Lift Every Voice

Across the eight envelope-pushing albums he recorded for Blue Note during the 1960s, pianist Andrew Hill’s farewell for the imprint (until he returned in 1989) was this audacious fusion of his quintet with a seven-person choir. Drawing inspiration from opera, Meade Lux Lewis, and English chorales (per the liner notes), Hill and band – featuring Woody Shaw, Carlos Garnett, and Richard Davis – swing wildly while wordless voices bubble up around them. The CD reissue adds another six tracks, this time featuring Lee Morgan, Bennie Maupin, and Ron Carter in support. Hill’s ear pairs high female voices with Maupin’s bass clarinet, while deeper male voices interact with the soaring notes of Shaw and Morgan, almost every turn revealing a curious new pairing.