Customer Reviews

Judgement

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Andrew Hill's _Judgment_ is easily one of his masterpieces. Like the long-deleted _Andrew!!!_ (finally being released on CD in October '05), its disappearance from Blue Note's CD catalogue in the early '90s was the source of considerable bewilderment for Hill's devotees. (I was fortunate to get that earlier release in the short period it was available.)

That bewilderment was heightened by the relatively poor remastering of the earlier CD release. For years, I was frustrated by the low recording levels and the whispery opening bass figure of the first track, "Siete Ocho." Considering the way that figure anchors the performance, it was disheartening to hear it fade into the mix. Now Rudy Van Gelder has given it some punch, thereby restoring all the power to the track as a whole.

The rest of the CD has brightened as well. Overall, this is not a dramatic improvement over the earlier release, save for the aforementioned "Siete Ocho," but it certainly beats it, hands down.

This is truly one of the essential recordings of any genre. I have played it nearly every month for the last dozen years or so. You won't regret it.

Blue Note had a knack for discovering off-kilter piano players. First it was Monk who was initially ridiculed and sold badly but after a decade or so people began to understand that he really was something else and he is now (rightfully) considered one of the most important composers and improvisers in jazz ever. After that it was the underrated Herbie Nicols, who like Monk, initally suffered total public indifference. Nowadays however, Nichols is namechecked by tons of musicians and an "underground" legend. Unfortunately, he never lived to see this. Last in this line was Andrew Hill. Frank Lion loved his work and let him record no less than 5 records in approximately 6 months. unfortunately they sold very bad and, with the exception of Point of Departure, has been mostly out of print in the latest 40 years. This, along with the fact that most of Hills later records have been on smaller european companies and in solo-settings, has meant that not many people have heard him. Now, however, Blue Note have no less than 4 of these masterpieces in print (the only one missing from this initial bunch of records is the somewhat weaker "Smokestack"). Hopefully this means that Hill will finally get the recognition he deserves. That he will have a new record out on Blue Note soon (featuring Charles Tolliver, another forgotten great!!!) doesn't make matters worse.

About this record, it doesn't have any horns on it which may turn some people off but the compositions are uniformly brilliant (arguably my favourite Hill record in terms of the written material)and the interplay between Hill, Hutcherson and the always wonderful Richard Davis is incredible. The added bonus is that the drummer on this record is Elvin Jones. Hill usually recorded with drummers like Roy Haynes, Joe Chambers and Tony Williams who all have a more quirky, "skittery" way of playing drums compared with Jones muscular and extroverted style. The contrast between Jones (who doesn't overplay at all, he sounds really sympathetic to the other musicians) and the others more introverted stylings gives this record a unique sound compared with Hills other records from this era. It arguably also makes the record more accessible for newcomers to Hills music which makes this a great introduction!!!

Andrew Hill's "Point of Departure" is an undisputed modern jazz masterpiece, but in the last twenty years, the average fan would have been hard pressed to locate a second Blue Note album by the pianist. Yes, many of his albums have been available as limited edition titles in the Connoisseur Series, or via Mosaic Records, but only with the recent reissue of "Black Fire" (see my review) and "Judgment!" in the RVG Edition Series, have more Hill discs finally received a permanent place in the EMI catalog. This glorious January 8, 1964 session features Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Richard Davis on bass and Elvin Jones on drums performing six of the pianist's original compositions (including an alternate take of "Yokada, Yokada"). While not as densely layered as the multi-horn stylings of "Departure" (made just two months later on March 21 by the way), this material is just as exploratory and enjoyable. Hutch and Hill have chemistry right from the start, and they would build on this success many times in the following decades, the next being the still out-of-print "Andrew!" from June of '64. Needless to say, frequent collaborator Davis and Jones are both in top form. Judge for yourself, but I certainly wouldn't pass on "Judgment!"

It's a pity there's not more raving about this album. Not only does it have a gorgeous sense of color (piano and vibraphones as lead instruments are right up my alley, personally), but it's just an all-around impassioned and cerebral session that combined elements of modal, free jazz and post-bop into something uniquely sensual.

The opener "Siete Ocho" feels like broken clockwork, with its seasick 7/8 (as the title suggests) time signature. Within the first 12 seconds, bass, drums, piano, then vibes succeed each other, each suggesting contrasting rhythmic ideas from the getgo. "Yokada Yokada" (yes, like Yackedy Yak) is rather stupid and amusing, but like with Ornette Coleman, the improvisational meat of the songs is perfect even when the heads feel a bit awkward. So on and so forth--each track is great.

Andrew Hill might have been the best jazz pianist in my book, beating Monk and Bill Evans by a hair. Both his compositional skill and thematic development/improvising were top-tier, and he had a distinct, tasteful way of flirting with the left field with artful dissonance and repetition, playing in and out of the rhythm in striking ways, etc. There's this memorable part in the first song where he just rolls out this slow, meticulous, deep legato while the rhythm section's on fire. It's the sort of thing they poorly imitate in movies and other media when they want to suggest "intellectual jazz that you'll never get". But I think it's impossible not to "get" this.

