Andrew Hill - Point of Departure (2022 Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series Vinyl LP)

Andrew Hill - Point of Departure | Vinyl LP - 2022 Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series 180g (4535330, Kevin Gray/Cohearent Audio, Optimal Media GmbH)

Alfred Lion first encountered Andrew Hill through Kenny Dorham, who had brought Hill along to a Joe Henderson Blue Note date in 1963. Lion was struck by the volume and originality of Hill's own compositions — he signed him on the spot and recorded four albums in five months. Hill's fourth for Blue Note was Point of Departure, a sextet date recorded March 21, 1964 at Van Gelder Studio. Alfred Lion produced; Rudy Van Gelder engineered; Reid Miles designed the cover; Francis Wolff photographed it; Nat Hentoff wrote the liner notes.

The ensemble covered an unusual range of musical personality. Kenny Dorham had been a hard bop trumpet fixture since the bebop era. Joe Henderson, whose Page One Blue Note debut had been recorded the previous year, was already one of the most sought-after tenors of the period. Eric Dolphy played alto saxophone, bass clarinet and flute throughout — his approach the most openly free of any of the three horn players. Richard Davis on bass and Tony Williams on drums provided a rhythm section that could hold together harmonically complex material without conventional chord structures. Hill told Hentoff: "Because of Tony Williams being on the date, I was certainly freer rhythmically. And the way I set up the tunes, it was more possible for the jazz musicians to get away from chord patterns and work around tonal centers."

All five tracks are Hill originals. Dolphy died on June 29, 1964, three months after the session. The album was held and not released until April 1965. Kevin Gray mastered this Classic Vinyl edition at Cohearent Audio from the original analog master tapes; Optimal pressed it on 180g vinyl in Germany.