New Gospel Revisited

Trumpeter and composer Marquis Hills recordings have, since the very beginning, showcased an expansionist view of jazz. Since 2016s The Way We Play (his fifth album) he has been making room for hip-hop, neo-soul, funk, and spoken word inside his approach to jazz. Hill recorded his debut, New Gospel, while still in college, leading a sextet that included pianist Josh Moshier. In 2019, Hills sextet was filled with bandleaders -- tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III, vibraphonist Joel Ross, pianist James Francies, bassist Harish Raghavan, and drummer Kendrick Scott -- performed the album in its entirety live at Chicagos Constellation. Its performance is appended by solo interludes from his bandmates. After a rumbling modal intro, a bass-and-drum vamp introduces the 14-minute "Law and Order." Francies provides a spectral opening statement before horns deliver a dynamic head. The trumpeters solo hovers above the rhythm section as the pianists backdrop provides colorful chord flourishes leading into a dramatic sequence that introduces a restatement of the chorus and Smiths imaginative tenor solo. Ross lines the foreground with labyrinthine single-note runs and panoramic chordal flourishes. Its followed by the first brief sideman solos with the saxophonists "Walter Speaks." It segues into "The Believer," a lush ballad. Francies offers a harmonic foundation with painterly swing. The horns engage in sprightly head to head -- a la Miles Davis and Wayne Shorter -- before Ross bridges the gap and trades killer solos with the pianist. The title is introduced by Scotts "Oracle" solo. His restrained rim shots meet piano and bass in an airy modal sequence before horns whisper an elegant melody. Hills flugelhorn solo adds trills and warmly intense lyric lines as the dynamic force of the tune increases. The lions share of solo time is given to Raghavan. His unhurried pizzicato builds on an opulent frame from vibes and piano. After Ross spectral, haunting "Lullaby" interlude, "Autumn" begins with his bell-like intro, then unfolds into an intricate ballad by Francies and Raghavan. Muted flugelhorn meets tenor in a euphonious head before Hill builds out a solo framed by Smiths warm tones. Francies adds fleet-fingered runs before Hill and Smith rejoin the rhythm section in the outro. The trumpeters bluesy "New Paths" provides the intro to the swinging hard bop exercise "Portrait of Fola." The ten-minute jam commences with a complex harmonic engagement between vibes and piano. They open a window for Ross spirited, yet deeply intimate solo. Scott and Raghavan buoy them in double-time, then lay back to offer both horn players room for gloriously imaginative solos. The bassists meaty "Perpetual [e]motion" introduces "The Thump." Upright bass and snare breaks offer a lean, funky vamp for piano and trumpet to spiral out from. They transform the rhythm riff into bluesy, soulful, melodic invention amid solos from Hill, Ross, and Francies. The pianist closes the set with his dazzling fantasia "Farewell." New Gospel Revisited showcases Hill as a deeply committed jazzman leading an inspired band that fires on all cylinders. ~ Thom Jurek