Questions for Andrew Hill???

[Rooster_Ties]

I'm really hoping to go hear Andrew Hill at the Iowa City Jazz Festival (Sunday, July 6th, 2003), and I'm gonna try like heck to speak with him briefly after his set. Yeah, to get a couple autographs, but I'd also like to ask him some questions too. I know I won't have time for a long "interview", but I am hoping to get to ask him 4 or 5 good questions, and talk with him for 10 or 15 minutes - if I'm lucky.

A couple that occured to me to ask were about the process of adding voices to the two "Lift Every Voice" sessions. I'd be curious if the voices were over-dubbed, or if they were recorded in real-time with the other musicians. Also, does he have any reflections of the process of working with a small choral group?

Also, if I remember right, the linernotes for "Lift Every Voice" mention some sort of jazz opera that Hill was working on. I wonder what ever became of that, and that might be interesting to ask about.

Another good question might be to ask him what he feels are his most successful recordings during the 70's and 80's - if he could pick just one or two that he's particularly proud of.

Also, maybe to ask if there are any musicians that he wished he had been able to work or record with, that he didn't??

Of course, I might like to ask him about the upcoming release of the slightly-larger-band recordings from 1969, with Woody Shaw, Dizzy Reece, and others.

Maybe go over his other unreleased sessions, one by one, and ask what he remembers about each one?? (Might be a little tedious, though - and bring back some bad memories, either about the sessions, or about Blue Note not releasing them.)

If you could ask Andrew Hill a few questions, what would they be???

PS: I live in Kansas City, and I'm looking for somebody (or more than one 'somebody' even) from the greater Kansas City area, who would be interested in going up to Iowa City to hear Hill in July (Sunday, July 6th, 2003). I've got another thread about this going in the "Live Shows" area of this board, but I thought I'd mention it here again too. Thanks!!!

[kdd]

I've met Andrew and he's a bit shy actually but quite nice. I can tell you that on Lift Every Voice the vocals probably were not overdubbed and it was a direct to two track recording like most Blue Note's were at the time. Also, don't overwhelm him with to many questions about the past, most of these guys don't have the greatest memories (though I've heard Andrew's is better than most) and might become a bit flustered.

[Rooster_Ties]

Thanks kdd. Your suggestion about not asking too much about the past might bode well for me asking some more open-ended questions, perhaps?? - like what his favorite albums are (of his own) from the 70's and 80's??

Also, surely by July he will have had a chance to hear a "test-pressing" (as it were) of the 1969 session that's coming out in October. Can't imagine that Blue Note would be releasing it, without passing along a tape of it to Andrew, since (apparently) Andrew is being consulted for his thoughts on what the title of the release should be, and presumably what he would like as titles for the two (I think it was two) as yet untitled tunes from the session.

But your observation about Andrew being shy jives with my couple discussions with Jason Moran about Hill, and also with Hill's interview sections on the BBC radio-documentary (which is still available on Hill's own web-site, I might add). He does seem like a fairly reserved person, from my impression anyway.

Not at all like Herbie Hancock, who seems to be much more extroverted (by way of comparison).

What do people think of me asking about Hill's memories of working with Lee Morgan, Woody Shaw, and/or Charles Tolliver - who are just about my three favorite trumpeters, and especially their playing on more 'outside' albums, like Andrew's especially, for instance.

Has anyone else here talked with Andrew personally before?? Care to related the experience for us?? Thanks!!

[Soul Stream]

Although I know nothing of Hill, I do think that most jazz artists (especially forward looking ones such as Hill) would rather be asked about more present works. Try making your first question about his current or more recent projects before delving back 40 years.

Just a thought.

[pryan]

Yeah, I agree with Soul Stream re: asking about his present band, recent albums, etc., at least as a 'starting point'. But I wouldn't hesitate asking him about those trumpeters, especially since you dig them so much, Rooster. Be sure to report your findings here, assuming you can chat with Mr. Hill.

[JSngry]

Might want to ask him how he hooked up w/Ron Horton. One story that I hear is that Horton heard Hill perform w/a band that was not cutting the material at all, so Horton, a huge fan and admirer of Hill's, volunteered to transcribe all his tunes and assemble a band who could execute the material cleanly. One thing led to another, and soon enough, DUSK was born.

Like I said, this is just what I hear - you take these tales of "I saved Mister X from Fate Y" with a grain of salt (and no, I didn't hear it directly from Horton, just a good friend of his, so add another layer of healthy skepticism to the mix) and Hill might not tell it that way, but it WOULD be interesting to hear how it came to pass, and what role, if any, Horton has played in Hill's current public "resurgence".

