Billboard : 11/28/1960

This is spirited Jazz, featuring Hubbard’s trumpet, with Tina Brooks on tenor; McCoy Tyner, piano\; Sam Jones, bass, and Clifford Jarvis on drums. Hubbard is only 22, yet has a forceful attack and impressive technique. Watch him.

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Cashbox : 11/05/1960

Trumpeter Hubbard’s first “leader” date is a well deserved one and he doesn’t let anyone down with the results. He’s aided and abetted by Tina Brooks, McCoy Tyner, Sam Jones and Clifford Jarvis, all, except Jones, relative toddlers on the jazz scene. One thing the session doesn’t lack is enthusiasm, in fact this is the strong, point of the whole thing. Its a swinging session that includes tunes But Beautiful, All Or Nothing At All, Gypsy Blue and 3 others.

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High Fidelity
John S. Wilson : March, 1961

Freddie Hubbard is in the forefront of the new school of young jazz trumpeters who combine virtuosity and an essentially melodic solo conception with a gorgeously full-blown tone that takes advantage of the fact that this is a brass instrument they are playing. For some reason, this disc is split between three pieces that show off Hubbard’s prowess splendidly (Side 1) and three on Side 2 which make one realize that he is not yet quite the polished and assured musician that he at first appears to be. He is helped on both sides by a stimulating young drummer, Clifford Jarvis, who churns up an exuberant stream of excitement that complements Hubbard’s buoyant style beautifully on the faster selections. The other members of the group are Tina Brooks, an occasionally provocative tenor saxophonist; pianist McCoy Tyner; and Sam Jones, bass.

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Metronome
Bill Coss : January, 1961

A record debut for Hubbard, who is from Indianapolis, Indiana, and has played with Sonny Rollins, Slide Hampton and J.J. Johnson. It is a sparkling debut, but unfortunately this is a record nearly indistinguishable from dozens of others, despite musicianship which is above the ordinary. Its fault is shared by those others: simply one of leaning dependently on the same old kind of lines, a form which is becoming almost formless, so much does it fade in the general sameness. Nevertheless, the rhythm section is strong and swinging and Hubbard is a young trumpeter to be reckoned with.

(5) An auspicious debut for a young trumpeter.

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San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, CA)
Jim Angelo : 11/26/1960

Making his debut as leader is trumpeter Freddie Hubbard whose album Open Sesame (Blue Note 4040) may prove to be prophetic. The talented Hubbard has already been acclaimed as a newcomer of note; his sterling performance here marks him as a future great. In quintet format, Freddie blows in a relaxed, inventive manner оп All Or Nothing At All and But Beautiful, then gets into a more swinging groove on Hub’s Nub and the title number.

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Down Beat : 01/19/1961
John A. Tynan : 3.5 stars

There’s a youthful virility and aggressiveness in this initial album of young (22) trumpeter Hubbard and cohorts that speaks well for the future of small-group jazz. The oldest musician on the date is 35-year-old bassist Jones; drummer Jarvis, at 19, is the youngest. What they produce, collectively and in solo context, makes
for exciting and frequently quite stimulating jazz.

The trumpeter is an emerging soloist of great promise. He plays with a big, strongly assertive tone, mature ideational conception, and forthrightness of conviction. That there is much of Miles in his blowing is happily evident. Moreover, he is thoroughly in command of his horn.

Tenor man Brooks, a strong, outgoing, and vigorous player, wrote both the title tune and the exotically touched blues, Gypsy Blue. Hub’s Nub is by Hubbard. The original material is linearly and harmonically strong; Sesame, in particular, is swift-moving and taken up-tempo with the authoritative horns opening and closing in rousing style.

Youngster Jarvis backs the rhythm section with conviction, and veteran Jones is like a presiding mentor. Tyner, one of the most stimulating young piano men to emerge in a long time, is in there taking care of business from Measure 1.

Fiery and frequently exciting, this set offers more than a glimpse of some of the more persuasive young talents in today’s music.

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Liner Notes by Ira Gitler

To those of you familiar with the tales of The Arabian Nights, more specifically the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, the words “open sesame!” represent the magic password which opened the doors to the robbers’ cave. As with many phrases from literature, the expression has found its way into our language and contemporary usage. It still has the same basic connotation—door-opener.

This album is an “open sesame” for two doors. One is being opened by Blue Note on an extremely talented young trumpet player named Freddie Hubbard by giving him his first date as a leader; the other by Hubbard himself through his playing in this set.

If you travel around the United States you will encounter many fine musicians who have never been heard outside of their particular area. There is much undiscovered talent that may never be brought to the light of public scrutiny. On the other hand, much important talent is being discovered and rediscovered by the necessities brought about by the current economic set-up of jazz with its emphasis on heavy recording schedules.

Certainly Blue Note has been an “Ali Baba” before mass production (Monk, Blakey, Silver, Clifford Brown, etc.) and is equally judicious in its choice of talent today. Although Hubbard is only 22 and his future lies glowingly ahead, with promise of greater things to come, there is no doubt that he is ready to be heard at length right now.

