2013.10.07 Vijay Iyer on Andrew Hill - 3 of 3

Sometimes you have to take all the furniture out of the room to see what it really looks like and to decide what belongs in there. Pianist Andrew Hill did that for our music (most memorably on a series of outstanding Blue Note recordings in the 1960's) and then he put it back together in a whole new way. It's still the same room but it feels fresh and vibrant; the angles are better, you can move around in it more easily. He also opened many new doors leading out of that room and entire generations of younger musicians have enthusiastically moved through them.

 

Vijay Iyer is certainly one of them. He could never be called a Hill clone but he learned many lessons from this imaginative bandleader. It's readily apparent today in the many ensembles that he leads and his even more numerous collaborations and multimedia work. He talks about it with clarity and zeal with host Mitch Goldman in this Deep Focus from 2013.

 

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Photo credit: fair use.