This two disc set of previously unreleased material is special for a couple of reasons. One, it is rare glimpse of latter day sounds of piano giant Andrew Hill, and even better, it finds him in rare group forms, a sextet and a ten piece unit for a concert series at Birdland back in 2002.
The sounds are fresh and accessible, with tenor saxists Tardy and Aaron Stewart gliding through “Divine Revelation” and John Savage’s flute floating on “Faded Beauty”, with Hill in majestic form throughout, and really in control on the dark and probing “New Pinnochio”. Hill and Tardy bop through a bouncy “ 5 Mo” and the horns get elegiac for two takes of “A Beautiful Day” with the soloists mixing it up on various nights. The colors get bold on “J Di” and the tricky “11/8” with the cerebral sounds also hitting the visceral. Lost ideas of a legend.