Jazz From Lincoln Center

Bobby Hutcherson and Andrew Hill

Written by Neil Tesser

(c) and (p) Jazz From Lincoln Center, 2001, all rights reserved

1) Music: "Highway One" Bobby Hutcherson album, Vibe Wise (32 Jazz)

2) Vox: Bobby Hutcherson (INT 351)

"To play music is like the sun coming up. // The thrill of doing it, and being able to do it with people who are your friends, // ‘Look, wow, we can still play; Listen to these notes come out here!’ -- // you have to stop it from coming out. [It’s] What gives you the energy or the idea to want to create. // We’re reporters, you know? There’s always a story out there . . . ."

 

3) Bradley:

FROM THE TIME HE FIRST MOVED TO NEW YORK IN THE EARLY 1960s, VIBRAPHONIST BOBBY HUTCHERSON HAS BEEN "REPORTING" THE STORIES HE SEES – AND THE STORIES HE FEELS. HIS DISPATCHES SPAN THE TUMULT OF BLACK POWER IN THE 60s; HIS RETREAT FROM POLITICS INTO WORLD MUSIC TRADITIONS IN THE 70s AND 80s; AND HIS RE- EMERGENCE AS A WORLDLY VETERAN IN THE 90s.

ALONG THE WAY, BOBBY HUTCHERSON HAS FORGED ESPECIALLY STRONG PARTNERSHIPS WITH TWO INFLUENTIAL PIANISTS. WE’LL HEAR HUTCHERSON IN EXTENDED MUSICAL DIALOGUE WITH ANDREW HILL, AND A VISIT TO AN AFRICAN VILLAGE WITH McCOY TYNER. IT’S JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER. I’M ED BRADLEY.

4) Bradley:

BOBBY HUTCHERSON AND ANDREW HILL MET IN 1964, WHEN BOTH WERE RECORDING FOR BLUE NOTE RECORDS. THE LABEL WAS ISSUING SOME OF THE MOST FORWARD-THINKING SOUNDS IN JAZZ, AND ON SEVERAL ALBUMS, THE YOUNG VIBRAPHONIST’S EXTRAORDINARY TECHNIQUE WAS MATCHED TO HILL’S EDGY COMPOSITIONS.

5) Music: Hill composition from "Dialogue"

6) Bradley:

BUT FOR ALL THEIR INNOVATION, BOTH ARTISTS HAVE ALWAYS HAD A PLACE IN THEIR REPERTOIRE FOR THE MOST BASIC OF JAZZ FORMS, THE BLUES. FOR THEIR JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER REUNION CONCERT THEY WORKED UP THIS ONE ENTITLED "HHM."

6) Music: "Hhm" (JALC, 4/15 concert @ 26:26) 8:14

7) Bradley:

"HHM," BOBBY HUTCHERSON ON VIBES, AND ANDREW HILL ON PIANO AT LINCOLN CENTER’S STANLEY KAPLAN PENTHOUSE.

BOBBY HUTCHERSON GREW UP IN THE SUBURBS OF PASADENA, CALIFORNIA IN THE 1950’S – WHERE HE MADE HIS FIRST IMPORTANT JAZZ CONNECTION.

9) Music: "Hat And Beard" Eric Dolphy album, Out To Lunch (Blue Note)

10) Bradley:

HE MET SOON-TO-BE JAZZ ICON ERIC DOLPHY. BUT THE MEETING HAD LITTLE TO DO WITH HUTCHERSON’S MUSIC:

11) Vox: Bobby Hutcherson (INT 351)

"Eric was my sister’s boyfriend; my sister used to sing, and Eric used to come to where she would sing, because she used to have in her trio Sonny Clark."

12) Bradley:

SOON AFTER THAT DOLPHY MOVED TO NEW YORK. ALMOST A DECADE LATER WHEN HUTCHERSON DID THE SAME, ERIC DOLPHY INTRODUCED HIM INTO THE VIBRANT CIRCLE OF MANHATTAN’S JAZZ MUSICIANS.

13) Vox: Bobby Hutcherson (INT 351)

"…and he says, ‘We gotta get together, I want to do some stuff.’ // I started driving a taxi in NY, and // started meeting a lot of the other young musicians that were coming into town – and now the music started changing. // The new music that was going on, that was really reflecting the times."

 

14) Bradley:

HUTCHERSON APPEARED ON TWO OF ERIC DOLPHY’S BEST-KNOWN RECORDINGS- IRON MAN AND OUT TO LUNCH. ALFRED LION, LEGENDARY FOUNDER OF BLUE NOTE RECORDS, NOTICED AND PUT HIM TOGETHER WITH YOUNG ANDREW HILL, WHO HAD RECENTLY ARRIVED FROM CHICAGO.

15) Music: "Ghetto Lights" (Bobby Hutcherson album, Dialogue)

16) Bradley:

AS HILL RECALLS:

17) Vox: Andrew Hill (INT 342)

// I was amazed at how fast he was . . . . "

18) Bradley:

THEY HIT IT OFF RIGHT AWAY, WHICH WAS GOOD BECAUSE LION HAD ALREADY DECIDED THAT HILL’S COMPOSITIONS WERE JUST THE THING TO SHOWCASE HUTCHERSON’S VIRTUOSITY.

19) Vox: Bobby Hutcherson (INT 351)

". . . So they said, ‘Well Bobby // we want you to do the more avant-garde type music. // We want you to get together with Andrew Hill. // So I went over to Andrew’s house // and Andrew had a myna bird, and as soon as you walk in the house, the myna bird would say, ‘Where’s Andrew?’ // so we’d be sitting there at the piano, and Andrew’d say, ‘Bobby what do you think about this one?’ // and then the bird would say, ‘What you want with Andrew?’ [laughs]. So we’d be laughing but listening to the music at the same time . . ."

fade music

20) Bradley:

THIS RELAXED PARTNERSHIP LED TO HUTCHERSON’S 1965 ALBUM DIALOGUE, WHICH INCLUDED THIS ANDREW HILL COMPOSITION "GHETTO LIGHTS." THIRTY-FIVE YEARS LATER, THEY’VE BROUGHT IT TO THEIR JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER CONCERT - "GHETTO LIGHTS."

21) Music: "untitled" ® "Ghetto Lights" (JALC, 4/16 concert @ 43:20) 7:30

22) Bradley:

"GHETTO LIGHTS," A DUET ON THE HUDSON WITH ANDREW HILL AT THE PIANO AND BOBBY HUTCHERSON ON VIBRAPHONE, AT THE STANLEY KAPLAN PENTHOUSE. THIS IS JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER; I’M ED BRADLEY.

23)Music: "Yokada, Yokada" (Andrew Hill album, Judgment)

24) Vox: Andrew Hill (INT 342)

". . . As great as as his technique is, he has the ability to listen and blend. With him I can always obtain some type of creative contact. //

25) Bradley:

LISTENING TO ANDREW HILL, YOU KNOW HE’S AS IMPRESSED WITH BOBBY HUTCHERSON AT THIS REUNION AS WHEN THEY FIRST MET.

ANDREW HILL:

26) Vox: Andrew Hill (INT 342)

The concert was amazing from the fact that we really hadn’t played together in 20 or 30 years. But I called him and asked him about getting together for this thing, and said why don’t I come to his house for two or three days and we just practiced together. // So for it to come off as successful as it did is a testimonial to us being sensitive to each other – still being sensitive to each other."

 

27) Bradley:

BOBBY HUTCHERSON IS QUICK TO GIVE MUCH OF THE CREDIT TO ANDREW HILL:

28) Vox: Bobby Hutcherson (INT 351)

"He doesn’t miss a word you’re saying. When you talk to him, that should give you a big clue of how he plays; because no phrase that you say, even if you stagger in saying it, gets past him. And he analyzes it quickly for its content, and decides how to make you feel comfortable with his answering what you said. That’s important, because a lot of people – say in duo situations – will not think about your comfort. // . . . You gotta to learn how to give, and how to take, but you can’t take unless you learn how to give."

