The Newsstand Sophisticate

Jazz composer and pianist Andrew Hill died last Friday. I was working at copy shop in Portland, Oregon, when Hill was a professor at nearby Portland State University, and he used to come in occasionally to copy music (lots of Bach, if I recall) for his classes. He was always very friendly, in contrast to many of our customers, and had the rumpled, disorganized air many musicians (and professors) have. I had no idea he was such a well-regarded player and composer until several years later when I recognized him on an album in a record store. And when I listened to his music, I wished I had known when I was in Portland so I could have talked to him about his music. Too late for that now, but it’s nice to see in the New York Times obituary that he was getting some long overdue recognition late in his life. You can listen to some of his music here.