Here To Stay (Blue Note Classic Vinyll)

Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard burst out of the gates with a torrent of creativity beginning with his debut album Open Sesame in 1960, and over the next two years turned out six classic albums including Ready for Freddie, Hub-Tones, and Here to Stay, which was recorded in December 1962. Here to Stay was initially prepped for release in 1963—Reid Miles even designed a brilliant eye-catching cover—but perhaps due to Hubbard’s prodigious output the album was ultimately shelved and not first released until 1976. Certainly that decision was not due to any musical shortcomings with Hubbard fronting a state-of-the-art quintet with tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Reggie Workman, and drummer Philly Joe Jones. The compelling six-song set included two compelling Hubbard originals (“Philly Mignon” and “Nostrand and Fulton”), two pieces by composer Cal Massey (“Father and Son” and “Assunta”), as well as an unforgettable version of the timeless standard “Body and Soul.”

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.