Andrew Hill on "Piano Jazz"

[ghost of miles]

Try to catch this if you can when it's broadcast in your area... right now he & Marian are doing a very nice duet version of "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square." As much as I love Andrew's compositions, it makes me want to hear an album of standards by him... I think he could suffuse a few of the chestnuts with some fresh feeling.

Edited December 17, 2005 by ghost of miles

[Chuck Nessa]

Heard that a few days ago. Kinda fun.

[Rooster_Ties]

Wow!! If anybody can manage to tape it, I'd love to hear it.

Can't get Piano Jazz here in KC (at least not with decent reception anyway).

Wonder if they'd consider releasing it commercially?? I know LOTS of the Piano Jazz shows have been released over the years, but probably many more that haven't.

Chuck (or anyone else who’s heard it), how did Andrew fare with the interview segments?? (Given his stutter.)

[gslade]

Looking Forward to his new Bluenote release

[ghost of miles]

Wow!! If anybody can manage to tape it, I'd love to hear it.

Can't get Piano Jazz here in KC (at least not with decent reception anyway).

Wonder if they'd consider releasing it commercially?? I know LOTS of the Piano Jazz shows have been released over the years, but probably many more that haven't.

Chuck (or anyone else who’s heard it), how did Andrew fare with the interview segments?? (Given his stutter.)

I wasn't aware that he had a stutter, and I did notice it--but really, he sounded fine, I thought. A lot of folks stutter a bit on the radio anyways (even after being in the biz for several years, I still catch myself doing the "Uh" thing at times). He & Marian seemed to genuinely enjoy talking to each other.

[jazzbo]

Marian is such a wonderful host and her show yields many great musical moments and bits of knowledge that are wonderful to hear.

Long may she continue!

[jazzbo]

She plays beautiful piano too.

[Guest]

I caught some of this when it aired and was surprised to hear that they had not met before. Doesn't it seem like they would have?

It was a good show. I always enjoy piano jazz.

Troy

[bertrand]

I hope this is released commercially as many of the piano jazz series are, and that Andrew's current record label (Green Note or something) doesn't put the brakes on it. Sounds like a great show.

When was this taped? Is it recent? I heard that Andrew is doing pretty well all things considred and that his spirtis are high. This show may be one more indication of that.

Bertrand.

[clifford_thornton]

Dammit, I missed this.

I too enjoy Marian's show, when I can catch it.

Wonder who the most left-field guest she's had is? I remember Paul Bley being on there a few years ago...

[bertrand]

She kicked Peter Brotzmann out half-way through his interview. There was a half-hour of dead air on NPR that day.

It was in all the papers. I'm surprised you didn't hear about it.

Bertrand.

Edited December 22, 2005 by bertrand

[JSngry]

Cecil Taylor. The interview portions could easily pass as parody.

[MartyJazz]

I'd love to have heard the Cecil especially he and Marian playing duets with each other.

What I heard at the time though was that Cecil was extremely cordial and very happy to be on the show, something that surprised MM somewhat. I'd love to get a copy of that as well as the recent one with Andrew. I have the released CDs of she with Corea, Bill Evans and Brubeck and also private CD-Rs of she with McCoy, Marilyn Crispell and Michael Weiss. They're all wonderful listening. The powers that be seem to be more interested, as always, in putting out the ones with greater commercial potential, e.g., Marian with Steely Dan, Elvis Costello, etc.

[Ken Dryden]

I have hundreds of McPartland Piano Jazz shows recorded onto CDR and cassette, if anyone is interested in trading copies of other shows (including but not limited to Jazzset, American Jazz Radio Festival, Jazz Alive!, Four Queens Jazz Night From Las Vegas, Riverwalk: Live From the Landing, and various other jazz broadcasts of non-commercially issued material). Please send me a PM (rather than post a reply). Note--none of these shows are for sale--period.

The Andrew Hill show was excellent.

It was recorded on February 24, 2005.

1. Nicodemus (Andrew Hill)

2. Blue Black (Andrew Hill)

3. A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square

(Maschwitz/Sherman)

4. Now's the Time (Charlie Parker)

5. Tough Love (Andrew Hill)

6. Free Piece (Marian McPartland/Andrew Hill)

7. Portrait of Andrew (Marian McPartland)

8. Portrait of Marian (Andrew Hill)

9. I'll Be Loving You Always (Stevie Wonder)

Among Marian's least interesting guests (to me):

Paul Shaeffer (from Letterman)--by far the worst guest, as Marian told me that he came prepared only to be interviewed, not to play. He played one duet and Marian essentially carried the show alone from there.