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29) Bradley:

HUTCH GOT HIS MODEL FOR MUSICAL GENEROSITY FROM THE MOST IMPORTANT VIBRAPHONE PLAYER IN JAZZ HISTORY, THE LATE MILT JACKSON.

31) Vox: Bobby Hutcherson (INT 351)

"I always loved how he dressed the note up. He just didn’t hit the note; he would dress it up for you. // . . . he’d gliss into the note, he’d slide into the note, he’d flam around it, he might play a slight little paradiddle into the note, he’d grace-note into the note. // It wasn’t just a note – it was just polished, and as it was presented to you it was like on this beautiful silver platter . . . //

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32) Bradley:

WITH PIANIST ANDREW HILL, BOBBY HUTCHERSON APPLIES THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM MILT JACKSON ON A WHIMSICAL DUET CALLED "LA-TI-DAH."

30) Music: "La-Ti-Dah" (JALC, 4/15 concert) 6:50

31) Bradley:

PIANIST ANDREW HILL AND VIBRAPHONIST BOBBY HUTCHERSON, AT THE STANLEY KAPLAN PENTHOUSE, IN A "DUET ON THE HUDSON."

32) Music: "Judgment" (Andrew Hill album, Judgment)

33) Bradley:

SUPPORT FOR JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER COMES FROM NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO MEMBER STATIONS AND NPR, WHOSE CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDE THE LILA (LYE-la) WALLACE READER'S DIGEST FUND -- SEEKING TO ENRICH COMMUNITY LIFE THROUGH SUPPORT OF EDUCATION, THE ARTS AND CULTURE.

FOR MORE ABOUT BOBBY HUTCHERSON, ANDREW HILL OR McCOY TYNER OR TO HEAR THIS SHOW AGAIN, CHECK OUR WEBSITE AT "W-W-W DOT JAZZRADIO DOT ORG." YOU CAN E-MAIL TO "RADIO @ JAZZATLINCOLNCENTER DOT ORG," OR SEND A POSTCARD TO JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER, NEW YORK CITY, 10023.

YOU'RE LISTENING TO JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER. I'M ED BRADLEY.

[Midbreak @ tk -- (incl. :10 as bed for local stations ID's)]

[music fades to actuality]

34) Music: "Catta" Bobby Hutcherson album, Dialogue (Blue Note)

THE ALBUMS RECORDED BY BOBBY HUTCHERSON AND ANDREW HILL IN THE 1960’S OFFERED SEARCHING, RESTLESS MUSIC. THEY REFLECTED THEIR TIME, WHEN A LAND WAR WAS GROWING IN SOUTHEAST ASIA AND A CULTURAL WAR WAS BREWING AT HOME. AS BOBBY HUTCHERSON RECALLS,

36) Vox: Bobby Hutcherson (INT 351)

"During the 60s, there was a big black revolution going on around the country // Malcolm X and things going on // Dr. King’s situation . . . // A lot of the musicians that were coming into New York City at the time, they were playing music and writing music that was reflecting what was going on in the country. // . . . I would find myself, living in the Bronx, taking the bus down and stopping at 125^th St. and going to the Lenox Hotel and standing there listening to Malcolm X all day . . ."

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37) Bradley:

THE ISSUE OF BLACK SELF-EMPOWERMENT MANIFESTED ITSELF IN HIS 1969 COMPOSITION, ENTITLED "BLACK HEROES."

38) Music: "Black Heroes" Bobby Hutcherson album, NOW! (Blue Note)

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39) Bradley:

BUT THE DISAPPOINTMENTS OF AMERICAN POLITICS LED HUTCHERSON TO A KEENER INTEREST IN THE MUSIC OF OTHER COUNTRIES. THROUGH THE 1970s, HE LED A GROUP WITH VETERAN HARD-BOP SAXOPHONIST HAROLD LAND. THEY EXPLORED TRADITIONS OF MEXICO, THE CARIBBEAN, AND AFRICA. THAT RANGE OF EXPRESSION ON THE VIBRAPHONE AND MARIMBA WOULD MAKE HUTCH AN IDEAL MUSICAL PARTNER FOR THE GALVANIC PIANIST McCOY TYNER.

