Liner Notes

Blue Note founder Alfred Lion considered Andrew Hill to be a pianist and composer who was every bit as strikingly original and important as Thelonious Monk and began recording Hill with a fervor in 1963. Hill, for his part, did not disappoint. The pianist burst out of the gate with a torrent of creativity that produced five remarkable albums in just eight months: Black Fire , Smoke Stack , Judgment! , Point of Departure , and Andrew!!!

Perhaps overshadowed by its predecessor Point of Departure , which is widely regarded as Hill’s masterpiece, 1964’s Andrew!!! has remained an unfairly underrated entry in Hill’s magnificent Blue Note discography. With a quintet featuring the Sun Ra Arkestra saxophonist John Gilmore along with vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson , bassist Richard Davis , and drummer Joe Chambers , Hill presented six of his mercurial inside-out compositions including “The Groits” and “Black Monday.”