All rights reserved.| Page 1 of 1 |
| Track Listing 1. Grass Roots 2. Venture Inward 3. Mira 4. Soul Special 5. Bayou Red 6. MC - (previously unreleased) 7. Venture Inward - (previously unreleased, first version) 8. Soul Special - (first version) 9. Bayou Red - (previously unreleased, first version) 10. Love Nocturne - (previously unreleased)
Album Notes Personnel: Andrew Hill (piano); Booker Ervin, Frank Mitchell (tenor saxophone); Lee Morgan, Woody Shaw (trumpet); Jimmy Ponder (guitar); Reggie Workman, Ron Carter (bass); Idris Muhammad, Freddie Waits (drums). Producer: Francis Wolff. Reissue producer: Michael Cuscuna. Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on April 19 & August 5, 1968. Originally released on Blue Note (84303, 35636). Includes liner notes by Nat Hentoff and Michael Cuscuna. Digitally remastered using 24-bit technology by Ron McMaster. This is part of Blue Note's Limited Edition Connoisseur series. Although Andrew Hill is widely known as the leader of such complex classic Blue Note albums as POINT OF DEPARTURE and SMOKESTACK, it is mostly forgotten that he composed Lee Morgan's follow-up to the "The Sidewinder," the trumpeter's equally groovy "The Rumproller." Here with GRASS ROOTS, which brings together two of Hill's sessions from 1968, the pianist steps back from his raging explorations to settle into a series of the soothing grooves that dominated the popular jazz scene of the late '60s. While this is not the most popular of Hill's excursions, it does reveal a side of the creative pianist rarely heard. What is also intriguing is the inclusion of alternate versions of the tracks "Venture Inward," "Soul Special," and "Bayou Red" from the bonus session, which were actually recorded earlier in the year than the master tracks. This makes for some interesting contrasts in interpretation from one session to the next. Finally, only the closing ballad "Love Nocturne" hints at Hill's more enigmatic side for which he is so widely acclaimed. Editorial Reviews JazzTimes (06/01/2000) | See an error? Submit a change request | ||||||||||||
