Freddie Hubbard (Frederick Dewayne Hubbard, Indianapolis, Indiana, April 7, 1938 - Sherman Oaks, California, December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. Hubbard was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and associated in his youth with various musicians in Indianapolis, including Wes Montgomery and Montgomery's brothers. Chet Baker was an early influence, although Hubbard soon aligned himself with the approach of Clifford Brown (and his forebears: Fats Navarro and Dizzy Gillespie). Hubbard's jazz career began in earnest after moving to New York City in 1958. ...show more

Freddie Hubbard (Frederick Dewayne Hubbard, Indianapolis, Indiana, April 7, 1938 - Sherman Oaks, California, December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. Hubbard was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and associated in his youth with various musicians in Indianapolis, including Wes Montgomery and Montgomery's brothers. Chet Baker was an early influence, although Hubbard soon aligned himself with the approach of Clifford Brown (and his forebears: Fats Navarro and Dizzy Gillespie). Hubbard's jazz career began in earnest after moving to New York City in 1958.

While there, he worked with Sonny Rollins, Slide Hampton, J. J. Johnson, Philly Joe Jones, Oliver Nelson, and Quincy Jones, among others. He gained attention while playing with the seminal hard bop ensemble Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, appearing on such albums as Mosaic, Buhaina's Delight, and Free For All.

He left the Messengers in 1964 to lead his own groups and from that time maintained a high profile as a bandleader or featured as a special guest, but never merely a sideman. Along with two other trumpeters also born in 1938, Lee Morgan (d. 1971) and Booker Little (d. 1961), Hubbard exerted a strong force on the direction of 1960s jazz. ...show less