{"title":"The Descendants of Mike and Phoebe","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eThe Descendants of Mike and Phoebe were a New York family ensemble assembled by bassist and composer Bill Lee, whose session career had taken him from Bob Dylan and Aretha Franklin to Duke Ellington, Simon and Garfunkel, and Peter, Paul and Mary. For this project, Lee brought together his siblings: Cliff Lee on flugelhorn, Consuela Lee Moorhead on piano, and A. Grace Lee Mims on soprano vocals. The name was an act of deliberate tribute to their enslaved ancestors. Recorded over three days in December 1973 at Minot Studios in White Plains and released on Strata East the following year, \"A Spirit Speaks\" is their only album, and it has become one of the most collected records in the label's catalogue. The music draws on gospel, soul, blues, and free-leaning spiritual jazz, with Billy Higgins and Sonny Brown sharing the drum chair. Tracks like \"Coltrane\" and \"Attica\" carry the political consciousness that runs through Strata East's best work. A 2025 reissue pressed at RTI and mastered by Kevin Gray is the most accessible the record has been in decades.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-descendants-of-mike-and-phoebe-a-spirit-speaks-2025-strata-east-mack-avenue-rsd-black-friday-reissue-lp","title":"The Descendants of Mike and Phoebe - A Spirit Speaks (2025 Strata-East\/Mack Avenue RSD Black Friday Reissue LP)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Descendants of Mike and Phoebe - \u003cem\u003eA Spirit Speaks\u003c\/em\u003e | Vinyl LP - 2025 Strata-East\/Mack Avenue Reissue, 180g Gatefold (SES-19744, Kevin Gray\/Cohearent Audio, RTI)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBill Lee was a bassist, composer and arranger who had played with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and scores of others before he recorded this album with his own family in December 1973. The group took its name from Mike and Phoebe, enslaved ancestors from South Carolina from whom four of the six members are descended. Lee played string bass. His brother Clif played flugelhorn. His sister Consuela Lee Moorehead played piano. His sister A. Grace Lee Mims sang soprano. The album was produced by Lee-Fam Enterprises and recorded at Minot Studios in White Plains, New York over three days. Ron Carran engineered; Howard A. Mims did the cover and liner photography and design.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEleven tracks across two sides, moving from jazz through gospel, soul and blues without treating any of those traditions as separate from the others. The album opens with \"Two Songs For A Boy Named Mark\" — a two-part suite, \"Little Bitty Baby\" and \"Soliloquy To A Man-Child.\" \"Coltrane\" is an instrumental tribute. \"Well Done, Weldon\" and \"Chick Chick\" are uptempo modal instrumentals. Billy Higgins — who played with Ornette Coleman, Thelonious Monk and Herbie Hancock before becoming one of the most recorded drummers in jazz — appears on \"Well Done, Weldon,\" \"A Spirit Speaks\" and \"Attica.\" \"Attica\" is a direct response to the 1971 prison uprising. \"Take My Hand, Precious Lord\" is the Thomas A. Dorsey gospel hymn from 1932. \"Boll Weevil\" is the traditional blues.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe original 1974 Strata-East pressing is rare and expensive. This Mack Avenue reissue was mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio directly from the original analog tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI. It was released as a Black Friday Record Store Day title on November 28, 2025.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Strata-East","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43431553302587,"sku":null,"price":100.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0630\/3203\/3339\/files\/a3972882195_10.jpg?v=1776513075"}],"url":"https:\/\/lushliferecords.com.au\/collections\/the-descendants-of-mike-and-phoebe.oembed","provider":"Lush Life Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}