With 22 recordings as a leader, and performances around the globe, vibraphonist/ composer Jay Hoggard has been one of the most enduring and innovative masters on his instrument since the 1970s. A direct musical descendant of Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson, Lem Winchester and Bobby Hutcherson, Hoggard’s omni-directional artistry encompasses the myriad musical dimensions of the African Diaspora and its spiritual resonances. Jay’s new recording, Raise Your Spirit Consciousness, is his eighth release on the JHVM label. The album delivers 12 tracks, featuring eight original compositions along with stunning and swinging reimaginations of compositions by Wayne Shorter, Duke Ellington, Thad Jones and Stevie Wonder. As Hoggard wrote in the liner notes, “The music in this recording is intended to help you Raise Your Spirit Consciousness. It is grounded in African-derived global rhythms. The goal is to merge the sacred and the secular in the realm of thanksgiving for our everyday blessings. Let everything that has breath make a joyful noise to praise God.” Collaborating with Hoggard on this splendid recording is a cadre of long-time associates: Dwight Andrews soprano sax and bass clarinet Pheeroan Aklaff drums Nat Adderley, Jr piano James Weidman organ and piano and Kenny Davis bass. Jay Hoggard is a tenured professor at his alma mater Wesleyan University, where for the past 32 years he has directed the Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra and has taught and mentored hundreds of young musicians.