Andrew Hill – Black Fire

No issues with my pressing. Sounds nice. Up to Tone Poet standards.

Piano on my copy has wonky pitch throughout. Real bummer on a piano-centric record.

My copy has a non-fill and some tics on side B. That’s a pity and shouldn’t happen in a Tone Poet.

Sounds amazing, absolutely fantastic pressing.
I have no issues with the piano.

Superb sound! Roy Haynes' drums sound incredible on this. Some of the best recorded drums I've heard on a Blue Note recording. Everything is very balanced and immediate sounding. And, of course, the music is top tier. A must have.

Flat record. Lots of ticks on B3, will try another run through the ultrasonic cleaner.

I realize this is a minority view, but I don't think this record sounds very good. The piano, bass, and drums all come from the right side of the soundstage and there is very little separation between them. This has the effect of muddling the piano and bass, which is made worse by the fact that the bass is recorded at a low level. It is difficult to hear what the bassist is doing much of the time, and his constant plucking sometimes makes it difficult to hear Hill distinctly. On one song, the bass is played arco and it's such a relief. Henderson is fantastic, but the album really needs a lot more of him and his horn. Henderson comes out of the left speaker, clear as a bell. I really wish the entire band had been spread evenly across the entire soundstage. I don't hear the piano wobbling like others have said, but the piano is certainly not recorded in high-fidelity, although I have heard much worse piano tone on other Blue Notes.

Overall, I find this interesting but disappointing, a lot like Smokestack, which also had muddled bass. For me, it is not one of Hill's best. I will spin this regularly and try to learn a lot from it. Maybe over time it will grow on me.

Another slam dunk by Tone Poet. Particularly love the way Joe’s sax really pops in the solos as he’s in great form. Sonic Nirvana.

My favourite Andrew Hill record. Fantastic album and the musicians really shine in this one. I read other comments concerning mainly the sound of the piano but I have zero issues with this record. Definitely not wobbly piano. Anyway this is highly recommended of course.

I purchased this recently expecting that it might be a repress. Nope, it still has the same problem - on A3 and most of side B it sounds like someone is wobbling the piano while Hill is playing. No issue with sax, bass or drums - they sound great. But as soon as the piano comes in, it feels like the music is coming from a creased tape. I sent it back, got another copy, send the second one back again. I'm giving up. Streaming this one is the only option (no issues with piano there, by the way).

Absolutely fantastic pressing of sublime jazz, nothing more to say apart from it's a great record to own and enjoy, time and time again!