The Awakening - Hear, Sense And Feel Vinyl (Blue with Blue Swirl Vinyl) LP

The Awakening were the only “group” recorded by Black Jazz, releasing just two albums—both now among the most collectible in the label’s catalog. Recorded in 1972, Hear, Sense, and Feel marked the band’s debut and featured the same lineup that would appear on the following year’s Mirage.

Hailing from Chicago, The Awakening’s lineup reflected strong ties to the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians), the influential collective that included the Art Ensemble of Chicago among its most celebrated artists. Bassist Reggie Willis and tenor saxophonist and flutist Ari Brown were AACM members and appeared on recordings with figures such as Muhal Richard Abrams, Lester Bowie, and Anthony Braxton.

Other members of the group emerged from the city’s soul-jazz scene, particularly Young-Holt Unlimited, where co-leaders trumpeter Frank Gordon and keyboardist Ken Chaney performed. Trombonist Steve Galloway also contributed to Melvin Jackson’s soul-jazz classic Funky Skull.

It is in the space between the free-jazz and Afrocentric explorations of the Art Ensemble and the rhythm-driven soul-jazz sound of Chicago labels like Brunswick and Cadet that Hear, Sense, and Feel finds its distinctive voice. This blue-with-black-swirl vinyl edition includes liner notes by Pat Thomas, author of Listen, Whitey! The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965–1975, which provide valuable context for both the label and the band.