Creativity Quote by Freddie Hubbard

There is a whole coming-of-age story packed into Hubbard's casual phrase "the biggest thrill". He isn't mythologizing genius; he's describing access. The thrill isn't applause or a record deal, it's being invited into a room where the rules of the music are actually made and passed along. "Going over to these guy's houses" matters because jazz education, especially in Hubbard's era, often lived in living rooms and late-night kitchens more than in institutions. The house is both sanctuary and proving ground: you get welcomed in, but you also get sized up.

The line "having them want me to practice with them" flips the usual narrative of a young player chasing mentors. The subtext is affirmation: he wasn't just eavesdropping, he was being chosen. That choice carries a quiet pressure. If the older musicians "want" you there, you have to earn your chair, and practice stops being private self-improvement and becomes a social contract.

Then he lands on "they would show me a lot of stuff" with almost comic understatement. In jazz, "stuff" is language: voicings, substitutions, time feel, how to listen, how to survive a tune when you don't know the map. Calling it "really advanced stuff to me at my age" underlines the speed at which jazz talent gets accelerated - not through abstract theory, but through proximity to people who already speak fluently. Hubbard is pointing to the real engine of the tradition: generosity with an edge, mentorship that feels like initiation.