In junior high school I played the trombone, and I was pretty good. I was the one of only two eigth graders in that year in the prestigious JHS 109 Jazz Band, Khadaffy Khan was the other, also a trombonist--he made me look silly on the instrument...
Our teacher and bandleader was the legendery Mr Allen Stier, among other things, the creator of the Ba-Sax, half bassoon, half sax, rumored to be living in Cuba, (the Ba-Sax, not Stier). Everybody wanted to be in Mr. Stier's class, but you had to pass a music test in the elementary school the year before. I was a lucky one. And even though I wanted to play drums, he put a trombone in my hand and called it mine. My brother, the elder also played the trombone in the jazz band...
The jazz band always played the popular jazz hits from the past plus a twist on new songs, among them a freaked out Rock Me Amadeus and the Theme to Peter Gunn. We played at Colden Center in Queens college and we began out the set with Peter Gunn coming up from the orchestra pit on a rising stage, it was the shit!! Girls yelling your name, people in the crowd going nuts, the jazz band was it, and we were good, highlighted by Chris Leathers, the greatest drummer I have ever heard in my life bar-none...
As good as we were Stier felt we needed a challenge, so for the weeks leading up to the Spring Concert we began work on a new piece--Red Clay by Freddie Hubbard. As we learned the piece, and it started to form I started to really dig the song, I didn't know it, in fact back then I wouldn't have known much, but I liked it. As we drew closer to the concert we all thought as a band that we had gotten very tight with the piece, Leathers had an incredible drum solo he would do in rehearsals--never the same thing twice--we began to press Stier if he was going to add it to the set, he kind of shot us a look and said 'nah'. Case closed. 'Amadeus' it was...
Years later working at Tower Records after we opened the jazz room, I opened up a copy of Red Clay. It was after closing so I turned it up all the way in the enclosed room. It was the first time I would actually hear the song outside of playing it, and it was at that moment that I realized why Stier wouldn't let us play the song that night of Spring Concert...
Red Clay is clearly one of the best songs ever recorded--ever. Do your self a solid justice and find a copy of this song and play it today. I would have attached a link here except I have been unable to find a full version. Do what you have to and find a copy. Sit down, with a cup of tea, a joint, a beer, a sandwich, whatever and take 13 minutes out of your day to hear perfection...
Freddie Hubbard was not the most innovative, or popular trumpet player, he was simply just the best at the instrument...
I found out early this morning that Freddie Hubbard died two days ago...
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