Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

Straight No Chaser - A Jazz Show


Welcome to Straight No Chaser, the Award-winning Podcast hosted by Jeffrey Siegel

Sep 27, 2011

From October 4-6, The Jazz Standard in New York City will present the Andrew Hill Legacy Project, three different groups playing the music of Andrew Hill (1937-2007), with appearances by many of the late great pianist/composer's former sidemen including Greg Osby, J.D. Parran, Ron Horton, and more. Hill, who would be 80 this year, was "a pianist and composer of highly original and sometimes opaquely inner-dwelling jazz..." wrote Ben Ratliff in The New York Times.”From the first significant album in his discography (Black Fire, 1963) to the last (Time Lines, 2006), his work is an eloquent example of how jazz can combine traditional and original elements, notation and pure improvisation, playing both outside and inside strict time and harmony." An outstanding cast of musicians, personally selected by Hill's widow Joanne Robinson Hill for their close connection with his music, will explore this timeless music.

Greg Osby, the noted saxophone player who was part of Hill’s recording group in 1989 and 1990, and who was blessed with Hill as a sideman for his The Invisible Hand CD, will lead a group on October 4th. Besides Osby on alto saxophone, Frank Kimbrough will be on piano, John Hebert on bass, and Nasheet Waits on drums. I spoke with Greg about his time with Andrew, what this tribute means to him, and his upcoming gigs with legendary guitarist Jim Hall. Click here to listen, with musical selections including:

Andrew Hill - “Pinnacle” from Eternal Spirit. When Hill resigned with Blue Note Records, they thought it wise to match him with one of their “young lions”, so Osby joined Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Rufus Reid on bass, Ben Rile on Drums and Hill for these sessions recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. This is an alternative take.

Andrew Hill - “Golden Sunset” ” from Eternal Spirit. Also an alternative take from the 1989 recording.

Greg Osby – “Jitterbug Waltz” from The Invisible Hand. .A Fats Waller classic is given a modern update in the hands of Osby on alto & soprano saxophones, and clarinet;  Hill on piano; Jim Hall on guitar; Scott Colley on bass; and Terri Lyne Carrington on drums. Gary Thomas guests on tenor saxophone and flute.

Greg Osby – “Mob Job” from Channel Three. A 2005 release, the trio is Osby on alto and soprano saxophones; Matt Brewer on bass; and the inimitable Jeff "Tain" Watts on drums.