Andrew Hill Trio & Quartet - Shades (Soul Note, 1987)

This post is by Scott and Dan

Andrew Hill (p); Clifford Jordan (ts); Rufus Reid (b); Ben Riley (d)

Recorded on July 3 and 4, 1986

Contrary to the sleeve notes for Shades, Andrew Hill was not born in Haiti. That story was perpetrated by Hill himself who thought it would help his career. He was actually born in Chicago in 1931 and died in 2007. He is best known for his eight Blue Note albums released between 1964 and 1970. His many unreleased sessions for Blue Note during that period have now all been released in various formats and editions. 

Beyond the Blue Notes, Hill recorded on a variety of labels during the 1970s, including East Wind, SteepleChase, Arista, and Artists House. In the 1980s, almost all of his new recordings appeared on Soul Note, including Strange Serenade, Shades, and two solo albums: Faces of Hope and Verona Rag. Of these, Shades is the masterpiece. It uses Rufus Reid and Ben Riley as rhythm partners and Clifford Jordan as tenorist on four of the six tracks. 

"Monk's Glimpse" leads the album off with a jaunty Monk-like tune. Following several choruses by the leader, Jordan enters with a great solo that doesn't shy away from the complexity of the composition. 

The trio introduces the second track, "Tripping," with an air of mystery as Riley plays ringing cymbals over his toms. Hill then proceeds to solo for almost six minutes, continuously probing the song's odd structure for clever and interesting things to play. Along with "Domani," "Tripping" shows Hill at his very best as a soloist. He really puts a lot into these pieces. 

The second trio cut, "Ball Square," is a choppy theme of contrasts. Riley is key to the success of the tune. He is also featured on "Chilly Mac," a quartet piece that finds him trading fours with Jordan right after the tenorist states the theme. It's unusual but it works. Hill reprised "Ball Square" on his Dusk album (Palmetto, 2000).

"Laverne" is a tribute to Hill's wife. It's the longest piece on the album and gives both Jordan and Hill all the solo space. Each man approaches the beautiful theme with dignity and reverence. Hill has revisited this composition on many of his other recordings. 

We think it is remarkable that four of the six Hill compositions on Shades have not appeared elsewhere in Hill's discography. It speaks to his ingenuity as a composer at mid-career to come up with original material that is never routine or conventional. He is also a remarkable soloist, often compared to Monk, but in fact steering towards more challenging new material as his career progressed. 

There are plenty of Andrew Hill albums past the 1960s. We think the 1980s were great ones for Hill and Shades and Eternal Spirit (reviewed elsewhere in this blog) are two of his all-time best.