Freddie is from Indianapolis, the same city which gave Jay Jay Johnson and the Montgomery brothers to jazz. Born in the Indiana capital on April 7, 1938 into a musical family, Frederick Dewayne Hubbard started playing mellophone in the band at John Hope Junior High School and migrated to trumpet after a year. At Arsenal Tech High, he continued on trumpet and also took up French horn. It was on the latter instrument that he received a scholarship to Indiana Central College. He declined this, however, and remained in Indianapolis to attend the Jordan Conservatory of Music for a year. Freddie also studied with Max Woodbury of the Indianapolis Symphony. During this period he worked around the area with a group called The Contemporaries and with the Montgomery brothers (Wes, Buddy and Monk).

In 1958, Freddie came to New York and played at Turbo Village, first with baritone saxophonist Jay Cameron and then with his own group. It was there I first heard him. At Cameron’s urging, I journeyed to Brooklyn and was properly impressed. There were two sitters-in that Saturday night who were also taken with what they heard—Horace Silver and Philly Joe Jones. Philly thereupon hired Hubbard for a gig he was playing at Birdland. In April of 1959 he went to San Francisco with Sonny Rollins. All told he was with Sonny for two months. In 1960 he did Monday nights at Birdland and played with Charlie Persip’s group and Slide Hampton’s Octet before joining Jay Jay Johnson’s sextet.

Freddie admires the playing of Miles Davis (his first influence), Clifford Brown and Kenny Dorham. He also likes the tenor playing of John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins and admits that they have had their effect on him too. “I was heavily influenced by Newk for two months after I stopped working with him”, says Freddie.

Another tenor man that Hubbard digs is Tina Brooks. Tina is from the Bronx by way of Fayetteville, North Carolina. He gained playing experience with the r&b bands of Sonny Thompson, Charles Brown, Amos Milburn, Joe Morris and Lionel Hampton but a lot of important jazz knowledge was made available to him by trumpeter Benny Harris. Since the opening of The Connection, Tina has been Jackie Mclean’s understudy and has subbed for him on several occasions.

Hubbard and Brooks met at a session at Count Basie’s club and immediately found that their styles were compatible. In addition to making this date with Freddie, Tina has also recorded one of his own, using Freddie as his helpmate on Blue Note 4041. Actually, he is no stranger to this label, having done all his previous recording for Blue Note with Jimmy Smith and Kenny Burrell, respectively.

Tina’s early influences were Lester Young, Dexter Gordon and Charlie Parker. He is very much in favor of Sonny Rollins and there is more than a hint of Hank Mobley in his playing. In this album, his composing is represented by the title number and Gypsy Blue; his arranging by But Beautiful.

The rhythm section consists of two youngsters and a veteran. McCoy Tyner, the young Philadelphian who made his debut in the big time with the Jazztet and has recently been a member of John Coltrane’s quartet, is one of the most facile new pianists to come on the scene in the past year. Facility is not his only attribute; he knows what he wants to say and his dexterity helps him to be articulate but not verbose.

Clifford Jarvis is a drummer from Boston who has been working with Randy Weston. Although not yet 20, Clifford handles himself very professionally, knows where the beat is and lays it down with the exuberance of his years.

The veteran is Sam Jones (a young 35), the Jacksonville, Florida product who has played with Tiny Bradshaw, Kenny Dorham, Thelonious Monk and is currently with Cannonball Adderley. His presence is a steadying factor at any record date. In July of 1960, he won a new star award in the Down Beat International Critics’ Poll.

Open Sesame really opens things in a swinging minor groove right out of the old Messengers or the Horace Silver quintet. All the soloists are directly communicative. Freddie has some fun with a phrase from Illinois Jacquet’s solo on Flyin’ Home.

The two ballads in the set are treated differently. But Beautiful is treated very sensitively with Freddie’s tone and ability to sustain a slow performance outstanding. All Or Nothing At All is hit full tilt with Jarvis slashing away, straight ahead. Later, Cliff comes in for some exciting “fours”.

Brooks’ Gypsy Blue is a touching theme that almost takes you to a Jewish wedding. When the soloists play, they are working on a minor, 12-bar blues. Jones has his only solo of the set.

One Mint Julep, first done by The Clovers, is out of the r&b bag. Freddie used to do it at Turbo Village and revived it here. Both hornmen are “down” and powerful but never hokey.

Freddie’s original, Hub’s Nub, which serves as the closer, shows his thoughtful control of the horn in front of the solidly driving rhythm section. Tina again generates a great deal of genuine excitement in his solo without resorting to any contrived devices.

One night when Slide Hampton was appearing at the Jazz Gallery, I looked at Freddie, up on the stand, and suddenly a certain picture of a young Louis Armstrong that I had once seen, popped into my mind’s eye and drew its resemblance to Hubbard. Whether Freddie is ever going to reach the stature of Louis Armstrong is not important. What is, is that here is a brilliant young jazzman on the threshold of a potentially great career. His trumpet is his “open sesame”. The door is open.