''Grass Roots'' is a studio album by American pianist Andrew Hill featuring performances recorded in 1968 and released on the Blue Note label.Andrew Hill discography
accessed September 30, 2010 The original album features Hill with trumpeter

Lee Morgan Edward Lee Morgan (July 10, 1938 – February 19, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. One of the key hard bop musicians of the 1960s, Morgan came to prominence in his late teens, recording on John Coltrane's '' Blue Train'' (1 ...

, tenor saxophonist

Booker Ervin Booker Telleferro Ervin II (October 31, 1930 – August 31, 1970) was an American tenor saxophone player. His tenor playing was characterised by a strong, tough sound and blues/gospel phrasing. He is remembered for his association with bassi ...

, bassist

Ron Carter Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy awards, and is also a cellist who has recorded nu ...

and drummer Freddie Waits performing five of his originals. The 2000 CD reissue added alternate versions of three of the pieces (and two additional compositions) recorded by a

sextet A sextet (or hexad) is a formation containing exactly six members. The former term is commonly associated with vocal ensembles (e.g. The King's Singers, Affabre Concinui) or musical instrument groups, but can be applied to any situation where six ...

with trumpeter

Woody Shaw Woody Herman Shaw Jr. (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator. Shaw is widely known as one of the most important and influential jazz trumpet ...

, tenor saxophonist Frank Mitchell, guitarist

Jimmy Ponder Jimmy Ponder (May 10, 1946 – September 16, 2013) was an American jazz guitarist. Career When Ponder's brother entered the military, he left his guitar, and Ponder picked it up. In his early teens he received lessons from the guitarist in a ba ...

, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer

Idris Muhammad Idris Muhammad ( ar, إدريس محمد; born Leo Morris; November 13, 1939 – July 29, 2014) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He had an extensive career performing jazz, funk, R&B, and soul music and recorded with musicians such a ...

at an earlier session as bonus tracks.

Reception

The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine awarded the album 4 stars stating "the songs have strong melodies, even hooks, to bring casual listeners in, but they give the musicians the freedom to find a distinctive voice in their solos".Erlewine, S. T.

Allmusic Review AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

accessed September 30, 2010

Track listing

''All compositions by Andrew Hill'' # "Grass Roots" - 5:41 # "Venture Inward" - 4:46 # "Mira" - 6:20 # "Soul Special" - 8:22 # "Bayou Red" - 7:45 # "MC" - 9:11 Bonus track on CD reissue # "Venture Inward"

irst Version An infrared search and track (IRST) system (sometimes known as infrared sighting and tracking) is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infrared radiation, such as the infrared signatures of jet aircraft and helicopters. IR ...

- 4:34 Bonus track on CD reissue # "Soul Special"

- 8:51 Bonus track on CD reissue # "Bayou Red"

- 5:59 Bonus track on CD reissue # "Love Nocturne" - 7:33 Bonus track on CD reissue

Personnel

* Andrew Hill -

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

(tracks 1–5),

(tracks 6–10) -

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

(tracks 1–5), Frank Mitchell (tracks 6–10) -

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

(tracks 6–10) *

(tracks 1–5), Reggie Workman (tracks 6–10) -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

(tracks 6–10), Freddie Waits (tracks 1–5) -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

References

{{Authority control Blue Note Records albums Andrew Hill albums 1968 albums Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio Albums produced by Francis Wolff