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On August 5, 1968, pianist Andrew Hill was at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, recording tracks for what became his Grass Roots LP.
Released on Blue Note the following year in 1969, it featured a stellar cast of players including Ron Carter on bass, Lee Morgan playing trumpet, tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin, and Freddie Waits on drums.
It was a beautiful album from beginning to end, starting with its hypnotic title track.
The LP’s highlight was arguably the melodic journey “Mira,” a laid back jam that nonetheless showcased Hill’s signature post-bop style.
Four months earlier, in April, 1968, Hill had led another recording session that was intended to be for Grass Roots, but Blue Note thought the tracks needed another pass. Sitting in on the earlier date were drummer Idris Muhammad, bassist Reggie Workman, Woody Shaw on trumpet, guitarist Jimmy Ponder, and Frank Mitchell on tenor sax. The first versions of three cuts re-recorded in August plus two other compositions that were not revisited (“MC” and “Love Nocturne”) were later included as bonus tracks on the album’s 2000 CD re-issue.
Notably, Grass Roots was reviewed in DownBeat’s September 4, 1969 issue by Cleveland-based music critic and cult cartoonist Harvey Pekar, who gave it four out of five stars.
#jazz #BlueNote #RonCarter #LeeMorgan #AndrewHill
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