Black Fire (album)

Black Fire
Studio album by Andrew Hill
Released	End of March/early April 1964 [1]
Recorded	November 8–9, 1963
Studio	Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs
Genre	Post-bop, modal jazz
Length	40:43
Label	Blue Note BLP 4151 (mono), BST 84151 (stereo)
Producer	Alfred Lion
Andrew Hill chronology
So in Love (1960) Black Fire (1964) Smoke Stack (1963)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[3]

Black Fire is a studio album by American jazz pianist and composer Andrew Hill, released on Blue Note Records in 1964. It was Hill's debut for the label. Initially, drummer Philly Joe Jones was scheduled to play on the album, but was replaced by Roy Haynes after scheduling issues. The rest of the band consists of tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson and bassist Richard Davis. The Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine calls the album "an impressive statement of purpose that retains much of its power decades after its initial release... a modern jazz classic." ^[4]

Track listing

All compositions by Andrew Hill.

• "Pumpkin" – 5:24
• "Subterfuge" – 8:04
• "Black Fire" – 6:56
• "Cantarnos" – 5:42
• "Tired Trade" – 5:51
• "McNeil Island" – 2:58
• "Land of Nod" – 5:48

Bonus tracks on CD reissue

• "Pumpkin'" [Alternate Take] – 5:16
• "Black Fire" [Alternate Take] – 5:48

Personnel

• Andrew Hill – piano
• Joe Henderson – tenor saxophone
• Richard Davis – bass
• Roy Haynes – drums

References

1. "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. April 11, 1964. p. 80. Retrieved September 1, 2025– via Google Books.
2. Review, AllMusic
3. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 701. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
4. Erlewine, S. T. Allmusic Review accessed 30 March 2009