Michael Kamen--the late film composer, who kept playing bland music and requesting that Marian "play some of her famous flatted fifths."

Elvis Costello--Why in the hell this crappy show was issued on CD is beyond me. Hundreds of far more interesting real jazz artists who have guested on the program (not occasional wannabes) have yet to be issued.

Mercer Ellington--spoke a lot about his famous father, but played only briefly during the show.

I am still puzzled as to why Bob Brookmeyer has never been invited onto the program. Marian did tell me that both Keith Jarrett and Horace Silver declined repeated invitations to appear (their loss and ours).

Edited December 23, 2005 by Ken Dryden

[JSngry]

I'd love to have heard the Cecil especially he and Marian playing duets with each other.

What I heard at the time though was that Cecil was extremely cordial and very happy to be on the show, something that surprised MM somewhat. I'd love to get a copy of that as well as the recent one with Andrew. I have the released CDs of she with Corea, Bill Evans and Brubeck and also private CD-Rs of she with McCoy, Marilyn Crispell and Michael Weiss. They're all wonderful listening. The powers that be seem to be more interested, as always, in putting out the ones with greater commercial potential, e.g., Marian with Steely Dan, Elvis Costello, etc.

Yes, Cecil was extremely cordial, which resulted in some extaordinarily flowery praise for the host which showed that the Ellington influence extends into his verbal as well as pianistic expressions. It would be easy to think of it as a put-on, and although I don't think it was, I've gotta be thinking that the motivation was at least as much gratitude for the exposure as it was musical appreciation.

The duets reminded me of a middle aged spinster getting her first hint of a taste of Wild Monkey Love. If this had been an altogether different (in every aspect) milieu, I do believe that Cecil could have turned Marion out. She was just all giggly and flusterated and Cecil was all "you like that, huh? Well, then...".

If you know what I mean.

Actually, I enjoyed the Costello show, as the emphasis was on songs and songwriting. I know that's not the usual and/or stated purpose of the show, but it's an area in which Marian has no little expertise/affinity, and I felt that they did a good show on that theme. Costello is no slouch as a songwriter of either rock songs or more traditional pre-rock type popular songs, and I thought they both gave good show and presented an excellent selection of material.

[bertrand]

Ken,

Thanks for posting the set list for the Andrew Hill show. I do hope this makes it to CD.

A quick discographical question:

There is some confusion between the song titles 'Blue Black' and 'One For', both on the recently reissued Blue Black album on East Wind.

So my question:

Did Andrew announce on the show that he was about to play or had just played 'Blue Black', or was this title from some other source? Is the song that he played the same as 'Blue Black' on the Blue Black LP, or is it the same as 'One For' on the same LP?

Thanks,

Bertrand.

Edited December 23, 2005 by bertrand

[bertrand]

P.S.

I haven't listened to Stevie Wonder in a long time, but isn't that piece actually entitled 'As'?

Bertrand.

[Ken Dryden]

The pieces for Andrew Hill's Piano Jazz show are listed as they were posted on the Piano Jazz website. The last track definitely isn't "As," which I know through Jean-Luc Ponty's version (I don't collect Stevie Wonder's recordings). Frequently there are mistakes in the song titles or composer credits as posted there.

I won't have the time for a few days to make the other comparison, though I do own the Adnrew Hill Blue Black CD reissue.

[Kalo]

Yes, Cecil was extremely cordial, which resulted in some extaordinarily flowery praise for the host which showed that the Ellington influence extends into his verbal as well as pianistic expressions. It would be easy to think of it as a put-on, and although I don't think it was, I've gotta be thinking that the motivation was at least as much gratitude for the exposure as it was musical appreciation.

The duets reminded me of a middle aged spinster getting her first hint of a taste of Wild Monkey Love. If this had been an altogether different (in every aspect) milieu, I do believe that Cecil could have turned Marion out. She was just all giggly and flusterated and Cecil was all "you like that, huh? Well, then...".

If you know what I mean.

Actually, I enjoyed the Costello show, as the emphasis was on songs and songwriting. I know that's not the usual and/or stated purpose of the show, but it's an area in which Marian has no little expertise/affinity, and I felt that they did a good show on that theme. Costello is no slouch as a songwriter of either rock songs or more traditional pre-rock type popular songs, and I thought they both gave good show and presented an excellent selection of material.

