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Among the pantheon of famous trumpeters who recorded for Blue Note such as Clifford Brown, Fats Navarro and Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard deserved a place alongside these all-time greats. From the early promise of ‘Open Up’ in 1960(long overdue for CD re-issue)and the compositional talent of ‘Ready for Freddie’ through to the mid-nineteen-sixties exploration of the avant-garde on ‘Breaking Point’ and the sublime live duets with Lee Morgan on ‘Night of the Cookers’, Hubbard recorded a long and lasting legacy for the label. This was cemented further by the sojourn with the Jazz Messengers and especially the albums ‘Mosaic’ and ‘Free for All’.  With this in mind, it is especially pleasing that this unissued live recording has been unearthed from the vaults for it finds the trumpeter in full flow on a varied set of compositions. An excellent line up comprises of Roland Hanna, Ron Carter and Louis Hayes on piano, bass and drums respectively. One of the highlights of the set (recorded at three different venues during the same period at the Royal Festival Hall, London, Bristol and an unidentified city in Germany) is the rendition of ‘Night in Tunisia’ which was a Messengers staple, but not one that this writer recalls Freddie playing with them on vinyl at least. Hi-hat cymbals from Hayes and the clarity of tone from Hubbard give this a distinctive Latin tinge. The seldom recorded Red Garland piece ‘Blues by Five’ affords the band an opportunity to shine collectively while the ballad standard ‘Body and Soul’ (which Hubbard recorded for Impulse)is an indication of how prettily the trumpeter could play. In direct contrast the self-penned ‘Space Track’ hints at the freer side of the musician, though not a composition that Hubbard recorded on ‘Breaking Point’ which would have been a logcial bedfellow. An excellent and very welcome issue, then, that both commemorates the loss of one of jazz’s finest and showcases the diverse facets to Freddie Hubbard’s career.