Piece Description

Andrew Hill joins Marian McPartland at the piano for a conversation and improvisations. Set List for Andrew Hill on Piano Jazz "Nicodemus" (A. Hill) "Blue Black" (A. Hill) "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" (Maschwitz, Sherman) "Now's the Time" (C. Parker) "Tough Love" (A. Hill) "Free Piece" (McPartland, A. Hill) "Portrait of Andrew" (McPartland) "Portrait of Marian" (A. Hill) "I'll Be Loving You Always" (S. Wonder) Available for free to NPR member stations. If you're not an NPR member station, contact programservices@npr.org Here's information about Andrew Hill: Chicago native Andrew Hill was interested in music from childhood, and could be found singing and dancing on stage at a young age. By the time he was 13, he began to pick up blues and R&B piano. His first work in music was with local R&B bands like that of Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams. He later began to develop his jazz chops in the 1950's while jamming with top notch players who traveled through Chicago clubs including Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Johnny Griffin. In 1961, Hill moved to New York to be Dinah Washington's accompanist, and by 1962 he landed a gig playing with Rashaan Roland Kirk in Los Angeles. The year 1963 was a landmark for Hill, as it marked the beginning of his association with Blue Note records, which released many of his significant albums. During his Blue Note period, Hill released several records which featured other influential jazz artists including Joe Henderson, Kenny Dorham, Eric Dolphy, Bobby Hutcherson, and Elvin Jones. These now classic recordings showcase Hill's remarkably original style and show that was not afraid to go against the grain of 1960s post-bop and avant-garde. By the 1970s Hill began to enter the education side of jazz when he accepted a position at Colgate University. During this time, he also became involved with the Smithsonian Institute. Ever since, Hill has performed and conducted workshops at a variety of institutions from the University of Michigan to Harvard. In 2000, Hill was awarded the Composer Critics' Choice Award by the Jazz Journalist Association and was among the first recipients of the Doris Duke Foundation award for jazz composers.