Sangrey! (Italics mine.)

I look forward to hearing the Hill show. (And catching up on the Taylor).

And our JSangry makes the Costello sound worth a listen, too. ( I have to admit that lately I've been conceiving of Costello, love him as I did back in the day, as a sort of musical doppelganger of Woody Allen, love him as I did back in his day... that is, as in someone who has not only lost the inspiration of his younger days, but who has also well-nigh betrayed it).

By the way, did anyone else find the Steely Dan episode of Piano Jazz to be, sort of, well, lackluster? (And I'm a fan of those guys.)

[Ken Dryden]

Actually, I found the Steely Dan Piano Jazz far superior to Elvis Costello's appearance and I'm not even a fan of the band. Costello has long been a joke to me, especially after seeing his inept guest vocal with Chet Baker on a DVD, where he sight-read the lyrics to a couple of tunes. The vastly overinflated Van Morrison appeared on another song.

BTW, there are supposedly two separate Cecil Taylor shows and I failed to record the second, thinking it was a rerun. Now I check the recording date and songs on-line before skipping a show.

Speaking of Piano Jazz, how many of you saw the one edition of the program that was videotaped for PBS? I attended the taping (along with my wife) and received a copy of the VHS from the SCETV folks (they supposedly only made about 50). It was aired in some markets (not ours of course, which offers Yanni, John Tesh, Jim Brickman and other musical jokes).

Edited December 24, 2005 by Ken Dryden

[MartyJazz]

Actually, I found the Steely Dan Piano Jazz far superior to Elvis Costello's appearance and I'm not even a fan of the band. Costello has long been a joke to me, especially after seeing his inept guest vocal with Chet Baker on a DVD, where he sight-read the lyrics to a couple of tunes. The vastly overinflated Van Morrison appeared on another song.

BTW, there are supposedly two separate Cecil Taylor shows and I failed to record the second, thinking it was a rerun. Now I check the recording date and songs on-line before skipping a show.

Speaking of Piano Jazz, how many of you saw the one edition of the program that was videotaped for PBS? I attended the taping (along with my wife) and received a copy of the VHS from the SCETV folks (they supposedly only made about 50). It was aired in some markets (not ours of course, which offers Yanni, John Tesh, Jim Brickman and other musical jokes).

I never did see the videotaped show of Piano Jazz and therefore am wondering just who was the pianist guest?

[Chalupa]

The pieces for Andrew Hill's Piano Jazz show are listed as they were posted on the Piano Jazz website. The last track definitely isn't "As," which I know through Jean-Luc Ponty's version (I don't collect Stevie Wonder's recordings). Frequently there are mistakes in the song titles or composer credits as posted there.

I won't have the time for a few days to make the other comparison, though I do own the Adnrew Hill Blue Black CD reissue.

I just got a pre-fm of this show on cd. The last song"I'll Be Loving You Always" is NOT the Stevie Wonder tune. I did a little google search and came up w/ this...

IRVING BERLIN WROTE "I'LL BE LOVING YOU, ALWAYS" IN 1925. JOSEPHINE BAKER MADE THE FIRST RECORDING IN 1926.

FRANK SINATRA RECORDED THE SONG IN 1942. THAT SAME YEAR, THE SONG BECAME THE THEME MUSIC FOR "PRIDE OF THE YANKEES",

http://www.homestead.com/deenotes/belovingyou.html

Now I just went on AllMusic and I couldn't find any mention of Berlin, Baker, or Sinatra being associated w/ the song.

The mystery deepens......

[Chalupa]

Hmm IMDB.com has this...

"Always"

(1925)

Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin

Played by Ray Noble and His Orchestra and sung by Bettye Avery at the Moon Terrace Nightclub,

with Ray Noble on the piano

Played as dance music and danced by Gary Cooper and Teresa Wright and other couples

Whistled by Gary Cooper

Played as background music often and during the end credits

Just did another search and listened to versions(30 second samples) by Getz, Hampton, and Marian McPartland. I still can't be sure but I think this is it.

Edited March 2, 2006 by Chalupa

[Dmitry]

She kicked Peter Brotzmann out half-way through his interview. There was a half-hour of dead air on NPR that day.

It was in all the papers. I'm surprised you didn't hear about it.

Bertrand.

A joke, right?

[bertrand]

Yes.