Riding the Train with Freddie Hubbard

 

Although not as well known as Miles Davis, among jazz fans, trumpeter player Freddie Hubbard is a well known and highly respected player. He'd apprenticed his way up the jazz hierarchy playing with fellow Indianan's Monk and Wes Montgomery as a teenager. His early career included stints with Philly Joe Jones, Sonny Rollins, Eric Dolphy, Quincy Jones, Wayne Shorter, J.J. Johnson, and the legendary John Coltrane. Recording with the prestigious Blue Note Records, Hubbard's debut solo album included McCoy Tyner. 

In 1978, as a college freshman, I attended the University of Wyoming in Laramie. For Thanksgiving break, I decided to take the train from Laramie to Denver to Omaha. I'd ridden trains throughout England and Scotland when I was 16 so I was looking forward to my first extended American train trip.

 I walked the mile from campus to the train station downtown. As one might expect in late November, it was snowing fiercely. Upon arrival, there were other passengers in the waiting room. What made them unique in this setting is six of my fellow passengers were black and one was a white fellow. They were clearly traveling together. I sat down and soon enough a conversation broke out. As we talked I realized this was Freddie Hubbard's band - who'd played the night before. Like me, they were taking the train to Denver.

 The white guy was from Sioux City and had gotten hooked up with Freddie's band while he was running sound for Herbie Hancock. He was the road manager/ sound guy. "Of course I knew Tommy Bolin" he said. That was all it took to get my complete attention. 

While we sat in the station he told me stories of Tommy from their days in Iowa. He shared a conversation he'd had with one of Tommy crew regarding Bolin's death in Miami a few years earlier. Again and again, he repeated the question he posed to the crew member, "But why didn't you call an ambulance?" For those that perhaps don’t know, Bolin replaced Joel Walsh in the James Gang and then moved on to replace Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple. After recording two studio albums, Private Eyes and Teaser, at London’s Trident Studio, Bolin died from a drug overdose in July 1976. He’d been struggling with drugs but was in Miami opening for Jeff Beck.

 As we boarded the train, they'd reserved a couple of private rooms on the train rather than sitting in general seating. I was invited to join them. Soon enough the train pulled out of the station on what was a chilly and snowy November day.

 Soon enough the train began to meander through the mountainous terrain of the Medicine Bow and Routt National Forest region. About 20 minutes into our trip there was a knock at the door. It was Freddie. Clearly, he'd been scouting out the train and he said to the band, and their soundman, "Let's jam!"

The band made its way to the cocktail car which, at about 8 a.m. on a Wednesday, was empty. Inside the car was a broken-down piano. The band sat down and soon enough Freddie put the horn to his lips. The drummer used his sticks against a desk-like fixture like you probably sat at in High School or Junior High. The piano player improvised around the broken piano keys. I was close enough that I could have reached out and touched the piano keyboard if I’d wanted to. As he played, a couple of porters wandered in, did a double-take, and decided to hang around for the impromptu concert.

As the train rose up hills and down into valleys, snow began to fall, and soon enough the pine trees were covered in fresh snow. Being one of three guests sitting in on the practice, Freddie would play, make eye contact, and smile at what few audience members he could. The private concert was a walkthrough of the band's brand new album, Super Blue. The album would eventually rise to #6 on the Billboard Jazz charts (I had to look that up). As the band played, the large train windows behind them depicted heavy snow falling across a moving mountain landscape. It was better than one could ever have imagined.

Eventually, we got into Denver. As we left the train Freddie gave me his home phone number and said, "If you're ever in Hawaii, give me a call." I never made it to Hawaii but the ride from Laramie to Denver was an once-in-a-lifetime experience.