Pianist and composerAndrew Hillhad already built a formidable and beguiling body of work on Blue Note by the time he recordedGrass Rootsin 1968, an album that stands as one of the most immediately accessible in his prolific output for the label which spans 1963-2006. Hills heady brilliance was indisputably established with fiercely creative albums such asBlack Fire,Point of Departure, andJudgment!, but onGrass Rootshe had another idea in mind. Im not proving myself here, Hill explained in the original liner notes. I want to give something. I want to reach out from myself to make people happy who listen to this. Thats what grass roots are in music. Getting down to the basics, getting down as deep as you can into feeling. With a quintet eminently suitable for that taskLee Morganon trumpet,Booker Ervinon tenor saxophone,Ron Carteron bass, andFreddie Waitson drumsHill presented a set of five original compositions imbued with a deep sense of feeling, groove, and lyricism including the feel-good title track, the festive Mira, and the propulsive Soul Special.

Blue Note Tone Poet Series

The Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series was born out of Blue Note President Don Was admiration for the exceptional audiophile Blue Note LP reissues presented by Music Matters. Was brought Joe Harley, a.k.a. the Tone Poet, on board to curate and supervise a series of reissues from the Blue Note family of labels.

Extreme attention to detail has been paid to getting these right in every conceivable way, from the jacket graphics and printing quality to superior LP mastering (direct from the master tapes) by Kevin Gray to superb 180g audiophile LP pressings by Record Technology Inc. Every aspect of these Tone Poet releases is done to the highest possible standard. It means that you will never find a superior version. This is IT.

This stereo Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at Record Technology Inc. (RTI), and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket.

Tracklist:

A1: Grass Roots
A2: Venture Inward
A3: Mira

B1: Soul Special
B2: Bayou Red