Marquis Hill Family Band at the Village Vanguard

Marquis Hill Family Band
The Village Vanguard
New York, NY
March 19, 2026

Critically-acclaimed trumpeter and composer Marquis Hill brought his Family Band to the Village Vanguard on March 19th as part of weeklong residency marking Hill's debut as a bandleader. The late set boasted a full hour of five original pieces that bridged hip-hop grooves, hard swing, progressive R&B and more into a dazzling, fully developed spectacle of sound. The ensemble for the occasion was comprised of some of the finest living and currently active performers in the world. The sold-out audience sat rapt in awe at the fiery presentation from start to finish.

Joining Hill were fellow brilliant Chicago-based luminaries in bassist Junius Paul and drummer Makaya McCraven along with Emmanuel Michael from NYC and saxophonist Josh Johnson who currently resides in Los Angeles. Each of these artists frequently have been frequently recognized by numerous polls and lists over the past decade as leading innovators, both as instrumentalists and composers in the greater jazz community. To have all involved together on a single stage allowed for an explosive and captivating group dynamic that was sharp enough to cut diamonds.

Even more impressive was that the set was comprised almost exclusively of unreleased material. The sole exception to this was the opening piece entitled "Minority" which comes from Hill's 2016 release, "The Way We Play." The group wasted no time setting the tone, beginning with an incendiary solo introduction from McCraven. At a sustained breakneck tempo, the group delivered its first air tight unison melody followed by contrasting solo passages from Hill, Johnson, and Michael. Hill opted for bop-based approach against a fairly strict swing feel—even quoting Charlie Parker's "Donna Lee" for a second—before passing the baton to Johnson who took on a slightly more abstract, searching quality without abandoning the bop vocabulary entirely. The intensity peaked though with Michael's moment, which was a highlight of the entire set. For roughly 5 minutes, Michel displayed a diverse technical, conceptual, and harmonic acumen that acknowledged players like Mick Goodrick, Ben Monder, and Allan Holdsworth simultaneously. In a word, it was spellbinding.

Extended introductions were an ever-present feature of the rest of show. Michael took a spacious turn in introducing the next piece, "Simply Stevie," which featured Hill on various pieces of small percussion that augmented McCraven's ever-present cross-rhythm groove. Johnson delivered a sublime, lyrical solo that felt so tastefully placed, it could have easily passed for written material. Hill soared through the B section before Michael embarked on another epic coda so kaleidoscopic and vast that it could have been conceived of in astronomical units. Bassist Junius Paul took center stage to introduce the following piece, "Grace in Motion," which Hill was commissioned to write for MoMA in dedication of Harlem Renaissance sculptor, Augusta Savage. Paul's approach was uniquely minimal but equally inventive in exploring numerous permutations of the main motif and its suggested detours.

Hill introduced the final two selections of the evening: the plaintive and prayer-like "Vulnerable" and the ending "Fire (Passion, Intention)." The former piece recalled the fragile quality and glacial time feel of Paul Motian's trio work but featured a center departure which acted as propulsive feature for Johnson's heralding sax. The angular and brooding later piece bookended the set with a similar intensity that could be described as a fluid mixture of hard swing and breakbeat. In every aspect of consideration, this performance was a triumph of musicality that was abundantly displayed at any given moment.