Andrew Hill 1931-2007

the modern jazz pianist i go back to the most is Andrew Hill , his well of composition, performances, incredible combinations of players, and just melodic thinking just seemed bottomless. Hill died of cancer this weekend at age 75, and has been remarkably productive in the last few years to the point where i had been enjoying his most recent album Timelines so much that i had forgotten that i knew he had been ill since 2004 when he was diagnosed with what killed him. i got to see him play once in the late 90's and it's as though his unique voicings and ideas flowed out of him undiminished even decades after he made his classic blue note sides. so many great older recordings have been reissued recently as well -- both solo and ensemble stuff from the 60's and 70's -- that there's a wealth of music to live with, but it's still sad that Hill's gone.