Freddie Hubbard

Red Clay

First released1970

Red Clay was recorded on June 9, 1970, at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, with Rudy Van Gelder serving as engineer. The album was produced by Bob Thiele for CTI Records, marking Freddie Hubbard's debut for the label and his first collaboration with arranger Don Sebesky. The session featured a small group with Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone, Ron Carter on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums, recorded with the intimate, close-miked approach that Van Gelder's studio was known for. The production emphasized Hubbard's flugelhorn tone and the interplay between the horns, capturing a modal jazz aesthetic that would define the CTI sound during the early 1970s.