The Descendants of Mike and Phoebe | Strata East, 1974

The Descendants of Mike and Phoebe were a sibling ensemble formed in New York around bassist and composer Bill Lee, one of the most in-demand session players of his generation and a musician whose credits stretched across jazz, folk, blues, and soul. Lee assembled his brother Cliff on flugelhorn, sister Consuela Lee Moorhead on piano, and sister A. Grace Lee Mims on soprano vocals, with drummers Billy Higgins and Sonny Brown completing the group. The name honoured their enslaved ancestors. Recorded in December 1973 and released on Strata East the following year, "A Spirit Speaks" is the group's only album: a single, focused session that moves through spiritual jazz, gospel, and blues with a communal purpose that places it firmly within the Black self-determination spirit of the Strata East catalogue. It has been reissued twice, most recently in a 2025 180g pressing mastered by Kevin Gray, reflecting the sustained demand the record continues to attract among collectors.