Trinidad-born Brownman Ali’s tribute to the late, great Freddie Hubbard

Freddie Hubbard

The death of legendary jazz trumpet player Freddie Hubbard in ’91 rocked the world of jazz. Thousands of trumpeters world-wide have been profoundly affected by the sound of Freddie Hubbard’s horn over the years, his powerful approach and energized style having shaped the evolution of many, including Trinidadian-born multi-award winning jazz trumpeter Brownman Ali.

On Fri-Aug-27 Ali, and an all-star cast of Toronto’s finest, takes on the exciting task of paying tribute to one of the greatest jazz trumpet players in the history of the art form – Freddie Hubbard. The night will feature a set of Hubbard’s early acoustic period while on the Blue Note label (“Ready for Freddie”, “Open Sesame”) and the second set will showcase his later electric period while on the CTI label (“Red Clay”, “Skydive”).

According to a Buffalo News item: “Awards are nice, naturally, but to dig what Brownman is doing, you’ve got to see him live. I had a chance to do just that over the summer when Brownman fronted his killer trio … I came away with a blown mind. This guy’s got chops galore, soul to match, and a sense of phrasing that recalls many of the greats, but suggests itself to be his own.”

Heralded as “Canada’s preeminent Jazz trumpeter” by NYC’s Village Voice, Brownman Ali – born on the small Caribbean island of Trinidad, & schooled in NYC – is a multiple award-winning NYC-schooled protégé to his teacher, Grammy-winning trumpet legend, Randy Brecker.

Splitting his time between Toronto and New York, he tirelessly leads 7 unique ensembles of his own including the internationally acclaimed Miles Davis influenced BROWNMAN ELECTRYC TRIO, and the award-winning CRUZAO latin-jazz quintet.

Brownman Ali

All these ensembles record under Brownman’s much lauded BROWNTASAURAS RECORDS label, established in 2009. In high demand in the studio world with over 300 CD appearances to date, Brownman delivers stylistically authentic horn playing over a wide range of styles from bebop to hiphop having worked with the likes of Guru’s Jazzmatazz (replacing Donald Byrd in that primordial ensemble), Mos Def, KRS-1, Quincy Jones, Paul Simon, Jay-z, Missy Elliot, Mingus Dynasty Big Band, Gary Bartz, Chucho Valdes & far too many more to name here. He is considered to be one of the most unique and provocative improvising trumpet players in the nation today and is widely regarded as a vanguard for the evolution of Jazz in Canada.

A highly decorated player, Brownman’s awards & accolades include 2 National Jazz Awards (with 11 nominations over the years), Montreal Jazz Fest’s “Grand Prix Du Jazz” award, a CBC Galaxie Rising Star award, a SOCAN composers award, an International Independent Music Award for “Album of the Year”, 3 Toronto Independent Music Award “jazz artist of the year” (8 nominations), a Black Canadian Award nomination for “Jazz Musician of the Year”, a Caribbean Arts & Entertainment Award nomination for “Jazz Artist of the Year”, an induction into the WHO’S WHO IN BLACK CANADA, a BRAVO! channel documentary on his life, NOW magazine naming him “Toronto’s Best Jazz Musician”, CBC Radio Canada named him “one of the most recorded trumpet players in Canadian history”, NPR in New York calls him “the new standard in electric jazz”, the Trinidad & Tobago Consulate General awarded

Freddie Hubbard

him with a citation for being a “Distinguished National of Trinidad”, and was once listed by Air Canada’s In-Flight magazine as “one of the Top 10 reasons to visit Toronto”.

Show details:

Where: Supermarket, 268 Augusta Ave., Toronto. At 7:30pm – 10:30pm

www.SupermarketTO.ca

$20 at the door, $15 advance, $10 students w/ ID