BEIJING, Dec. 30 (Xinhuanet)-- Freddie Hubbard, the great American jazz musician who has influenced a generation of trumpet players, died Monday at the age of 70, according to media reports Tuesday.

    The Grammy winner died at Sherman Oaks Hospital, California, said his manager, fellow trumpeter David Weiss of the New Jazz Composers Octet.

    Hubbard had been hospitalized since suffering a heart attack a day before Thanksgiving.

    As a towering figure in jazz circles, Hubbard played on hundreds of recordings in a career dating to 1958.

    In his earliest recordings, which included "Open Sesame" and "Goin' Up" for Blue Note in 1960, the influence of others is obvious. But within a couple of years he developed a style all his own, one that would influence generations of musicians.

    As a young musician, Hubbard became revered among his peers for a fiery, blazing style that allowed him to hit notes higher and faster than just about anyone else with a horn. As age and infirmity began to slow that style, he switched to a softer, melodic style and played a flugelhorn, impressing his fellow musicians.

    Hubbard won his Grammy in 1972 for best jazz performance by a group for the album "First Light." In his playing life, he collaborated with such greats as Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins.