Andrew Hill (piano); Bobby Hutcherson (vibes); Greg Osby (alto sax); Rufus Reid (bass); Ben Riley (drums).
The era of Lion and Wolff was over and now Michael Cuscuna was at the helm. In many ways the music moved forward but, whilst some of the later developments may have had Blue Note's two founding fathers turning over in their graves, this wasn't one of them. Although somewhat different from the hard boppery of Blakey, Silver, Donaldson and co. I think it is still within the parameters of their vision.
Osby is a phenomenal player incorporating the diverse influences of Bird, Trane and Ornette to produce an identity of his own. I need to hear more of him.
Hutcherson was, by this time, 1989, firmly established at the forefront of vibists and leader Hill is a fine pianist and composer. In retrospect, I wonder why this has lay on the shelf for so long gathering dust!
Lance
PS: After 33 nights of Blue Notes I may give the project a rest for a couple of nights. This is partly because I'm running out of albums - although I've still got a few albums by Dexter, Mobley and The Messengers to go - but mainly because of all the current live streams and downloads floating around that are more demanding of exposure in the current climate. I do hope you've found this series interesting and maybe inspired you to dust off your own albums or maybe seek out the ones you weren't familiar with. It's the greatest jazz label of all time!
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