Andrew Hill
| Andrew Hill | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Born | June 30, 1931 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Died | April 20, 2007 (aged 75) Jersey City, New Jersey, United States |
| Genres | Jazz, avant-garde jazz, bebop, hard bop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, bandleader, composer |
| Instruments | Piano, celeste, harpsichord |
| Years active | 1954–2007 |
| Labels | Blue Note, SteepleChase, Soul Note, Palmetto |
| Website | andrewhilljazz.com |
Andrew Hill (June 30, 1931 – April 20, 2007) was an American jazz pianist and composer.
Jazz critic John Fordham described Hill as a "uniquely gifted composer, pianist and educator" although "his status remained largely inside knowledge in the jazz world for most of his career." His most-lauded work was recorded for Blue Note Records, spanning nearly a decade and a dozen albums that featured his cerebral interpretation of post-bop, often described as avant garde but uniquely Hill's own style that shared little in common with free jazz of the 1960s.
Andrew Hill was born in Chicago, Illinois (not Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as was reported by many earlier jazz reference books), to William and Hattie Hille. He had a brother, Robert, who was a singer and classical violin player. Hill took up the piano at the age of thirteen, and was encouraged by Earl Hines. As a child, he attended the University of Chicago Experimental School. He was referred by jazz composer Bill Russo to Paul Hindemith, with whom he studied informally until 1952. While a teenager he performed in rhythm and blues bands and with touring jazz musicians, including Charlie Parker and Miles Davis. Hill recalls some of his experience as a youngster, during a 1964 interview with Leonard Feather: "I started out in music as a boy soprano, singing and playing the accordion, and tap dancing. I had a little act and made quite a few of the talent shows around town from 1943 until 1947. I won turkeys at two Thanksgiving parties at the Regal Theatre," parties sponsored by the newspaper Chicago Defender, which Hill coincidentally used to sell on the streets.
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