Andrew Hill - Smoke Stack (1963)

This 1963 trio session was only the avant-garde pianist and composer Andrew Hill's second release for Blue Note, with whom he would enjoy a fruitful association throughout the decade. Already, on the previous BLACK FIRE, Hill had established himself as a worthy, somewhat more mainstream alternative to the radical Cecil Taylor. His musical style is heavily chromatic, both dense and angular, similar in part to McCoy Tyner's equally muscular explorations. For the most part however, SMOKE STACK takes things at a ruminative, deceptively leisurely pace. Still, the venerable drummer Roy Haynes remains energetic, supple. and busy throughout the set, much like the fiery Elvin Jones with the John Coltrane Quartet. One highlight: Richard Davis's arco bass stylings, moaning and keening throughout the exotic "Wailing Wall."

Audio Remasterer: Rudy Van Gelder.

Liner Note Author: Bob Blumenthal.

Recording information: Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (12/13/1963).

Photographer: Francis Wolff.

Personnel: Andrew Hill (piano); Richard Davis, Eddie Khan (bass); Roy Haynes (drums).

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Andrew Hill - Black Fire (1963)

Pianist Andrew Hill's most notable contribution to jazz may be his ability to creatively combine bebop with the avant-garde. On 1963's BLACK FIRE, the oft-misunderstood jazz composer creates a tonal landscape that is at once steeped in bop, yet ambitiously searching for new harmonic and structural vistas.

Joined by legendary drummer Roy Haynes, tenor great Joe Henderson, and bassist Richard Davis, Hill performs a set of nine originals that seek to push the musical envelope. Each musician explores melody, harmony, and rhythm in ways they normally didn't, particularly Henderson, who expertly adapts his style and sound to the tricky compositions of Hill. Every member of the quartet gets a chance to stretch on this album, and there is more "soloing equality" on BLACK FIRE than on most late-'50s or early-'60s records. Indeed, this was the dawning of a new age in jazz, and Hill was one of this era's greatest pioneers. Standout tracks include the moody and rubato "McNeil Island" and the knotty "Pumpkin."

Additional Tracks

Liner Note Authors: A.B. Spellman; Bob Blumenthal.

Recording information: Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (11/08/1963).

Photographer: Francis Wolff.

Personnel: Andrew Hill (piano); Andrew Hill; Richard Davis (bass instrument); Joe Henderson (tenor saxophone); Roy Haynes (drums).

Audio Remasterer: Rudy Van Gelder.

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