This two-fer features two of trumpeter
Freddie Hubbard's best recordings for the Impulse! label: 1962's
The Artistry of Freddie Hubbard and 1963's
The Body and the Soul. Similar to his outstanding Blue Note work of this time, including
Ready for Freddie and
Hub-Tones, these albums feature
Hubbard in his prime. In his mid-twenties at the time of recording, he was considered one of the hottest musicians on the scene and his frenetic, soulful, and gymnastic post-bop trumpet style was already beginning to have a heavy influence on others. For
The Artistry of Freddie Hubbard, he was joined by trombonist
Curtis Fuller along with a stellar rhythm section of pianist
Tommy Flanagan, bassist
Art Davis, and drummer
Louis Hayes. Tackling such standards as "Caravan" as well as few
Hubbard originals, the album plays like a straight-ahead jam session with the young players pushing the modern jazz tenets of blues, swing, and bop to the edge. Paired with his onetime
Jazz Messengers bandmate saxophonist/arranger
Wayne Shorter, as well as
Eric Dolphy and others,
Hubbard employed a septet as well as a 16-piece big band and orchestra on
The Body and the Soul to push his playing into new and uncharted territory. The plan worked and resulted in one of
Hubbard's most beautiful and aurally complex albums of his career.
–
Matt Collar, Rovi