From the Music Matters website: Freddie Hubbard was one of the greatest jaz… Read Full Bio ↴From the Music Matters website:
Freddie Hubbard was one of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time.
Open Sesame was his first album as a leader and this 1960 set finds the 22-year old already sounding like he was a poll winner.
Hubbard had emerged from Indianapolis just two years before and, despite a few brief high-profile gigs, including with Sonny Rollins, J.J. Johnson and Quincy Jones And His Orchestra, he was at the beginning of it all when he recorded Open Sesame.
No matter, he sounds like a seasoned pro, taking explosive solos on uptempo pieces, showing warmth and maturity on ballads and displaying a beautiful tone and an adventurous style throughout. Imagine being 22 and playing so brilliantly while McCoy Tyner is accompanying your solos! Always a courageous and a dramatic soloist, Freddie Hubbard shows with his fearless and fiery playing that he was already ready to conquer the jazz world in 1960.

Review:
Freddie Hubbard’s first recording as a leader, Open Sesame features the 22-year-old trumpeter in a quintet with tenor saxophonist Tina Brooks, the up-and-coming pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Sam Jones and drummer Clifford Jarvis.
This set shows that even at this early stage, Hubbard had the potential to be one of the greats. On the ballad “But Beautiful” he shows maturity; other highlights include “Open Sesame,” a driving “All or Nothing at All” and “One Mint Julep.” It’s an impressive start to what would be a very interesting career.
– Scott Yanow, allmusic.com –