2008: not a good year for the economy, certain politicians, or the Detroit Lions. In the realm of reissues and historical releases, however, it was a surprisingly good year. A highly subjective and belated list follows, presented in alphabetical order:
Andrew Hill, who died at the age of 75 on April 20, 2007, was a highly original pianist and composer who recorded a string of stunning albums for Blue Note in the short span of eight months, constructing his own musical universe, much like Blue Note predecessors Thelonious Monk and Herbie Nichols. His compositions, which employed…
What happens when a jazz artist meets a string quartet?
Tenor saxophonist John Gilmore spent most of his career with Sun Ra and his Arkestra, recording outside of Sun Ra’s band on only a handful of occasions.
Pianist and composer Andrew Hill burst onto the jazz scene in the early 1960s with classic albums such as Black Fire and Point of Departure on the Blue Note label. Hill continued recording for the label throughout the 1960s, but many of the sessions went unreleased. After listening to the tapes last year with Mosaic producer Michael Cuscuna, Hill…
"Strange Enchantment" is a program of Halloween-related jazz, including music from Duke Ellington, Bill Evans, Kay Starr, Rahsaan Roland Kirk and more.