Freddie Hubbard - Skagly (2009)

In general Freddie Hubbard's Columbia recordings can be skipped by serious jazz fans because, with the exception of Super Blue and to a lesser extent this album, they are overtly commercial and rather insincere efforts. This particular record at least uses the trumpeter's regular quintet of the period (with Hadley Caliman on tenor and flute, the up-and-coming keyboardist Billy Childs, bassist Larry Klein and drummer Carl Burnett) although the title cut has three guests (including keyboardist George Duke) whose role seemed to be to make the music more funky. With the exception of the standard "Theme from Summer of '42," none of the other songs (all group originals) caught on but Hubbard takes some good solos during these modern mainstream performances.