A. Hill: PAX

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

...the joe H. is the clincher for me. i dont need to hear more lofty andrew hill heads or freddie solos. but what about joe. how is joe on it. should i just play black fire and stop being a baby, or is PAX worth getting in your opinions........

[brownie]

Pax is very much needed these days!

Joe's in top form on this one. Hill's music brought the best in him!

[ep1str0phy]

Joe is in excellent form, although--at the same time, and you may not care--this is some of Hill's most interesting writing in a relatively more accessible vein (i.e., the structures come across as marginally less oblique, and the swing is a lot straightforward). This is, for the most part, one of the closest things to a classic hard-bop blower Andrew has ever put out under his own name. Any way you cut it, the blues stuff lights a fire under everyone's asses--Joe, Freddie, Richard, Joe... the whole lot just f'in cuts. And I agree with brownie--Joe is as interesting as ever on his Andrew sides. That cat had some sick phrasing.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

also saw one called ANDREW which had gilmore on sax- that one did have sound samples and they were ok i guess

[sal]

Pax and Andrew! are both absolutely worth getting immediately. Some of the best music ever IMO.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

maybe so but im not really going thru an "out" phase right now so when i listened to the heads it just sounded dull and boring- thats not to say i dont think joe rips it all up on it, i want to get it just for the joe. but i decided not to get them and i also decided not to get the new 3's co. season 7 dvd

[Matthew]

.....and i also decided not to get the new 3's co. season 7 dvd

Next thing you'll be telling us is that you don't like "Perfect Strangers."

[BruceH]

Pax is good. I've got to admit, I like it more than Point of Departure.

[ep1str0phy]

maybe so but im not really going thru an "out" phase right now so when i listened to the heads it just sounded dull and boring- thats not to say i dont think joe rips it all up on it, i want to get it just for the joe. but i decided not to get them and i also decided not to get the new 3's co. season 7 dvd

Frankly, I'd be interested in knowing what you did get.

[Guest akanalog]

chewy chew, i don't think "andrew!!!" is so great. the way the songs move along gives me a headache.

i was very disappointed based on the personnel.

[Guy Berger]

chewy chew, i don't think "andrew!!!" is so great. the way the songs move along gives me a headache.

i was very disappointed based on the personnel.

I like Andrew!!! quite a bit. I don't put it quite on the level of Black Fire or Point of Departure, however.

As for Pax -- I've listened to it a few times. If you want to hear great Joe H, then you will find plenty of it here. The album as a whole hasn't bowled me over yet; I don't think it is as good as the three albums mentioned above. Maybe I will change my mind in time.

Guy

[Dan Gould]

Joe is in excellent form, although--at the same time, and you may not care--this is some of Hill's most interesting writing in a relatively more accessible vein (i.e., the structures come across as marginally less oblique, and the swing is a lot straightforward). This is, for the most part, one of the closest things to a classic hard-bop blower Andrew has ever put out under his own name.

As one who has never found his way fully into Hill's music, this description has me intrigued (of all of his BNs I've kept Grass Roots, Black Fire and one trio session from the Mosaic). If Grass Roots was his most accessible, is Pax undoubtedly second most accessible?

[Rooster_Ties]

Pax is good. I've got to admit, I like it more than Point of Departure.

Me too, probably. Don't get me wrong, I do really like Point of Departure. But in some ways, I think PoD is a tiny bit overrated (and I think "Blue Train" is way overrated). So often PoD is thought of as THE Andrew Hill album to get (like how for a long time it was the only Hill date released on CD, and it was one of the very first Hill RVG's, etc...). But I think "Black Fire" ought to hold that title.

PoD also gets some of its mad props for having Dolphy, but in some ways - I think his presence gives the date more of a "Dolphy-lead" feel (no matter who wrote the tunes). When I was first getting into jazz, I used to file PoD with my Dolphy CD's, for that very reason.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

screw it: im going across the damn street to buy PAX, for 15.99 big ones. Just yesterday whilst listening to GRASSROOTS on my bike ride, i was thinking: DAMN, THIS IS REALLY THE MOST HARD BOP/SOUL JAZZ/ACCESSIBLE ANDREW HILL RECORDING.

YOURE TELLING ME PAX SWINGS MORE THAN IT DOES NOT, AND THAT IT COULD BE CONSIDERED HIS "2nd" MOST ACCESSABLE DATE.......??

(THE CLINCHER IS STILL JOE HENDERSON)

[Rooster_Ties]

I still think "Passing Ships" is Hill's most accessable date (or a toss-up with "Grass Roots"). And one of his most important dates too, actually.

Chew-Chew - do you have "Passing Ships" yet?? If not, then you need it more than you need PAX -- TRUST ME. Get "Passing Ships" at all costs. You won't regret it.

Edited September 26, 2006 by Rooster_Ties

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

what about that date w/ bobby h on vibes, is that judgement?? hows that date, the one w/ bobby

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

no i do not have Passing Ships.....looks tempting, i like arrangements...........

[Guy Berger]

what about that date w/ bobby h on vibes, is that judgement?? hows that date, the one w/ bobby

Yup, it's a very good one. For the average person, probably his third or fourth best date after Point of Departure, Black Fire and (maybe) Passing Ships. I tend to like saxophones, so I rate it a little lower than most.

Guy

[Rooster_Ties]

no i do not have Passing Ships.....looks tempting, i like arrangements...........

Run, don't walk. You need Passing Ships NOW!!! Seriously, drop whatever you're doing. If you don't like it, I'll buy your copy off you. There's a money-back guarentee for you. You will absolutely LOVE this date.

Do you have it yet?? No?? Get it NOW!!!

[Big Al]

I still think "Passing Ships" is Hill's most accessable date (or a toss-up with "Grass Roots"). And one of his most important dates too, actually.

Chew-Chew - do you have "Passing Ships" yet?? If not, then you need it more than you need PAX -- TRUST ME. Get "Passing Ships" at all costs. You won't regret it.

Agree totally, but also get DANCE WITH DEATH. For me, that one is his most accessible.

[Big Al]

I think JUDGEMENT is akin to listening to a John Coltrane album with Trane on vibes as opposed to tenor sax. It's that good! Probably my favorite Hill disc.

And yes, GRASS ROOTS is so baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!!!

[Guest akanalog]

i disagree with the people above in that i feel "judgement" is my favorite hill session.

you might not like it as much just because it seems you enjoy your horns, chewy chew chew.

but "judgement" is, i think, a notch above these other dates mentioned ("black fire" is second in my book).

[mikeweil]

Unless you don't have the Mosaic, get Pax - Joe and Andrew Hill were a perfect match. Add Richard Davis, and there's not much left to be desired.

[Guest akanalog]

richard davis is also a big part of why i like "judgement" so much!

[JSngry]

ANDREW!!! does/NOT/live/up/to/the/cast/no/matter/what/Hill/festishizers/say.

That's probably my favorite Hill BN. Gilmore's fragmentariness locks in w/HillDavisChambers' collective same to create a series of bumps and dives that's like dancing on a roller coaster.