The sole album by Bill Lee’s family ensemble, the Descendants of Mike and Phoebe
Spiritual jazz, gospel, blues, and folk, with Consuela Lee Moorhead, Clif Lee, and Grace Lee Mims
For fans of: Strata-East records, Pharoah Sanders, Max Roach, spiritual jazz with vocals
A Spirit Speaks brings Bill Lee’s bass and compositions together with his siblings’ piano, flugelhorn, and soprano voice. Named in honor of the family’s enslaved ancestors, the ensemble treats jazz, gospel, and folk as connected parts of the same history. “Coltrane,” “Take My Hand, Precious Lord,” and “Boll Weevil” reveal the range of the music, with Grace Lee Mims’s classically trained singing giving it a distinctive presence. Sonny Brown and Billy Higgins contribute drums to a record whose emotional weight comes from the players’ shared purpose.
“a spiritual jazz masterpiece”
— Thom Jurek, AllMusic
Listen: The Descendants of Mike and Phoebe - A Spirit Speaks (Official Audio)
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