Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Michael Dease: The Other Shoe: The Music of Gregg Hill

Michael Dease: The Other Shoe: The Music of Gregg Hill

By Jerome Wilson
April 14, 2023
View read count

Gregg Hill

composer / conductor

" data-original-title="" title="">Gregg Hill is a jazz composer favored by several jazz musicians who have recorded entire albums of his work, such as guitarist

Randy Napoleon

guitar
b.1978

" data-original-title="" title="">Randy Napoleon and bassist

Rodney Whitaker

bass
b.1968

" data-original-title="" title="">Rodney Whitaker. Here trombonist

" data-original-title="" title="">Michael Dease joins the party with a full album of Hill pieces arranged for a quintet.

Hill's writing on this album delves into a wide array of conventional forms such as blues, ballads, and Latin jazz, but always with unique twists and ideas present. Some of his compositions sound akin to the early small-group recordings of

George Russell

composer / conductor
1923 - 2009

" data-original-title="" title="">George Russell. Dease gives these tunes a special atmosphere by using a front line of his trombone and the clarinet of

Virginia MacDonald

clarinet

" data-original-title="" title="">Virginia MacDonald, bringing distinctive high-low harmonies into the music. The two lead instruments blend together especially well on the tempo-shifting conversations of "Scooter's Dream," the serpentine intricacy of "The Sleeper" and the mournful blues roll of "Hello, Blues."

The piano duties in the band are split between Geoff Keezer and

Luther Allison

piano
b.1939

" data-original-title="" title="">Luther Allison, each contributing their own style. Keezer often decorates the melodies, bringing a classy flourish to "Scooter's Dream," bouncing to a ragtime beat on "Wake Up Call" and elaborating the dramatic tone of "The Classic" behind Dease's and MacDonald's weeping interplay. Allison's contributions include honky-tonkish stride piano on "The Goodbye Blues," and rippling free runs which add a sinister tone to the melancholy "Summer Nights." Bassist

Liany Mateo

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Liany Mateo and drummer

Colleen Clark

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Colleen Clark are very adept at filling in the shifting accents and underlying rhythms which keep this music afloat. Mateo even gets an occasional solo of note, including a strutting turn on "Goodbye Blues."

Other highlights include the polished

Duke Ellington

piano
1899 - 1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Ellington-like glide of "Shorty's Tune," where MacDonald sounds as urbane as

Jimmy Hamilton

percussion
1917 - 1994

" data-original-title="" title="">Jimmy Hamilton and Mateo takes an elegant solo, and the rocking Latin groove of "Rio Mio" with Dease stepping out on baritone sax as well as trombone. Then there is the real surprise, "The Other Shoe" itself. This is a 15-minute work where Allison's trembling electric piano is set against pulsing bass and drums and brooding trombone, clarinet, and baritone lines. The music is reminiscent of

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis' earliest electronic experiments. The instruments weave in and out of each other ominously and everyone gets a chance to stretch out, including drummer Clark.

The music on this album consistently finds new ways of working within the parameters of conventional jazz composition. Gregg Hill's fascinating writing is brought to life beautifully by Michael Dease's arranging, and the playing of an excellent band The end result is one of the best albums of the year so far.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Wake Up Call; Scooter's Dream; Hello, Blues; The Goodbye Blues; The Sleeper; The Classic; Rio Mio; Summer Nights; Shorty's Tune; The Other Shoe.

Personnel

Michael Dease

trombone

Virginia MacDonald

clarinet

Geoffrey Keezer

keyboards

Liany Mateo

bass

Colleen Clark

drums

Additional Instrumentation

Michael Dease: baritone saxophone (4, 7, 10), perc (4); Luther Allison: piano (4, 7, 8), Fender Rhodes (10); Rodney Whitaker: bass (3); Kevin Jones, Gwendolyn Dease: percussion (5,7,10); Joel Perez: trombone (4, 7).

Album information

Title: The Other Shoe: The Music of Gregg Hill | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Origin Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Decades of Worldwide Promotion By th...
< Previous

Heiner Stadler: Brains on Fire
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.