Marquis Hill | “Composers Collective: Beyond the Jukebox”

ACCLAIMED TRUMPETER MARQUIS HILL SOARS ON COMPOSERS COLLECTIVE: BEYOND THE JUKEBOX, FEATURING MUSIC BY FRIENDS, COLLEAGUES, HEROES

Releasing August 30, 2024 on Black Unlimited Music Group

Award-winning trumpeter, composer and bandleader Marquis Hill, widely acclaimed for his soulful, eclectic modern jazz sensibility, is proud to present Composers Collective: Beyond the Jukebox, a new album celebrating the compositions of others: in particular, a group of cherished colleagues and friends, many of them fellow Chicagoans, invited by Hill to compose a piece for the album with him specifically in mind. In addition to six of Hill’s compositions, the program includes pieces by Ernest Dawkins, Gary Bartz, Jeff Parker, Marcus Strickland, SABA, Geof Bradfield and Matt Gold, as well as the members of Hill’s core quintet: vibraphonist Joel Ross, pianist Michael King, bassist Junius Paul and drummer Corey Fonville.

“I was thinking about the tradition in jazz where Dexter Gordon would record a Lee Morgan composition, or Freddie Hubbard would record a Wayne Shorter composition,” muses Hill. “I started to wonder, ‘When did we stop doing that, playing each other’s music?’ You learn so much playing other artists’ compositions. I thought it would be dope if I challenged myself to reach out to colleagues and have them specifically write a tune with me in mind. I got so much different music back from all these composers, and my challenge was to shape it into a Marquis Hill project. There will definitely be a second volume.”

Following up such earlier releases as Rituals + Routines, Soul Sign, Modern Flows, Love Tape and New Gospel Revisited, Hill continues with Composers Collective to blend elements of post-bop and contemporary jazz with R&B, hip-hop and other flavors, in the firm belief that Black music is one vast continuum. “I studied and lived the music and realized that it all comes from the same tree,” Hill declares. “All I want to do is make something that really resonates with people. It might have aspects that sound like Kendrick Lamar or Ray Charles, or ’70s soul—the first single ‘Pretty For the People’ takes me back to The Stylistics. It’s a mosaic of all this great music that I’ve always loved.”

In addition to the core quintet, Hill invites an array of top-tier instrumentalists to the affair: pianist Gerald Clayton on Jeff Parker’s soaringly melodic “Pretty for the People,” Parker himself on guitar for Junius Paul’s Afrobeat-tinged “Life Days,” alto saxophonist (and Grammy-winning producer) Josh Johnson on Chicago rapper and producer SABA’s springy funk invention “Joseph Beat,” alto saxophonist Caroline Davis on Michael King’s uptempo Rhodes-infused burner “Some Melody n Shit,” and drummer Makaya McCraven on an inspired rendition of Gary Bartz’s classic “Libra” titled “Libra (South Node)” (available as a bonus track).

Hill’s originals—“A Star Is Born,” “The Cool (Constantly Operating on Love),” “Enter the Stargate,” “I Promise to Listen,” “Step on Step (Smoke Break)” and “When You’ve Got an Attitude (Still Love You)”—receive authoritative treatments from the core quintet, as does Chicago tenorist Geof Bradfield’s “Meshell,” a spirited tribute to the Grammy-winning bassist and singer-songwriter. Three Hill tunes feature the Chicago vocalist Manasseh, who met Hill around 2019 at SPACE in Evanston. “That night the seed was planted,” the trumpeter recalls. “Manasseh’s sound has a unique warmth that adds so much to the project.”

Vocalist Christie Dashiell, who appeared on Hill’s Love Tape from 2019, returns on Composers Collective to lend pathos and allure to Corey Fonville’s groovy love song “Chef’s Kiss.” “I met Christie at the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program in DC,” says Hill, “when Dr. Billy Taylor was still there, around 2013. I fell in love with her sound. We’ve toured with [pianist] Helen Sung and it’s always been a vibe.” Samora Pinderhughes delivers a gripping vocal on “Balladesque,” by Chicago tenor stalwart Ernest Dawkins, who recorded a version with Hill on trumpet on his 2011 album The Prairie Prophet. “I wanted to flip this tune and make it romantic,” Hill says. “It was the lightness and purity of Samora’s voice that came to mind. It’s such a beautiful melody. Ernest was gracious enough to allow me to add some lyrics to it.”

Blue Note recording artist and fellow Chicagoan Joel Ross weighs in with the concluding “I Remembered You,” a hypnotic vamp under a Stefon Harris voiceover, preceded by an ethereal trumpet/vibes duet. “We all knew that Joel had something special in the lineage of Chicago music,” Hill recalls. “He was a bad dude even back in high school at 14 or 15 years old. He’s always had that special thing and it’s just continued to develop.” The album also includes a second Michael King composition, the lithe and hard-swinging “Two Check (for the Rich and Wealthy),” as well as “The OG’s (Organic People)” by tenor and bass clarinet master and Twi-Life bandleader Marcus Strickland (with spoken segment by Stefon Harris). “Shorter Days (Longer Nights),” by guitarist and friend Matt Gold, harks back to the first sound on this album, the voice of the late Wayne Shorter, speaking on artistic courage as Hill’s “A Star Is Born” plays, grooving and polyrhythmic, the leader’s resplendent legato trumpet tone front and center.

Though Hill has become a major presence on the New York jazz scene, his past five or six albums were all recorded in Chicago. “I enjoy recording here,” he remarks. “There’s a spot called Palisade, another called SHIRK Studios. They’re comfortable. They feel like home. But having a connection to New York allows me to continue to expand. There’s some cats I still haven’t played with, and New York is a city of inspiration, it makes you a little sharper. ‘Iron sharpens iron,’ as I always say.”

Photo Credit: Kenneth Leftridge

Marquis Hill, trumpet
Joel Ross, vibes/marimba
Michael King, piano
Junius Paul, bass
Corey Fonville, drums

Guests

Gerald Clayton, piano
Makaya McCraven, drums
Jeff Parker, guitar
Josh Johnson, Caroline Davis, alto sax
Samora Pinderhughes, Manasseh, Christie Dashiell, vocals

RELEASE DATE: August 30, 2024

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