Andrew Hill – Passing Ships (2LPs, Blue Note Tone Poet Series)

Andrew Hill is one of the most distinctive pianists and composing talents in jazz. Yet this profoundly moving session recorded in 1969 sat unreleased until 2003 when it was finally issued on CD through the efforts of Blue Note archivist Michael Cuscuna. Hill penned all seven of Passing Ships’ compositions for an ensemble featuring Woody Shaw and Dizzy Reece on trumpet, Julian Priester on trombone, Joe Farrell on saxes, flute and bass clarinet, Howard Johnson on tuba, Bob Northern on French horn, Ron Carter on bass, and Lenny White on drums. Passing Ships stands comparison to Hill’s greatest work, and is presented for the first time on vinyl with this Tone Poet Edition.

Blue Note Tone Poet Series

The Blue Note Tone Poet Series was born out of Blue Note President Don Was’ admiration for the exceptional audiophile Blue Note LP reissues presented by Music Matters. Was brought Joe Harley (from Music Matters), a.k.a. the “Tone Poet,” on board to curate and supervise a series of reissues from the Blue Note family of labels.

Extreme attention to detail has been paid to getting these right in every conceivable way, from the jacket graphics and printing quality to superior LP mastering (direct from the master tapes) by Kevin Gray to superb 180 gm audiophile LP pressings by Record Technology Inc. Every aspect of these Blue Note/Tone Poet releases is done to the highest possible standard. It means that you will never find a superior version. This is IT.

Blue Note Records’ Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series is produced by Joe Harley and features all-analog, mastered-from-the-original-master-tape 180g audiophile vinyl reissues in deluxe gatefold packaging. Mastering is by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) and vinyl is manufactured at Record Technology Incorporated (RTI).