40) Music: "Highway One" Bobby Hutcherson album, Highway One (Sony)

41) Bradley:

HUTCHERSON HAD PLAYED WITH McCOY ON VARIOUS BLUE NOTE RECORDS IN THE 60S. IN 1980 HE RECORDED WITH McCOY’S QUARTET. THEIR MUSICAL FRIENDSHIP WOULD CONTINUE INTO THE 90s.

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42) Bradley:

WITH TYNER’S ENSEMBLE AT JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER, HUTCHERSON PLAYED QUITE DIFFERENTLY FROM WHAT WE JUST HEARD WITH ANDREW HILL: THE MUSIC IS MORE URGENT, IN KEEPING WITH TYNER’S STYLE. HERE’S "AFRICAN VILLAGE."

43) Music: "African Village" (JALC concert) [12:09]

44) Bradley:

BOBBY HUTCHERSON WITH McCOY TYNER’S TRIO FEATURING CHRISTIAN McBRIDE ON BASS AND AL FOSTER ON DRUMS. THIS IS JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER; I’M ED BRADLEY.

45) Music: Blue Note Recording with Hutcherson

46) Bradley:

BOBBY HUTCHERSON’S MUSIC HAS COME A LONG WAY SINCE THOSE EARLY BLUE NOTE RECORDINGS WITH ERIC DOLPHY. BUT AS HE SEES IT, ONE THING HAS NOT CHANGED AT ALL OVER THE YEARS – HIS RESPONSIBILITY TO LET HIS AUDIENCE IN ON HOW HE SEES THE WORLD.

47) Vox: Bobby Hutcherson (INT 351)

"We’re reporters, you know? There’s always a story out there., Back then, it happened to do with // this revolution in the country. Now there’s a different situation. There’s still a revolution going on. We’re still revolving – there’s that word, revolution – and evolving. // There’s so many worlds all around you, all you gotta do is turn around and check it out."

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48) Bradley:

REVOLUTION AND EVOLUTION – WHAT GOOD MUSICIANS DO – AND WHAT OUR GUESTS HAVE BEEN DOING FOR OVER THREE DECADES. WE CLOSE OUR PROGRAM WITH A PIECE ANDREW HILL AND BOBBY HUTCHERSON BREWED UP JUST FOR THEIR "DUET ON THE HUDSON." IT’S CALLED "FOURTH FIFTH."

49) Music: "Fourth Fifth" (JALC, 4/15 concert, opening piece) 12:45

50) Bradley:

VIBRAPHONIST BOBBY HUTCHERSON AND PIANIST ANDREW HILL, JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER FROM THE AT THE STANLEY KAPLAN PENTHOUSE.

JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER IS PRODUCED BY JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER AND MURRAY STREET ENTERPRISE NEW YORK. THIS PROGRAM WAS WRITTEN BY NEIL TESSER AND EDITED BY VALERIE GLADSTONE. OUR SENIOR PRODUCER IS STEVE RATHE.

ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS ARE AVE CARRILLO AND JOSHUA JACKSON.

THE RECORDINGS WERE MIXED BY ED HABER WITH MICHEAL DeMARK, AND RANDY EZRATTY WITH EFFANEL MUSIC.

DIGITAL POST PRODUCTION BY DAVID GOREN AT STEVEN ERICKSON'S.

THE PRODUCTION TEAM INCLUDES GWENDOLYN DEAN, ANDREW ROSENBLUM, LEE ANNE BERNARD, AND TRACEY SCHUTTY.

THANKS TO SUSAN RADIN, CHRISTA TETER, AND THE RADIO FOUNDATION.

THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR OF JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER IS ROB GIBSON. THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR IS WYNTON MARSALIS.

I'M ED BRADLEY. THIS IS N-P-R, WHERE JAZZ LIVES.