Customer Reviews

Black Fire

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Andrew Hill's leader debut for Blue Note is one of his best recordings. The story is that Hill played piano on Joe Henderson's excellent album Our Thing and was then approached by producer Alfred Lion to make an album of his own music. Hill rose to the challenge, bringing seven strikingly original compositions that didn't fit into either the "free jazz" or "hard bop" categories.

It wasn't unusual in the mid-60s for Blue Note albums to include original compositions, but sometimes these compositions were pretty generic: a modal number, a "Sidewinder" clone, a blues number, etc. But not here -- each of Hill's tunes is distinct from those generic categories, and from the other tunes on the album. Hill's tunes include weird twists and turns, starts and stops, alternating sections with clashing ideas or moods, unpredictable rhythms, and of course a touch of Monk. "Subterfuge" is a percussive, claustrophobic piano trio performance. "McNeil Island" is another trio performance, but this time Roy Haynes sits out. Joe Henderson plays very lyrically on this one. "Black Fire" is a waltz, alternating an upbeat theme with a darker one. It's interesting to see how the soloists adjust to the frequently adjusting moods in their solos. "Pumpkin" (introduced by a striking Richard Davis bassline) and the sorta-Latin "Cantarnos" both feature intense, passionate melodies.

Hill got a major assist from his quartet: Henderson (tenor sax), Davis (bass) and Haynes (drums). Hill had great chemistry with all three guys, and each would appear on at least one Hill recording after this one. Henderson's playing is more avant-garde than on contemporary albums such as Lee Morgan's Sidewinder and Grant Green's Idle Moment. Haynes could perform brilliantly in any context, while Davis's virtuosic bass playing is perfect for Hill's music. (I guess that's why he played on Hill's first seven albums for BN!) Together, Haynes and Davis push and pull against the soloists, giving Hill's music the flexibility it needs.

Though Point of Departure might be a better album, Black Fire is probably a more accessible introduction to Hill's music. Be sure to check out his other Blue Note albums, including Judgment, Andrew!!! and Passing Ships.

(Note: this review is based on an older reissue of the album. I have not heard the recent RVG remaster.)

Andrew Hill's "Black Fire," out-of-print domestically for nearly ten years as a single-disc and often impossible to find used, makes an improbable return to the Blue Note catalog in the RVG series. This November 8, 1963 seesion is the underrated pianist's debut as a leader, and what a fine introduction it is to this unique jazz composer and performer. Joined by tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, bassist Richard Davis and drummer Roy Haynes, this quartet runs through the seven Hill originals (plus two alternate takes) like they'd been playing together for years. Those familiar with Hill's music know this is no easy task, as these songs, with their creative melodies, complex rhythms and intricate interplay make playing together cohesively quite difficult. Many are too quick to lump Andrew Hill into the jazz avant-garde, and while his music is expansive and exploratory, it is certainly firmly grounded in the post-bop jazz tradition. "Black Fire" must have been hard to put out, but now that it is here, listen to it burn!

While it can be considered that Andrew Hill and his recordings qualify as avant-garde, his music has melody, rhythm and harmony. Hill's sounds are as analytical as powerfully visceral. In some parts of his music it is noticeable the influence of three monsters of the piano: Earl Hines one of the best, the great Bud Powell and the supernatural and influential Thelonious Monk.
"Black Fire", Andrew Hill's powerful debut record for Blue Note, is an impressive and original record which builds from hard bop and even flirts with free music in some of its songs. Perhaps this "Black Fire" is more suitable to begin with Hill's music rather than his allegedly best albums, "Point of Departure" and "Judgement". Here he is backed by a kind of dream team, with Joe Henderson on tenor sax, playing it sensationally, in his usual way, the virtuous bassist Richard Davis, and the highly acclaimed drummer Roy Haynes, all of them leaders in their own bands. None of them are content within the limits of conventional hard bop and that is what makes "Black Fire" an outstanding classical record of modern Jazz. All of the themes, seven originals plus two alternate takes, are very good, so I highly recommend it. It is an essential and a must-have record. You can't go wrong buying it.

This is a great Coltrane-esque cd of hard bob/post bob jazz. Hill's playing is tremendous and although Henderson's playing to me seems kind of derivative it never detracts from the overall playing on this cd. I don't know his body of work but I have to imagine this has got to be a shining hour of Roy Hayne's his playing, especially on subterfuge is so creative and never overly flashy. Sensational. Hill's 'Point of Departure' will certainly, and rightfully so, go down as his masterpiece and one of the handful of greatest recordings of all time, but don't make the mistake I almost made, keep exploring this great artist's canon. And, I would highly recommend this as a next stop after exploring Point of Departure.

joe henderson sounds better here than he did playing on his own recordings, and certainly better than on recordings led by mccoy tyner in the 60s. andrew hill was a magnificent composer, there's no getting around that. i keep seeing him listed as an avant-garde pianist, and i hear him as anything but avant-garde, his playing graced with a humility that unified whatever group he put together for his compositions.

i've said more about andrew hill than i've said about black fire. i've still many recordings by hill to hear, and so far, from what i've heard, i haven't been disappointed. black fire may prove to be one of my favorite recordings by hill.