Andrew Hill, Lift Every Voice (1969)

This album is a new favorite of mine. Andrew Hill partially abandons traditional jazz instrumentation by adding a full choir for this particular record, Lift Every Voice. Hills progressive compositions lend to the new timbre in a way that is avant-garde and progressive, yet rooted in traditional bop elements. Woodwind specialist Bennie Maupin brings a lot of exploration with his contributing solos and general playing. Other notable personnel are the rhythm section including Richard Davis on bass and Freddie Waits on Drums. Bassist Ron Carter and Trumpeter Lee Morgan are on a 2001 reissue of the album, featured on six unreleased tracks. "Blue Spark" is one of these and a standout driving 12 bar blues style tune featuring solos from Morgan, Maupin , and Hill. Whats important as the obvious theme of the record is its connection and integration of vocal accents and lyrical movement, not frequent in recordings of the late 1960's. The arrangements are particularly reminiscent of a Donald Byrd album released earlier in the century that attempted to blend voice and jazz the same way, except with more of a gospel base.