Nels Cline: "New Monastery: a view into the music of Andrew Hill"
(Cryptogramophone Records - 2006)

LINER NOTES


Perhaps it will be a letdown for me to say this, but this is not a “tribute record” in the conventional sense. It is not intended as a definitive sampling of the works of a genuine original, Mr. Andrew Hill. There may even be wrong or strange notes here and there. I transcribed everything from the recordings before arranging it, and I’m no wizard!

On seperate occasions, Andrea Parkins and Ben Goldberg had been guests with my regular trio, The Nels Cline Singers (with Devin Hoff and Scott Amendola). Andrea had played with us in Los Angeles, lending her wild and woolly accordion to the occasion, heightening the mayhem. Ben played with us in Berkeley on a more low-key affair, and the set included pieces by Jimmy Giuffre, Carla Bley, and Thelonius Monk, as well as some by me. It occurred to me that an ensemble with The Singers plus Andrea and Ben would be of interest, and I immediately began scheming to play music with them that was not written by me, but rather written by someone among us today, still working and growing and perhaps under-appreciated, whose music was flexible and varied enough to allow us latitude to explore it and be OURSELVES. It took about 3 or 4 seconds for me to come up with that composer’s name: Andrew Hill. As I studied the music with this in mind, I realized that I needed a brass player. I called Bobby Bradford, an old friend and inspiration, and I was delighted that he was excited about the project. Bobby and I had played together on and off for years, but had never had an opportunity to record together. So a sextet, albeit a slightly odd one, would do our take on Andrew Hill music - not attempting to be in any way definitive, nor to recreate classic sessions. It is a view - ONE VIEW - into the music of Andrew Hill.

Mr. Hill, whom I had met briefly while playing at the jazz festival in Skopje, Macedonia with Gregg Bendian’s Interzone back in 1997, is a delightful man to meet, but crucially he is an artist whose music has continued to change and expand its parameters, becoming freer than the early, classic Blue Note sessions. Mr. Hill’s music has always been unpredictable, perhaps a bit knotty, always forward-looking and beautiful. And, as I was to learn, he had managed to be quite under-the-radar for any but the most ardent jazz-o-phile. It would be a great feeling to send a little energy from the younger listeners his way. Some of his pieces, like “No Doubt” and “McNeil Island” attempted here, are like chamber works and have rarely (if ever) been covered by anyone else. Others are more recent, like “Not Sa No Sa”, which, though whimsical at times, is episodic - an aspect of Mr. Hill’s composing that began as early as the piece “Spectrum” on the classic album “Point of Departure”.

It was important to me that this record at least allude to Andrew Hill’s total oeuvre - there are so many compositions that it would be impossible to do otherwise! But the reason for this is to point to ALL the work, work still being produced, work that is open and part of a living tradition. With these points in mind, I decided to play a lot of the pieces as suites. It seemed like a natural way for the group to play, it reflected the methodology of a lot of Mr. Hill’s music, and it enabled me to squeeze more music into this document. I endeavored also to vary the tone or mood of the repetoire. Andrew Hill’s music touches on almost every musical mood or sensation. To “Yokada Yokada” I rather slyly added the “The Rumproller” just to be fun, to have fun with the material. In other areas, darkness may descend, or it may just be time to jam out! Also, with the exception of “Dedication” and “Yokada Yokada/The Rumproller”, we generally eschewed playing on “changes”, instead favoring a free approach. This is not only how we all tend to play naturally, but it is also the approach that Andrew Hill’s music has favored for many decades now. My brother Alex was brought in to supply the percussion drive and color needed for the turbulent “Compulsion” - one of my personal favorite Hill pieces, here given an almost apocalyptic treatment - and he stayed for “Dedication.”

There were things that I did not know before embarking on this project. I did not know that Mr. Hill was about to enjoy a resurgence of sorts, once again recording for the Blue Note label. Great news! I didn’t know that Mr. Hill is seriously ill, fighting cancer. Terrible news! Smaller items: I learned that Ben Goldberg had played with Mr. Hill and that he loves this music. I learned that accordion was Andrew’s first instrument! But with all these rather charged revelations floating around, I hope that the real revelation will simply be the music itself: Andrew Hill music. We can approach it, twist it a bit, look into it, try it out, find beauty and inspiration, find OURSELVES as well as the genius who created it in the first place. Right?

Thanks to all the musicians for making this concept a reality as well as a beautiful experience. This record could not have happened without the enthusiastic support of my good friend Jeff Gauthier. As usual, he is THE MAN. Thanks also to Michael Cuscuna, who proved a valuable source for information and impressions, and who was always amazingly approachable in musical and in business-related matters. Thanks also to Rich Breen, Bob Hurwitz, Ron Horton, Marty Ehrlich, Paul “Junior” Garrison, Adam Rosenkrantz, Los Wilcos y Compadres, the Crypto clan, kind listeners and gentle comrades everywhere.

Special thanks to the visionary artistry of Mr. Andrew Hill. Long may he create and inspire.
- N.C. 6/13/06