One for One

by Scott Yanow The music on this double-LP mostly fell through the cracks during the declining years of the original Blue Note label. None of the sessions were released until 1975 in a short-lived two-LP series that soon disappeared. Andrew Hill's music and piano playing, which is not easily classified (the term "avant-garde" does not do him justice), not too surprisingly never caught on with a wider audience, although it still sounds quite fresh and unpredictable today. Half of this two-fer is a 1965 quintet set with tenorman Joe Henderson, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bassist Richard Davis, and drummer Joe Chambers that has been reissued as part of a Mosaic limited-edition box set. But the remainder of the music (three quartet numbers with tenorman Bennie Maupin and a very interesting sextet date with Maupin, the reeds of Pat Patrick, and trumpeter Charles Tolliver) has yet to return. All 11 of the compositions are by Andrew Hill, and they certainly challenge these major players -- no coasting allowed.