Andrew Hill - Merkin Hall

[sonnyhill]

I went to Merkin Hall in NYC to see Andrew Hill as part of Merkin's Classic Recordings Live Series.

Andrew is looking much more frail than he did when I saw him over the summer and his vocal cords have been affected by his illness so that when he speaks, he speaks with much difficulty and in an extremely high-pitched tone.

The concert opened with a trio performance of Andrew with bassist John Herbert and drummer Eric McPherson. I have seen Andrew numerous times, but this trio performance was the most powerful performance that I have seen by him. It was one piece that lasted approximately 30 min. It was excellent. I have always wanted to hear Andrew in the classic trio format, and I was not disappointed. I hope that he has recorded that piece.

After an intermission, Andrew came out with Michael Cuscuna to have a brief discussion about the delay in the release of Passing Ships. Michael did almost all of the talking.

After the discussion with Michael and Andrew, the other musicians emerged from backstage to perform several selections from Passing Ships. That part of the concert was not as successful as the trio performance. The musicians were having a tough time with the music. It wasn't quite a train wreck, but the musicians clearly needed more time to familiarize themselves with the music before performing it publicly. I believe they played 4 or 5 selections from the album.

After the Passing Ships band left the stage, Andrew performed a solo piano piece as an encore. It was short -- about 7 minutes -- but he was great. He is a great composer, but like Ellington such an excellent pianist. I have to check out that Select.

[Rooster_Ties]

I have to check out that Select.

Yes you do!!

Thanks ever so much for the review. Shame the Passing Ships material didn't come off live as well as one would have liked. I've read here and elsewhere that Hill's complex music often takes musicians that are pretty symphathetic to Andrew's music (especially in the past, when the charts were pretty much sketches, at best -- or so I've heard). FWIW, even the "official" recording was a bit rough around the edges too (part of its charm, IMHO).

Edited November 15, 2006 by Rooster_Ties

[keys]

I enjoyed the show very much. I was surprised at how energetic Andrew played considering the frailty of his health.JD Parran and Howard Johnson(the only other original member on Passing Ships)played really well during the Nonet part of the show.