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Andrew Hill: A Beautiful Day
by C. Michael Bailey
Dusk was only the beginning to this part of the story...I cannot listen to Andrew Hill’s new big band recording without thinking of him and his band as a relatively well-behaved Sam Rivers and the Rivbea Big Band. Of course, that horribly shortchanges the 65 year-old Chicago native who’s Palmetto debut, Dusk, was considered by many critics as the best jazz recording on the year. Add to that that Blue Note’s Alfred Lion considered Hill his last great ...
Continue ReadingAndrew Hill: A Beautiful Day
by Jack Bowers
"There is plenty going on," designated cheerleader Stanley Crouch informs the reader, on composer / pianist Andrew Hill's latest album, A Beautiful Day, which showcases Hill's sixteen-piece big band in a concert performance last January at New York's famed Birdland nightclub. “With a vision given to great plasticity," Crouch writes, “[Hill] has found his own ways to reinterpret 4/4 swing, the blues, the romantic or meditative ballad, and the Afro-Hispanic rhythms that have almost invariably connected one generation of Jazz ...
Continue ReadingAndrew Hill: A Beautiful Day
by Jon Wagner
Sometimes a live recording captures the dynamism and vibe of a band that's really “on." In ideal situations, the musical energy is obvious right off the bat, continues throughout the set, and winds up on a disc. The listener thinks: “Man, I would love to have been at that gig." Andrew Hill's new release A Beautiful Day is one of those recordings. Hill is a pianist who's been around for a long time and played in many different ...
Continue ReadingScott Colley: Initial Wisdom
by Jim Santella
At 38, Scott Colley is poised to find new directions in jazz. Hip-hop rhythms and New Orleans shuffles coexist side by side on this quartet album of originals and extras. Graceful melodic lines and seamless phrasing tie the pieces together. Each of the four artists stretches out with a loose framework that links up automatically with that of the others. Drummer Bill Stewart drives the quartet with force, while guitarist Adam Rogers fills in an encompassing harmonic aura. Saxophonist Ravi ...
Continue ReadingScott Colley: Initial Wisdom
by Mark Corroto
Bassist Scott Colley steps into the big leagues with his first release for the adventuresome Palmetto Records label. Colley has been a leader of recording sessions in the past, his The Magic Line (Arabesque 2000) and Subliminal... (Criss Cross 1997) garnered critical press for the thirty-eight year-old musician and he has been part of several important recent sessions. Of note is his playing on Andrew Hill's Dusk (Palmetto), Greg Osby's Symbols Of Light (A Solution) (Blue Note), Brad Shepik's Short ...
Continue ReadingScott Colley: Initial Wisdom
by Glenn Astarita
Since his arrival in New York City back in the late 1980’s, jazz bassist Scott Colley has risen thru the ranks in a rather expeditious fashion. As of early 2002, the artist has already appeared on over 100 albums, including sessions with saxophonists Joe Lovano & Greg Osby, pianist Andrew Hill, and many others of note. With his third solo effort, Colley garners the services of the monstrously talented drummer Bill Stewart, while saxophonist Ravi Coltrane and guitarist Adam Rogers ...
Continue ReadingScott Colley: The Magic Line
by Glenn Astarita
One of the premier session bassist's in jazz steps out of the pocket with his first solo outing for the Arabesque label titled, The Magic Line. And along with the laudable support of saxophonist Chris Potter and drummer Bill Stewart, Scott Colley exhibits multifarious attributes as a leader and composer. The Trio serves up an interesting mix on pieces such as the title track where the bassist commences with an extended solo passage followed by Potter's entry on tenor. Here, ...
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