Composer Gregg Hill grew up in central Michigan in a household where the music was always playing. As a small child, he remembers conga lines snaking through the house on Saturday nights to the sound of jazz. His parents, Norma and Ken, were part of the swing craze in the big band era. His sister Susan, also plays piano and is a lifelong music lover.

In high school, Gregg played sax in a stage band and headed up a quintet. He loved the saxophone, but the piano had a stronger allure as far as creative possibilities. The piano took over completely when he was bitten by the jazz writing bug.

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Gregg's parent's love of music and piano jazz (in particular) was a great source of his inspiration.

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Accolades:

 

April 15, 2023, All About Jazz

By Jerome Wilson 

"The Other Shoe" Gregg Hill's fascinating writing is brought to life beautifully by Michael Dease's arranging, and the playing of an excellent band The end result is one of the best albums of the year so far.

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January 25, 2023, All About Jazz

by Jack Bowers

"...there's an abundance of refreshing music at this Oasis, and it is well worth pausing to drink it in."

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August 26, 2022, The Jazz Word

By Sylvannia Garutch

 

PUPPETS: "...A Beautiful Collection of Excellent Compositions..."

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August 16, 2022, Bman's Blues Report

PUPPETS:  "...Cool and relaxing yet instrumentally stirring."

 

June 2022, Roots Music Report

by Joe Ross

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...The Puppets album conveys many musical moods. There is tension and release, as well as several expressions of solemnity and whimsy. The diversity in Gregg Hill’s compositions ranges from the smooth tones of the opener “Andy’s Lament” to the high-stepping, energetic “Fan-O-Gram” with Aubrey Johnson serving as an outstanding modern creative stylist with Napoleon’s fluid, tasteful improvisation. Whether the bluesy “The Jazzdiddy Waltz” or relaxed “Lyrica” tickle your fancy, we hear an atmospheric approach to music that results in bountiful rewards of deep emotion and range of expression.

 

Randy Napoleon is a premier player whose attention to precision, intonation and time values provides bountiful rewards. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Randy cut his teeth on jazz in Detroit, moved to New York City, worked with Michael Buble and Freddy Cole, then in 2014 returned to Michigan as a MSU Professor of Jazz. That is where he met Gregg Hill, and their collaborations began. Together, they are manipulating the songs’ melodies and magical strings much as a puppeteer would with his strings. It’s tight, inventive, expertly played music pulled off with aplomb.

 

 

March 9th, 2020 JazzWeek lists "Brothers" Album as "Chartbound"

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Stan Lee (InWalkJazz) Year in review of best jazz albums of 2019. January 1st, 2020

34) Bassist Rodney Whitaker “Common Ground: The music of Gregg Hill”

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Full Circle with Ruth Fisher: favorite albums of 2019:

#6 Rodney Whitaker-After Shock from the album "Common Ground: The Music of Gregg Hill" Listen to the full show.

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Music Review by David Rogers, WTJU

Rodney Whitaker—Common Ground: The msuic of Gregg Hill. "The variety is broad and the band itself can blow up a storm!"

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MUSIC REVIEW BY TOMAS PEÑA, JAZZDELAPENA

Rodney Whitaker—Common Ground the Music of Gregg Hill.

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...unified, collective sensibility is one layer of meaning that filters into the title "Common Ground." You can find another in the nature of the relationship between Whitaker and the composer of the songs, which have the flavor of new discoveries from the 1960s canons of Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane and Eddie Harris. His name is Gregg Hill, 73, an autodidact who started writing music seriously in 1984.

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MUSIC REVIEW BY BRUCE COLLIER, BEACHCOMBER / PAUSE & PLAY RECORD ROUNDUP

"On Common Ground, he [Rodney Whitaker] has put together an eight-song program of tunes by composer and pianist Gregg Hill, a favorite of his. Among Whitaker's collaborators here are hard bop trumpet kingpin Terrell Stafford and Whitaker's daughter, vocalist Rockelle Fortin. As the cover photo shows, it's a labor of love—several of the songs have an earnest whiff of social and political idealism. Everyone gets to shine, notably Stafford and his frequent collaborator, pianist Bruce Barth."

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