The Descendants of Mike and Phoebe - 1973 - A Spirit Speaks

The Descendants of Mike and Phoebe

1973 

A Spirit Speaks

01. Two Songs For A Boy Named Mark

        a. Little Bitty Baby 3:15

        b. Soliloquy To A Man-Child 2:25

02. Coltrane 4:55

03. Chick Chick 3:04

04. Well Done, Welon 3:07

05. A Spirit Speaks 3:07

06. Attica 5:00

07. Take My Hand, Precious Lord 4:25

08. Boll Weevil 2:00

09. Don't Be A Stranger 2:00

10. Too Little, Too Late 4:10

Bass – Bill Lee

Flugelhorn – Clif Lee

Percussion – Billy Higgins (tracks: 4, 5, 6), Sonny Brown (tracks: 1 to 8, 10)

Piano – Consuela Lee Moorehead

Vocals – A. Grace Lee Mims (tracks: 1, 5 to 7, 10)

Recorded at MINOT STUDIOS, White Plains, New York, December 19, 20 and 21, 1973. Produced by LEE-FAM ENTERPRISES

One of the most unique albums on the Strata East label and that's saying a heck of a lot, given the creative energies flowing through that legendary label! Descendants Of Mike & Phoebe is a righteous little project put together by Spike Lee's father, Bill Lee, and his brothers and sisters Cliff Lee, Grace Lee Mims, and Consuela Lee Moorhead, working here in a group named after their slave ancestors, who are paid tribute in a beautifully flowing batch of tunes! The album is a prime example of an early fusion record combining elements from jazz, gospel, soul and blues as well as a great sign of the times, the early seventies when musical experimentation and coalition was all abound.

Save the drummers, this band is oddly yet aptly name. Four musical children, the sons and daughters of Mike and Phoebe Lee, join on this one and only done for Strata-East, where Lee did a good deal of bass work. What anyone who likes a bit of soul in their spiritual jazz will like are the amazing arrangements, the solid composition, and tight sound of the songs. It doesn't seem to matter which ones feature Billy Higgins (just a few) and which ones feature Sonny Brown, the drumming is solid, though one can certainly perceive Higgins' sound on the short piano led adaptation of "Boll Weevil". The tracks themselves are split between vocal and instrumental tracks. This would be a good time to note that the vocals, largely from A. Grace Lee Mims, are largely classical. Meaning, that while she has a good soul voice, such as on the first part of the opening "Two Songs for a Boy Named Mark", she spends the majority of the album, such as the second part of that first song, using classical soprano vocals. This may please many listeners, but if you're not used to it in a soul spiritual jazz connotation, it can be jarring. It's always well performed, so at least it is clearly what the group desired.

Bill takes over for the next few songs, focusing on instrumentals, and the second song, "Coltrane", is likely the one you know if you're aware of this album at all. It shows the clear abilities of the group to play great spiritual jazz, and though it's Clif Lee's flugelhorn most mocking the mighty Trane, the abilities of the band behind it are just as impressive, which continues on through the next, equally good, song "Chick Chick", and the soulful, moving "Well Done, Weldon". From there, the instrumentals take a back seat to the vocals, and this is certainly where the record gets divisive. Lee Mims' voice is front and center on most of these. This is, on a personal level, not my favorite, but I do love the music behind it. Again, it's all well done, I just wish the vocals were on her soulful side not her soprano one. Things change a bit when Clif Lee takes over the vocals for his composition, "Attica", which is about the prison riots. A good album, then, and of special interest to either vocal jazz lovers or fans of Spike Lee. Indeed, Bill was Spike Lee's father, and is probably best known for being musical director for Spike's first four films, prior to them falling out after Bill's arrest for heroin possession in 1994. Still, the key here is the music Spike's father, aunts, and uncle are making, and it's solid throughout. Why this was never followed up on is not known as it's a fairly well known Strata-East title.

I confess to having trouble separating the music on this LP from the motivations that led to its creation: the name "The Descendants of Mike and Phoebe" was chosen to honor the maternal slave ancestors of the Lee family who are six generations removed from the players (four family members play on the album). Featured on five of the ten tracks is the soprano voice of Grace Lee Mims, which is truly lovely and adds an ethereal element to the underlying jazz. My favorite track on the album is "Coltrane," which features bassist Bill Lee, who really stretches out (you can find him on numerous significant jazz albums from the 60s). This song is probably most familiar to people as played by Clifford Jordan. Cliff Lee on flugelhorn supplies the brass element and along with Consuela Lee Moorehead on piano show that this was indeed a distinguished musical family.

Unfortunately, this seems to be another cultural artifact that few will hear as I do not believe it made it out of the LP era. That is truly a shame, because both the music and the message behind it are worthy of attention. Most of the Strata East catalog is like that.

A quote from the family genealogy, written by William Edwards and cited in the liner notes, is worthwhile to demonstrate. The "Mike" of the title was a slave who was separated from his wife and family. "Mike made a vow to his wife, Phoebe, that he would work in some way to buy his freedom and come to her and the children in Alabama. He remained [in South Carolina] for four years, and by working for his master and at night for himself, made extra money to buy his freedom which he did and came to his family in Alabama. To me, this one act on the part of our great-grandfather, Mike, is worth remembering by all of his descendants. I think it was the highlight of his life. If he, a slave, could do this, how much more ought we free people do for those who are dependent on us?"