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About Gregg Hill

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Musician

Gregg Hill

Composer Gregg Hill grew up in central Michigan in a household where the music was always playing. As a small child, he remembers conga lines snaking through the house on Saturday nights to the sound of jazz. His parents, Norma and Ken, were part of the swing craze in the big band era. His sister Susan, also plays piano and is a lifelong music lover.

In high school, Gregg played sax in a stage band and headed up a quintet. He loved the saxophone, but the piano had a stronger allure as far as creative possibilities. The piano took over completely when he was bitten by the jazz writing bug.

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Article: Album Review

Technocats: Passionata

Read "Passionata" reviewed by Jack Bowers


The Technocats are a Michigan-based co-op septet devoted for the most part to performing the music of fellow Michigander Gregg Hill, who composed every number on the group's 2026 recording, Passionata, including its sure-to-please “bonus" track, “Double Play." The first of Hill's compositions, “Normality," sets the enterprise in motion but in so doing lands ...

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Article: Album Review

Michael Dease Big Band: Return Trajectory

Read "Return Trajectory" reviewed by Jack Bowers


While it is not true that a photo of Michael Dease appears in Webster's dictionary next to the word “versatile," the metaphor does not seem too far-fetched once one considers the many tasks Dease carries out on his latest recording, Return Trajectory. Not only does Dease lead his big band, he wrote three of the album's ...

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Article: Album Review

The Paul Keller Orchestra: Thank You Notes--The Music of Gregg Hill

Read "Thank You Notes--The Music of Gregg Hill" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Bassist Paul Keller 's Michigan-based orchestra was formed in 1989. For those who are keeping score, that was 37 years prior to the release of the disc at hand, Thank You Notes--The Music of Greg HIll. Big bands have undergone a large number of twists and turns, some for better, others for worse, since then, but ...

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Article: Album Review

Rick Roe: Wake Up Call

Read "Wake Up Call" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Gregg Hill writes music. Other musicians play--and record--Hill's music. Pianist Rick Roe's latest album, Wake Up Call, marks the 19th time that has happened (and the second in 2026 alone). True, Hill and Roe are both Michiganders, but that is not always the case; Hill's nearly 200 compositions have seen the light of day on albums ...

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Article: Album Review

Randy Napoleon: Waking Dream

Read "Waking Dream" reviewed by Jack Bowers


What greater satisfaction could a teacher have than to see his or her students achieve success--and in their chosen field, no less. On Waking Dream, renowned jazz guitarist and educator Randy Napoleon shares center stage with four fellow guitarists, all of whom are former students in his classes at Michigan State University (MSU) in East Lansing. ...

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Article: Album Review

Randy Napoleon: Waking Dream

Read "Waking Dream" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


In Waking Dream, guitarist Randy Napoleon has assembled a musical family whose shared history fosters a strong sense of cohesion, one that goes beyond the leader's skillful guitar work. Longtime collaborators bassist [[ {{m: Rodney Whitaker, pianist Rick Roe and drummer Quincy Davis form the rhythmic and harmonic foundation, while four additional guitarists , Luke Sittard, ...

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Article: Album Review

Michael Dease: City Life: Music of Gregg Hill

Read "City Life: Music of Gregg Hill" reviewed by Paul Rauch


Michigan-based composer Gregg Hill is on a remarkable roll, authoring an impressive run of compositions represented on eight albums released on the Origin Records label. Each has featured a bandleader associated with the top shelf staff at Rodney Whitaker's jazz program at Michigan State University. City Life (2025) is the third under the leadership of trombone ...

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Article: Album Review

Rodney Whitaker: Mosaic: The Music of Gregg Hill

Read "Mosaic: The Music of Gregg Hill" reviewed by Paul Rauch


In their fourth collaboration on Origin Records, bassist and bandleader Rodney Whitaker and Central Michigan composer Gregg Hill strike gold once again, backed by a formidable gathering of musicians. Hill's music has experienced a surge in interest due to his prolific releases on Origin, which have featured musicians in and around the impressive jazz faculty roster ...

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Article: Liner Notes

Rodney Whitaker: Mosaic: The Music of Gregg Hill

Read "Rodney Whitaker: Mosaic: The Music of Gregg Hill" reviewed by Michael Dease


At just fifty-six years young, Rodney Whitaker has cemented his legendary status as a sought-after bassist extraordinaire and, arguably the pre-eminent jazz educator of his generation. The Detroit, Michigan native, recently elected to the hallowed ranks of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, that includes such innovators as Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Martin Luther King ...


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