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Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine Andrew Hill’s unique approach to improvisatory performance, which, by his final decade, integrated practices from free jazz and post-bop styles. Characteristics of Hill’s group performance practice are determined using a method that combines musical analysis with a phenomenological approach, incorporating the subjective experience of the author and Hill’s sideman John Hébert, who was interviewed for this study. Multiple recordings of Hill’s composition “Smooth” are analyzed, along with its corresponding notation, to determine the processes involved in realizing performances from his sketch-like conceptions. The analysis highlights different musical textures developed in performance through interaction and a modular organizational structure—a cyclical framework previously identified in Hill’s solos by Wallmark (2008). This study contributes to an understanding of Hill’s music and artistry, while providing insight into the avant-garde and post-bop performance practices that emerged in the 1960s.
