Customer Reviews

Nefertiti

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(from a previous feature, copyright 2006 Michael F. Hopkins)

Delicate and beguiling, strong and empowering, freely
formed, sweeping you up in its radiant swing. Welcome
to the polychromatic rhapsodies of Andrew Hill, and be
refreshed. A bold challenge to anyone who still thinks
that avant garde Jazz bears no melody, Hill has touched
the sensibilities of peers and audiences for a half
century now, and still has much to offer.
For all his achievements as a composer and leader, Hill's
mastery as a pianist is a joy that many tend to take for
granted. Always contemplating, he swirls sheer color from
the keys, shaping harmonic splendor from the rainbow of
his touch. Massive rhythms leap to play. Melodies are
the spells of convergence.

Few albums showcase his pianistic excellence more than
this mid-1970s release from Japan's East Wind label,
finally made available for American CD release through
Test Of Time Records. American audiences whose only
experience of this set has been through a poorly
pressed LP through the Inner City label are in for
an incomparable treat. Produced and engineered by the
legendary David Baker, NEFERTITI is a sensuous study
of Music at its most romantic and daring.

A splendid trio of dynamic empathy, Hill joins longtime
collaborator Richard Davis (bass) and Sun Ra legend Roger
Blank (drums)to take you on a voyage into the mysteries
of the heart. Listen to the imploring cry of "Blue Black"
or the title theme, the contemplations of "Relativity",
or the buoyant skipalong of "Hattie", and try to be
unmoved.
"Mudflower" revels in the delight of the lilly which
prevails over the swamp (to paraphrase Archie Shepp),
and the jarring turbulence of "Unnatural Man" sounds
a clarion call for people to do likewise.

Enjoy this superb set from one of the great tone poets
of this or any age.

As with all Andrew Hill recordings, "Nefertiti" embodies enough traditionalism to make his avant leanings accessible. The leading cut, "Blue Black" begins with a marvelous, extended solo piano introduction (about 8 minutes) after which the drums and bass make their first appearance. The drums are adequate enough, but Richard Davis's bass is Hill's star companion here. His playing is sinewy and percussive, and received very favorable positioning in the overall sound of the recording. Up front enough to hear Davis's fingers sliding on the strings, but not too overwhelming to detract from the cumulative ensemble sound. The tune "Nefertiti" (not Miles Davis's tune) is a spacious, lyrical number featuring bowed-bass. The set also alternates longer pieces with others as short as 3 minutes.

This is not Hill's masterpiece, but is one I keep coming back to. And the album's cover is one of the most beautiful ever. Spending 45 minutes in a comfortable chair judiciously placed at optimal listening distance from your stereo while gazing deeply into the humanastic yet mysterious cover graphics is 45 minutes of your life well-spent.

This is worth the import price (and why haven't US manufacturer's undertaken to produce less wasteful packaging such as the Japanese produce?).

For me, there are three jazz pianists who emerged from the hard bop era (or from that style) who reach the level of genius: Hill, Thelonious Monk, and Sun Ra. The styles of all three of these musicians are so truly one of a kind that one could distinguish an imitator from the real thing in only a few notes (my primary criterion for classifying an artist a genius). While all three of these musicians (and I love them all) play in a heavily percussive style, Hill is the only one who in able combine percussivity on the piano with a deep tenderness in his articulation. That tenderness has rarely been more fully on display than it is here.

This session is a piano trio with Richard Davis on bass and Roger Blank (of Sun Ra's Arkestra) on drums. As fans of Hill are surely aware, Hill's playing is characterized by frequent, unpredictable, and exhilirating shifts in tempo and melodic figures. All of these elements are definitely in play here. However, despite these metamorphoses, Hill manages to establish and maintain a consistent and really moving tone in each song, lending a greater coherence to the pieces than is sometimes found in his playing. The other musicians really add to this feel and change their playing dramatically from song to song to augment the different moods Hill creates. Blank moves from dense and fairly loud drumming on some tunes to sparse and understated augmentations of the Hill and Davis on other pieces. Similarly, Davis moves from really thumping bass figures to extremely elegant playing, always fitting in with the mood of the mood of the piece.

The real jewel of the album is "Nefertiti" (the title track), an eight minute interplay between Hill's piano and Davis's bowed bass. It is as haunting and evocative and anything in Hill's discography. This is as truly excellent album, more accessible than much of Hill's other work, that I would recommend to anyone who is a fan of melodically adventurous jazz. Especially for Hill fans looking to move beyond his more popular (and easy to find) Blue Note releases to his work with more obscure labels, this is a great place to start.