O.C. to See Hubbard’s Latin Side

Freddie Hubbard always keeps them guessing. During a career of some 35 years, he has explored a number of jazz styles, from be-bop and gospel-funk to avant-garde experiments and rock-influenced fusion sessions.

But when the trumpeter takes the stage with percussionist Poncho Sanchez’s Latin band Saturday at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, he’ll be showing a side of himself most fans haven’t seen.

The Latin direction isn’t anything new, according to Hubbard. “When I first moved to New York, I played around with Tito (Puente) and a band called Pucho & the Latin Soul Brothers,” Hubbard, 53, explained earlier this week by phone from his Hollywood Hills home. “On Monday nights, I used to go down to Birdland and play with Willie Bobo’s band. Me and Willie Bobo--doesn’t seem that long ago.

“You know, I like listening to this music as well as playing it. Whenever I hear Latin music, I want to dance. It’s sometimes hard to play over, because there’s so much of that rhythm going on--it can get in your ear.”

Hubbard’s most recent recording, “Bolivia” (with pianist Cedar Walton, bassist David Williams, saxophonist Ralph Moore and Giovanni Hidalgo on congas), also takes a walk on the Latin side--a walk led by Walton’s well-known title tune and Hubbard’s rhythm showcase “Managua.” Hubbard says a tour of Central America in 1989 that was sponsored by the U.S. State Department provided inspiration for the recording.

“It was like I was on a mission--a mission to introduce them to jazz. I was in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and had a chance to hear some different styles of Latin music. The tour opened in Mexico City, where we heard a lot of mariachi music. Then, as we went farther into Central America, the music we heard in the clubs and on the streets really got interesting.”

Hubbard’s relationship with the Sanchez band began with Hubbard’s appearance on “Cambios,” Sanchez’s most recent studio recording. The two performed together earlier this week in Sacramento and Berkeley.

“Poncho’s thing isn’t just that straight Latin beat. He’s managed to break it up a bit with his band,” Hubbard said. “We did ‘Yesterdays,’ ‘My Foolish Heart’ as a ballad, kind of a ‘Bolero’ piece. Poncho’s got a great band and they get a nice feeling. He’s serious about his music. He’s going to become the Tito Puente of the West.”

Despite his reputation as a chameleon, Hubbard said, “I never played in no blues bands or soul band. I was into be-bop from the jump.”

The jump for Hubbard came in 1958 when he moved from his birthplace of Indianapolis to New York. Hubbard said he spent the first couple of years there following Miles Davis around. “Then, when I finally met him, he wouldn’t even speak to me,” Hubbard said, laughing.

But Davis was instrumental in jump-starting Hubbard’s career, suggesting to Alfred Lion, Blue Note Records head, that his company record the young trumpeter.

Davis’ death upset him deeply, Hubbard said. “I felt as though part of my life had ended, as if part of me went with him. I listened to this man so much when I was growing up--such a beautiful sound. Not a strong sound like Clifford (Brown) or Dizzy (Gillespie), but a penetrating, very pure trumpet sound that reached your soul. He wasn’t as mysterious as people think, but one of the nicest cats, almost shy. It’s almost like a little flame had died.”

Hubbard soared into the view of the jazz public when he joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in 1961. It was during that time that Ornette Coleman asked Hubbard to participate in his now-landmark “Free Jazz” session, a recording that took the music to places it had never been before.

“I wasn’t playing (music) like that,” Hubbard said. “I was with Blakey at the time, trying to play like Lee Morgan, you know, that funky stuff. But they wanted me on the album, and I was young and wild and willing to try anything. Once I got into it, it was really something. I used to think, ‘Ornette, where do you get that stuff?’ It was almost like talking through the horn.”

In the ‘70s, Hubbard’s fame was built on a number of recordings for Creed Taylor’s CTI label, albums that often put his fluegelhorn playing with lush string backdrops arranged by Don Sebesky. When Hubbard moved over to Columbia, his music took on more of a fusion bent. He also toured with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter in the VSOP band, a re-creation of Davis’ famous ‘60s quintet with Hubbard taking the trumpeter’s spot.

Since his CTI days, Hubbard has been known for his soft, almost pillowy fluegelhorn work. But the fluegelhorn may soon be a thing of the past for him. “It’s hurting my chops,” he said. “I get carried away on that thing, and think I’m playing the trumpet, playing high notes and stuff. It’s hard to switch back. Dizzy (Gillespie) told me, ‘You’d better give up one of those horns before you get old.’ But the people seem to like it.”

Despite the commercial aspirations of his his last album for Blue Note--1989’s “Times Are Changing”--Hubbard seems to be more serious about maintaining his direction these days. A recent Japanese release, “Topsy--Standard Book,” finds him working familiar turf as he plays muted trumpet exclusively. He’ll travel to Poland and Germany for straight-ahead gigs later this month, and he is looking forward to recording his next album for the MusicMasters label.

“I’m going to slow down, do some standards and ballads and just try to play something pretty on this next record. I want this to be my best, something people will remember me by forever, something beautiful, something like Clifford Brown did with strings. No matter whether you like rock or rap or jazz, you’ll like it.”

Freddie Hubbard appears with the Poncho Sanchez band at 8 tonight at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine. Tickets: $20. Information: (714) 854-4646.