ANDREW HILL SEXTET PLUS TEN

A BEAUTIFUL DAY, REVISITED

Palmetto Records

Andrew Hill, piano/composer; Scott Colley, bass; Nasheet Waits, drums; Marty Ehrlich, alto saxophone/clarinet/bass clarinet/flute; Greg Tardy, tenor Saxophone/clarinet/bass clarinet; Ron Horton, trumpet/Musical Director; Aaron Stewart, tenor saxophone; John Savage, alto saxophone/flute; J.D. Parron, baritone saxophone/bass clarinet; Dave Ballou, Bruce Staelens, & Laurie Frinck, trumpets. Charlie Gordon, Joe Fiedler & Mike Fahn, trombones; Jose D’Avila, tuba.

Jazz journalist, Leonard Feather, once described Andrew Hill as “one of the most serious probing personalities in the world of modern jazz.”   All these years later, Hill’s music continues to shine brightly, an example of Feather’s praise and description.

Pianist, Andrew Hill lived from 1931 to 2007. He played three nights at Birdland with his sextet (plus 10) back in January of 2002. Those shows created enough original music to press up two discs. Hill’s double disc set opens with his original composition, “Divine Revelation” featuring both Greg Tandy and Aaron Stewart on tenor saxophones. The arrangement also gives Andrew Hill several moments to showcase his brilliance, not only as a composer, but also as a pianist.

This “Live” music was originally released in 2002 as a record called, “A Beautiful Day.”  Producer Matt Balisaris was so impressed with both the compositions and the players on this ‘Live” recording that while he re-listened to the tracks last summer, Balisaris began to tinker with mixing automation enhancement. He thought to himself, why not add twenty-first century studio discoveries that he believed might bring more beauty to this decades-old project?

For example, Balisaris added a 16-minute performance of the title track (taken from the first night of the Thursday through Saturday Birdland gig). Adding this new performance piece was to show how differently Hill’s music became from one night to the next. That’s what jazz is all about. It lives and breathes improvisation and change.

“Faded Beauty” gives John Savage free rein to spotlight his flute magic.  This is an absolutely beautiful composition written by Andrew Hill. The Marty Ehrlich bass clarinet solo enriches Ron Horton’s arrangement.

The original 2002 release was powerful in its own skin. Perhaps these newer, more polished and enhanced tunes on this double set record offer another ambiance than the 2002 master. The enhancements of Hill’s music are equally powerful. Check out the original title tune below, before the enhancements.

Andrew Hill was a Chicago-born jazz musician who grew up on the city’s South Side.  As a child, he played accordion, surprisingly in a boogie-woogie style. Hill didn’t switch to piano until his teen years. During his career, Andrew played with a list of legendary jazz musicians including Charlie Parker (1953), smooth jazz crooner, Johnny Hartman, The Johnny Griffin/ Eddie ‘Lockjaw’ Davis Quintet, and he worked with multi-reedman, Roland Kirk, recording and touring with this icon in 1962. He was signed to Bluenote records as a bandleader for several years.

This newly mixed and mastered recording gives a unique and historic glimpse into Andrew Hill’s genius, showcasing his talents as a bandleader, composer and pianist.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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