Home » Jazz Articles » Buck Hill

Jazz Articles about Buck Hill

1
Album Review

Buck Hill: Relax

Read "Relax" reviewed by AAJ Italy Staff


Il tenor-sassofonista Buck Hill incarna la tipica figura di musicician’s musician: artista stimato dai suoi colleghi, ma poco noto al grande pubblico. Pochi sono i suoi CD. Per apprezzarne il sound corposo e granuloso, che trae spunto dai grandi modelli del jazz classico in quanto al timbro. E dopo le produzioni di mainstream degli anni ’90 per la Steeplechase, il settantanovenne musicista di Washington compie un’ampia, inattesa virata musicale, per approdare nei territori soulful. La formula del tradizionale quartetto con ...

748
Profile

Buck Hill

Read "Buck Hill" reviewed by Elliott Simon


Our nation's capitol once had a vibrant and creative jazz scene centered on and around U Street. Home to the fabled Howard Theatre, one of the first African-American venues to feature major jazz talent, the U Street area boasted many clubs and an innovative landscape that rivaled any city in the country. The place during the '30s and through the '50s in which Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald honed their crafts, the Howard and its environs were a national jazz ...

172
Album Review

Buck Hill: Relax

Read "Relax" reviewed by Michael P. Gladstone


The return of tenor saxohonist Buck Hill as a leader has taken more than fifteen years. His storied career in the Washington, DC area is relatively well known. Deciding to stay at home and retain his “day job" as a postal carrier, Hill sacrified a future in jazz which surely would have taken him to a more musically rewarding place by now.

After forty-plus years working for US Postal Service, Buck Hill has resumed his recording career with ...

390
Album Review

Buck Hill: Relax

Read "Relax" reviewed by Ken Hohman


Most times, our exposure to jazz musicians is limited to those who are lucky enough to play jazz as a full-time gig, whether they're supported by a major label, an academic institution or a rich uncle with a love for jazz. Tenor saxophonist Buck Hill, a working-class jazz musician, was never anyone's charity case. Like his late friend and fellow DC jazz artist Shirley Horn, Hill put jazz on the back burner to support his kids. For decades, he worked ...

204
Album Review

Buck Hill: Relax

Read "Relax" reviewed by Jim Santella


Buck Hill brings back the fine taste of the organ combo with his quartet on Relax, interpreting standards and originals with the blues on his mind. Feelings run deep as tenor saxophone, organ and guitar alternate solo spots that run passionately through ballad territory and driving romps.

Hill first recorded in 1957. The Washington, DC native worked with Charlie Byrd, Shirley Horn, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. However, the need to have a steady income in order to ...

178
Album Review

Buck Hill: Relax

Read "Relax" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


A recent review of a book by a 26-year-old author noted that the only problem with the work was that the author had “not lived long enough or suffered enough. This sentiment is easily extended to music. Give me a grizzled veteran from the chitlin' circuit instead of a Julliard graduate anytime. Washington DC Tenor saxophonist Buck Hill is eighty years old and has not recorded as a leader in fifteen years. There is certainly a story behind that, and ...

177
Album Review

Buck Hill: Relax

Read "Relax" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza


Time has not effaced the grace or diminished the power of Buck Hill, who returns after a fifteen-year absence with this remarkable new recording. The tenor man recruited two old bandmates, Jerry Jones (drums) and John Ozment (Hammond A100), plus Paul Pieper (guitar), to create music that breathes passion and invention into every song.

Hill, who is 78, still has command over his instrument. He does not waste a note, investing each one with a clear idea and ...


Engage

Contest Giveaways
Enter our latest contest giveaway sponsored by Calligram Records
Polls & Surveys
Vote for your favorite musicians and participate in our brief surveys.
Publisher's Desk
How To Follow Staff Writers
Read on...

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.