Lift Every Voice (Andrew Hill album)

Lift Every Voice
Studio album by Andrew Hill
Released	June 1970 [1]
Recorded	May 16, 1969; March 6 & 13, 1970
Studio	Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Genre	Jazz
Length	32:40original LP 70:15 CD reissue
Label	Blue Note BST 84330
Producer	Francis Wolff
Andrew Hill chronology
Dance With Death (1968) Lift Every Voice (1970) Passing Ships (1969)

Lift Every Voice is a studio album by American jazz pianist Andrew Hill featuring performances recorded in 1969 and released on the Blue Note label in 1970. ^[2] The original album features Hill with a large choir performing five original compositions and the 2001 CD reissue added six additional compositions recorded in 1970 as bonus tracks.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
DownBeat	[4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[5]

The Allmusic review by Richard S. Ginell awarded the album 4 stars calling it a "remarkably advanced fusion of voices and jazz quintet". ^[3] A contemporary review in DownBeat awarded the album three stars, panning the choral arrangements which, they wrote, "intrude annoyingly on music that otherwise might have made this a very fine jazz album". ^[4]

Track listing

All compositions by Andrew Hill

1. "Hey Hey" - 7:55
2. "Lift Every Voice" - 8:06
3. "Two Lullabies" - 5:44
4. "Love Chant" - 5:42
5. "Ghetto Lights" - 5:13

Bonus tracks on CD reissue:

6. "Blue Spark" - 5:57
7. "A Tender Tale" - 6:58
8. "Drew's Tune" - 6:22
9. "Mother Mercy" - 5:16
10. "Natural Spirit" - 7:25
11. "Such It Is" - 5:37

Recorded on May 16, 1969 (tracks 1–5), March 6, 1970 (tracks 6–8) and March 13, 1970 (tracks 9–11).

Personnel

Original LP (1–5):

• Andrew Hill - piano
• Woody Shaw - trumpet
• Carlos Garnett - tenor saxophone
• Richard Davis - bass
• Freddie Waits - drums
• Joan Johnson, LaReine LaMar, Gail Nelson, Antenett Goodman Ray - vocals
• Lawrence Marshall - vocals, conductor

Bonus tracks, 1970 recording (6–11):

• Andrew Hill - piano
• Lee Morgan - trumpet
• Bennie Maupin - alto flute, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone
• Ron Carter - bass
• Ben Riley - drums
• Benjamin Franklin Carter, Milt Grayson, Hugh Harnell, Ron Steward, Lillian Williams - vocals
• Lawrence Marshall - vocals, conductor

References

1. Billboard June 6, 1970
2. Andrew Hill discography accessed September 30, 2010
3. Ginell, R. S. Allmusic Review accessed October 05, 2010
4. Down Beat: September 17, 1970 vol. 37, no. 18.
5. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 703. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.