A normal morning for me, riding the subway, sardined in with hundreds of others, holding my thankfully small soft-cover book above heads to pick up as much of the yellowed light as possible, and listening to my iPod on shuffle - the usual jarring mix of folk, pop, rock, jazz, and classical....when I hear an understated, groovy, modern-but-not modal drum and bass beginning, followed a couple of bars later by a flute and trumpet harmonizing on a simple line, and thereafter jagged piano comping, and then, a seven or eight piece ensemble. Don't recognize it, and am fascinated with the colour and tonal depth of it - reaching into my briefcase (trying not to grope too many people on the way down) and discover that it's Andrew Hill - "Noon Time" from the Passing Ships record. An album recorded in the late 1960's but never released (why did jazz labels do that so effin' often?) , which I bought with excitement when the tapes were found in 2002 or 3, but clearly never really digested. It's outstanding.

As more recordings emerge, it seems to me that Andrew Hill's stature as a jazz giant is growing - for me his best are Black Fire and now, maybe, Passing Ships, with Point of Departure and Grass Roots an excellent next tier down. Amazingly, he's still going strong - "Dusk" from 1999, is one of my favourite contemporary jazz recordings - I'll bring it to a CD club in the future.