this sounds, to me, like some funky hard bop. It's really juicy.
This is THE album...
5
By chazmuz
I'm a trumpet player of 25 years, and this is THE album that really got me going into the jazz universe. Little Sunflower, Up Jumped Spring, Return of the Prodigal Son, On The Que-Tee, Backlash - such incredible tunes! I had listened to Wynton & Maynard & some other main-stay guys before, but this album has roots and feelings that completely captured me, and to this day Freddie remains my all-time favorite jazz trumpet stylist. This album is an essential, not in that it is groundbreaking in compositional structure or even by exceptional sidemen (though they are), but it has so much feeling and soul that you can't help but to like this album. Hubbard's playing is second to none, and the greasy, soulful strut of the band is addictive. No true Hubbard fan should be without this album.
A must-have album for any true Hub fan
4
By Trump Card
Freddie Hubbard made the mistake of painting himself into a corner in the jazz world. By the late 60s and early 70s, he was becoming better known simply as a high-octane chops player, not the truly consummate musician that he was in his prime. As a result, a lot of Hub's later records display flash and flare galore yet lack the lyric sensitivity and harmonic creativity that truly defined him as a player early on. This late-60s date, however, is anything but a flash in the pan. Here, some of Hub's best tunes are stripped to their core and allowed to display the true substance that makes them great. And the star trumpeter's playing beautifully compliments the tender lyricism of his compositions. Despite the disappointing "Echoes of Blue," a regrettable misadventure on an otherwise fine record, this date really is a must-have for any diehard Freddie Hubbard fan. Great compositions played by a great group with a true master leading the charge.
