Found in Space: The Music of Gregg Hill

In Europe, Gregg Hill is a musical nobody, but in the USA, the composer has cult status, especially in jazz circles. There are musicians like bassist Rodney Whitaker, who have already released three recordings of the man from Michigan's compositions. Hill's fan group also includes trombonist Michael Dease.

This is the second time he has devoted himself to Hill's music on a complete album. What makes this music so special? Gregg Hill, that much is clear, is not reinventing jazz, but he knows what it takes to create ambitious music for ambitious musicians. For example, there is the stylistic range that Hill covers - from rocky tones to hard swinging to complex, nested musical material. And then there are the freedom and the timbres that make Hill's compositions attractive. Optimal conditions for musicians who enjoy improvisation and who do not feel comfortable with narrow notation concepts. Dease has gathered them around him and opted for a slimmed-down large ensemble with which he lets Hill's music take effect. His band, which includes a pleasingly large number of women, consists of eight wind instruments, a marimba and a rhythm section. This then gets going with a bang, taking plenty of time for extensive solo excursions on the way through Hill's sound worlds and at times sounds like a lively big band, a voluminous jazz orchestra or a quirky sound collective following in the footsteps of Thelonious Monk.