Head 1968

Model Shop is in ways the soundtrack of a movie made by French director Jacques Demy (funny parallel with Jefferson Airplane working with JL Goddard) but not all of the tracks were originally written for the movie either…

Andrew Hill - Dance With Death (1968) {2012 Blue Note Japan BNLT Series TOCJ-50282}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 274 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 107 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 64 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1968, 2012 Blue Note / EMI Music Japan | TOCJ-50282 | 24bit remastering
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Piano

Andrew Hill's Dance with Death, recorded in 1968 with a stellar band, was not issued until 1980. In the late 1960s, Blue Note was no longer the most adventurous of jazz labels. While certain titles managed to scrape through – Eddie Gale's Ghetto Music did but only because Francis Wollf personally financed it – many didn't. The label was firmly in the soul-jazz groove by then, and Hill's music, always on the edge, was deemed too outside for the label's roster. Musically, this is Hill at his most visionary. From hard- and post bop frames come modal and tonal inquiries of staggering complexity.

Lightnin' Hopkins woke up The Dead when he played San Francisco in the 1960's and his song 'Wake Up The Dead' is the centerpiece of this two and a half hour journey into the electrified world of Texas blues. Accompanying Lightnin' on this journey is his long time harmonica player, Billy Bizor. While Lightnin' had a prolific recording career, Bizor's stature is relatively obscure due to the lack of solo recordings he released during his lifetime. Fortunately, 'Wake Up The Dead' seeks to rectify that situation by including the complete June 17, 1968 session with Lightnin' and Bizor, plus all of Bizors' 1969 solo recordings. As an added bonus, the rest of the April 11,1969 session that could not fit onto Lightnin's 'Shootin Fire' album is included on 'Wake Up The Dead'. The highlight of this session is the nine minutes of outtakes of 'Mojo Hand'…

Andrew Hill - Black Fire (1963) + Dance With Death (1968) {2004 Blue Note Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 687 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 232 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 34 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2004 Blue Note / Capitol | 7243 5 96502 2 7 / 7243 4 73160 2 9 | 24-bit remaster
Jazz / Post Bop / Piano

Black Fire, Andrew Hill's debut record for Blue Note, was an impressive statement of purpose that retains much of its power decades after its initial release. Hill's music is quite original, building from a hard bop foundation and moving into uncharted harmonic and rhythmic territory. His compositions and technique take chances; he often sounds restless, searching relentlessly for provocative voicings, rhythms, and phrases.

Formed in Los Angeles, California, USA, in 1967 by former Leaves guitarist Bobby Arlin, Hook also consisted of Buddy Sklar (bass) and Craig Boyd (drums). Will Grab You showed little of the folk/rock style Arlin’s previous group was noted for, offering instead power-trio heavy rock…

The 50th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s groundbreaking 1968 NBC-TV “comeback” special will be commemorated with the release of a deluxe box set by RCA/Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, on Friday, November 30. The set arrives just days before the anniversary of the world premiere broadcast of the original special on December 3, 2018.