ich beantworte das mal mit dem ***1/2 Downbeat Review aus dem Oktober 1975
Andrew Hill has put together four different
groupings which reveal two related yet separate
zones in which this part of his music is
grounded. (Hill has also written for string
quartet and symphony orchestra.) Zone one
(represented by Laverne, Today and The Message)
is an extension of mainstream melodic
and harmonic principles; zone two (exemplified
by Tomorrow, Quiet Dawn and Spiral) embodies
a synergetic combination of both
mainstream and free elements. All lines
(which are Hill’s compositions with the exception
of an impromptu Hill-Konitz dialogue
on Bronislaw Kaper’s Invitation) vibrate
with the special energy generated by the
oscillations between sectors.The album’s basic problem lies in the
tracks with Konitz and Curson. On Laverne
and The Message, Konitz and Curson sound
uncomfortable with both the unison heads
and changes. It seems a case of inadequate rehearsal
which is a shame because Hill’s music
deserves better. His tunes are complex and
challenging and demand more than a mere
run-through before “all quiet in the studio” is
intoned from behind the glass. Even Invitation,
a line I’ve heard Konitz play beautifully
in several club settings, has an unsure and
tentative quality. Only with the free-oriented
Spiral do Konitz and Curson sound relaxed
and involved in the music’s essence.The trio’s (Hill, James and Altschul) exploration
of Tomorrow along with the quartet’s
(the trio plus altoist Robin Kenyatta)
readings of Today and Quiet Dawn constitute
another story. Here the talents mesh into an
organic ensemble lifting Hill’s music into the
broad orbit it warrants.
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