Andrew Hill occupies a unique niche in jazz history: Too iconoclastic to be part of the mainstream, he was initially marketed as part of the “second wave” avant-garde in the 1960s, yet he was too structured and anchored in the tradition to fit comfortably there. He often found himself on the periphery of the jazz world, only properly recognized and honored in the late 1990s.

Notwithstanding his significance for modern jazz, much about Hill's life has been obscured by his exaggerations and outright lies. His fabulism has long frustrated attempts to piece together his background. Born in Chicago, he insisted for decades that he was a native of Haiti and consistently lied about his age. Some falsehoods-like his claim that he studied under Paul Hindemith-went undetected and persist even now.

Time Lines: The Life and Music of Andrew Hill provides as full and accurate an account of Hill's life as possible, while also closely examining the music he created as a composer and performer. Featuring memories and insights from a long list of Hill's collaborators, peers, associates, students, and protégés, as well as subject matter experts, eyewitnesses, and journalists, this is the definitive account of one of the most perplexing, elusive, and endlessly inventive figures in modern jazz.

Michael J. West has been a music journalist and jazz critic for almost 20 years. He is the reviews editor at DownBeat magazine and was previously reviews editor and interim editor-in-chief at JazzTimes. He writes a monthly column about local jazz for Washington City Paper and is a regular contributor to DownBeat, The Washington Post, Bandcamp Daily, and NPR Music.

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