Freddie Hubbard on "Birdlike"

Freddie Hubbard was 23 years old when he recorded his fourth album as a leader, "Ready for Freddie" (1961). His 19-chorus solo on "Birdlike" is a classic example of crisp, clean bebop playing; it also includes a couple instances of harmonic superimposition, but this solo is on the whole pretty straight-ahead.

I haven't transcribed many trumpet players—this is my first Freddie transcription—but to me, it seems that Freddie seems to play many "saxophone-like" lines with wider intervals. At other times, there are some serpentine chromatic enclosures and approach-tone lines that are definitely more trumpet-oriented, which should be fun to translate to the tenor. 

Without further ado, here's the transcription:

The second chorus is pure bebop, and Freddie's breath control is just astounding.

Tritone substitution in 40-1; the C natural in measure 40 really makes the line work (that segment sounds more like Abmaj than Db7). Also, 69-70: a neat transposed motif in the flat iii minor substitution.

Substituting the major III for the I in 122-5 is a welcome change of pace: it lends the I a maj7+5(#11) sound.

The chromatic descending cliché in 160-61 sounds fresh thanks to rhythmic displacement, and the altered dominant line in 167 recalls Woody Shaw-like pentatonics (although this is still 1961!). Chorus O: it's as if Freddie's taking a relaxed half-time chorus to rest up before his last four choruses! 182-5: Another interesting harmonic approach—sounds like Dphrygian over G7.

209: Another tritone sub. to the IV. The C-G in 214 is an example of a wider interval in an otherwise standard bebop line—it makes the line more striking to the ear, I think.

C

Bb

Eb