Andrew Hill – Black Fire (Blue Note Tone Poet Series)

All-Analog 180g Vinyl LP of Andrew Hill’s Black Fire Mastered from the Original Master Tapes by Kevin Gray & Pressed at RTI: Reference-Caliber Blue Note Reissue Helmed by Music Matters’ Joe Harley

Andrew Hill’s Black Fire is both the pianist and composer’s debut and an acknowledged masterpiece of modern post-bop jazz. Featuring a sublime quartet with Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone, Richard Davis on bass, and Roy Haynes on drums, the music still sounds as fresh today as it did the day it was recorded in November 1963, the start of an astounding creative streak that also produced Hill’s great albums Smokestack, Judgment!, and Point of Departure during a period of just four months.

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. The label brought Joe Harley (from Music Matters), aka 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 deluxe gatefold jacket graphics and printing quality to superior mastering (all analog direct from the master tapes) by Kevin Gray to superb 180-gram 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.

“The LPs are mastered directly from the original analog master tapes by Kevin at his incredible facility called Cohearent Mastering. We go about it in the exact same way that we did for so many years for the Music Matters Blue Note reissues. We do not roll off the low end, boost the top or do any limiting of any kind. We allow the full glory of the original Blue Note masters to come though unimpeded! Short of having an actual time machine, this is as close as you can get to going back and being a fly on the wall for an original Blue Note recording session.”
– Joe Harley

Musicians:
Andrew Hill, piano
Joe Henderson, tenor saxophone
Richard Davis, bass
Roy Haynes, drums

Features:
• Blue Note Tone Poet Series
• Curated by Music Matters co-founder Joe Harley
• Audiophile-quality 180g vinyl LP
• All-analog mastering (direct from the master tapes) by Kevin Gray
• Manufactured at Record Technology Incorporated
• Deluxe gatefold jacket packaging