Bobby Hutcherson plays vibraphones like a pianist himself, but he also has an intuitive understanding of accenting the music in minimal ways, both an orbiting pedalpoint and active participant in melodic development.

As a side note, every instrument's clear in the mix and has plenty of solo time, so don't worry about an indistinct or under-emphasized rhythm section.

Depending on the week, my favorite jazz album is either Out to Lunch, Speak No Evil, something by Mingus, or this. Take that as you may.

There is no shortage of talent on this 1964 session: Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Richard Davis on bass, Elvin Jones on drums and, of course, Andrew Hill on piano. What is missing is a horn section, a fact that lends this album a very different flavour from albums such as Black Fire (Joe Henderson) or Point of Departure (Dorham, Dolphy and Henderson) . It also yields a set of tracks in which Bobby Hutcherson's vibraphones are often as dominant as Hill's piano. For some listeners that may not prove to be a plus; my fondness for Hill and Hutcherson marks this out as a very special disc indeed. A pleasure to recommend!

Trying to get back to my little goal from a month or 2 ago of reviewing all of Andrew Hill's albums, I find myself choosing this one, recorded on 1/8/64 by Bobby Hutcherson vibes, Andrew piano, Richard Davis bass and Elvin Jones traps.

This and Smoke Stack automatically stand apart from Andrew's other albums since there are no horns on these two. Of these two, I prefer this one, Judgment (which I never noticed is spelled that way until two minutes ago when I tried to search it with "Judgement" and came up with a $30 import). What's that word I've heard people use to describe Andrew's compositions. Spikey? Thorny? Knotty? Whichever one it is, this album is less so. This album manages to be propulsive and rhythmic (with Elvin on drums how could it not be?) but also drifty and dreamy. Andrew was a TONE GOD, and his touch is in full effect throughout this album. Judgment manages to be even more of a piano album than Andrew!!!.

I've always been one to question people's insistence that Andrew is some sort of Thelonious Monk 2.0 (and that is no slight on either man). They had nothing in common in terms of tone or playing style, and nothing really in common in terms of their compositions... aside from Yokada Yokada, that is. The "head" of this tune is the one Hill composition I can genuinely hear Monk playing in my head. It's somewhere between a Monk melody and the sort of thing you can imagine hearing as a 1940s cartoon character slyly yet quickly tip-toes through a hallway.

This album always hits me as being one of the few where Richard Davis doesn't come across as a total bass God. I don't know why this is. I just feel that he isn't quite as tuned in to this one as he is on other Hill albums. Still, for Andrew's own playing and for the jelloey, ethereal moods imparted by Hutcherson's great vibes, this is a strong 4-star album all the way anyway. This is one of the best albums for hearing why the people who love Andrew's piano playing really love it. I still miss this man on a weekly basis.

Tomorrow I review the new reissue of 2 Days in April available from Eremite Records with Kidd Jordan, Fred Anderson, William Parker and Hamid Drake! I still haven't figured out why this site isn't carrying it again yet.

Andrew Hill gets a very good group together for "Judgment!" Bobby Hutcherson is on vibes, Richard Davis is on bass, and Elvin Jones plays drums. The CD starts with "Siete Ocho", a reference to the 7/8 time signature. It sounds like a scary version of a Horace Silver song, and is quite good. "Flea Flop"'s theme is a little derivitive, but the solos by Hill and Hutcherson are excellent. "Yokada Yokada" has a catchy theme, but then "Alfred" is a slight disappointment. "Reconciliation" has a very good theme, and Davis gets the first solo. "Reconciliation" is an excellent song, and a fine end to a very good CD. I think it's about as good as "Point Of Departure", and as such a good way to start or continue with Andrew Hill CD's.

this is my first andrew hill recording where horns are not featured. with elvin jones on drums and richard davis on bass, bobby hutcherson sits in on vibes. 6 songs, all compositions by andrew hill, his compositions are reason enough you should listen to this as well as, as i'm slowly doing, all his recordings.

i particularly anticipated the arrival of judgment! wanting to hear more of hill's piano playing so maybe i could hear why he's been called an avant garde pianist. after several playings, i still don't hear why the label fits. judgment! was released in 1964, cecil taylor's avant garde style was developing, john lewis, with the mjq, had already recorded 3rd stream jazz, and monk had his sound, 3 pianists who had stretched the jazz genre with their innovative differences. so it wasn't like jazz critics needed to send andrew hill to the avant garde school just to have someone fill an empty seat. if there was a school of jazz piano in the early 60s of which andrew hill was a member, other members might had included herbie hancock and mccoy tyner.

the pleasure of listening to hill as a leader over the decades, in addition, to his compositions and his playing, is hearing the musicians he chose to play in his groups.

one of the selections, yokada yokada, recorded with an alternate take, might had inspired roland kirk.