Andrew Hill was one of the key figures in Blue Note’s early ’60s embrace of “inside-outside” music — a kind of middle ground between bluesy hard bop and the rising avant-garde. His compositions, and his playing, could have a Thelonious Monk-ish clang, but he was fast, and swung where Monk lurched. On this album, his debut for the label, he’s joined by saxophonist Joe Henderson, bassist Richard Davis, and drummer Roy Haynes, all players who blended force and impact with compositional complexity and rhythmic intricacy.

– Phil Freeman