It might also be interesting to see if he has any tales about his years travelling under the aegis of the Smithsonian(?). I seem to remember him saying something about years spent "bringing jazz to places where they didn't usually have it", or words to that effect. This was in the years between LIFT EVERY VOICE and SPIRAL.

I agree, don't push the "Blue Note Years" too heavily. Guys like this get asked questions like that ALL the time, and most of them have one form or another of stock answers that they deliver to people they expect to never see again, or rarely. Don't know if Hill's one of those guys or not, but it's true that most artists don't like to dwell too much in the past (unless that's all that's keeping them viable today).

[sidewinder]

I saw Andrew Hill and his US/UK Big Band play at the Bath fest on Saturday night and somehow managed to get back stage and meet Andrew after the concert. Got about 10 minutes opportunity to chew the breeze with him as he smoked a ciggy and tried a local beer brew after the show. As noted above, he's a nice guy, fairly quiet and very unpretentious, appreciative of feedback. Good sense of humour too ! I wish I'd seen the above posts before I got to meet him but I did get brief chance to ask him about the BN material. He is looking forward to seeing 'Compulsion' and 'Dance With Death' eventually released on CD but confirmed that other unreleased session material was likely to come out before then. He was very complimentary to the work of John Gilmore on the former. He didn't seem to have any problems with recalling those BN years with affection but I would strongly recommend not hitting him with 'anorak' type high detail discographical questions, especially before or after a demanding gig .. (personally I would just HATE that if I were in his shoes ...)

Also asked him about some of the material for the big band. Very much an 'open score'/head arrangement approach it would seem, with addition of textures and interjections (on Hill's direction to the various horn sections) on stage. I wished I'd asked him about the composing influence of Hindemith, which seemed very obvious listening to the band's music.

It was also very clear that he was very proud of this UK/US big band and has had a lot of fun touring with it around the UK. I got the impression that he was keen to head back over here with this band and do some more gigs. Next gig on return to North America was confirmed as somwhere up in Vermont.

He was even kind enough to personalise and sign my Mosaic booklet and a couple of Conns ('Smokestack' and 'Judgement') before I left . I departed Bath a very happy camper indeed that night ...

:rsmile:

Edited May 26, 2003 by sidewinder

[JohnS]

Sidewinder, what a great opportunity. I remember Hill with Reggie Workman and Pheeroan AkLaff doing a pre-concert question and answer in London a few years back. Interesting but not very illuminating.

[sidewinder]

John - I still can't believe I was lucky enough to have this chat. It was a real pleasure !

Edited May 26, 2003 by sidewinder

[A Lark Ascending]

That's really interesting, sidewinder. I'm really pleased to hear his enthusiasm for the Anglo-American Band. I'd wondered if the band was merely a result of economics - we can't bring over 20 Americans so we'll make up the numbers with Brits. It's good to see he enjoyed playing with the Brits.

It was interesting to see Denys Baptiste in the band. I saw him three weeks earlier premiering a suite based on Martin Luther King's 'I Had a Dream' speech at Cheltenham with a slightly smaller band. Very enjoyable but much more standard in its voicings and arrangement. I wonder what impact playing with Hill and hearing a much more sophisticated way of writing for jazz orchestra will have on him? There's a fantastic number of jazz musicians that have grown from the Afro-Caribbean community in the UK over recent years. It was wonderful to hear so many of them in this environment.

Edited May 27, 2003 by Bev Stapleton

[sidewinder]

Yes Bev, he was very enthusiastic about this band and was very relaxed in his interactions with some of the UK musicians who were hanging around back stage (altoist Tony Kofi for one). I personally thought Baptiste played extremely well and he interacted nicely with Greg Tardy. Suspect that economics had a lot to do with the joint US/UK composition of the band.

Yes, the Afro-Caribbean community has enriched the UK jazz community immeasurably over the years. I was reminded of this recently listening to Joe Harriott and Shake Keane on my LP copy of 'Indo-Jazz Suite'. Messrs Baptiste, Kofi and co. are carrying on this honourable tradition ..

Of course, Andrew himself has that strong Haitian connection too !

:rsmile:

Edited May 27, 2003 by sidewinder

[danasgoodstuff]

I met Andrew once when he lived here in Portland. Nice enough but seemed quite shy. Also, I understand there was some bad blood between him and Blue Note at some point? In my short music journalist career I came to dread actually talking to the guys, but maybe that's just my over sensitivity to the inherent falseness of the situation...