Point of Departure (Andrew Hill album)

Point of Departure
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 1965 (1965-04)[1]
RecordedMarch 21, 1964
StudioVan Gelder Studio
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
GenreAvant-garde jazz
Length40:11 (LP)
57:16 (CD reissue)
LabelBlue Note
ProducerAlfred Lion
Andrew Hill chronology
Judgment!
(1964)
Point of Departure
(1965)
Andrew!!!
(1968)

Point of Departure is a studio album by American jazz pianist and composer Andrew Hill, recorded in 1964 and released in 1965 on the Blue Note label. It features Hill in a sextet with alto saxophonist Eric Dolphy, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, trumpeter Kenny Dorham, bassist Richard Davis and drummer Tony Williams.

Point of Departure was reissued on CD by Blue Note in 1988 and again in 1999 when recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder remastered the album, adding alternate takes of "New Monastery", "Flight 19", and "Dedication".

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Penguin Guide to Jazz plus crown[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]

The AllMusic review by Thom Jurek calls the album "a stellar date, essential for any representative jazz collection, and a record that, in the 21st century, still points the way to the future for jazz".[2] The Penguin Guide to Jazz gives the album a four-star rating plus a special "crown" accolade, and includes it as part of a selected "Core Collection."[3] "Dedication" was originally titled "Cadaver" and wants to "express a feeling of great loss". The sad aura of the piece was such that, after playing a section of said piece, Dorham teared up a bit.[5]

Track listing

[edit]

All music is composed by Andrew Hill

No.TitleLength
1."Refuge"12:16
2."New Monastery"7:05
3."Spectrum"9:47
4."Flight 19"4:18
5."Dedication"6:45
6."New Monastery" (Alternate Take)6:13
7."Flight 19" (Alternate Take)3:49
8."Dedication" (Alternate Take)7:01

Tracks 6, 7, 8 not part of original album

Personnel

[edit]

Musicians

[edit]

Production

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Billboard May 8, 1965
  2. ^ a b Jurek, Thom. Point of Departure – Andrew Hill | AllMusic at AllMusic. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  3. ^ a b Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). New York: Penguin. p. 702. ISBN 978-0-14-103401-0.
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  5. ^ Liner notes by Nat Hentoff