I’m coming out of New York City after hearing my favorite band, crossing the splendid Verrazano Bridge, and headed off into the night on the New Jersey Turnpike with the show still ringing in my ears, and a mile wide smile still etched across my face. Some forty minutes later I ask the ol’ man how much the toll’s gonna be, he takes a look, then answers while I grab a twenty dollar bill from the visor and hand it to him. Between then and the tollbooth the old man’s not only lost the ticket, but my twenty dollars, it’s 3:57 in the AM, cars are backed up at the only toll-taker on duty, and without a ticket, I’ve gotta pay the whole length ... can you all see the steam rising here? And yes, heated words were exchanged.We pulled into one of those forever open stainless steel diners, one waitress asleep at the counter, the other doing her nails, and an oddly bright young man mopping the floor. I’m digging things outta my jacket pockets to make sure I don’t have the lost ticket, which I don’t, but what I do turn up is “New Gospel,” by Marquis Hill. Moving past our section, this cat says, “Christopher McBride plays alto sax on that disc, I know him ... well, I’ve met him anyway. I only have a digital copy, where'd you get this?” I flip it over, the man’s right, and when I look up he’s holding a portable CD player, and he says, “Drop it in.” Which I do, and in twenty-seven seconds all of the angst from the drive drain away. I ask our new found friend to sit and have breakfast with us, which he does, but not before dimming the lights, leaving the room bathed in a reflective neon haze, and Marquis Hill plays on.Jessie [the mopper] goes on to tell me that Mr. Hill has worked with a laundry list of artists including Ernest Dawkins, Antonio Hart, Bobby Brown, Corey Wilkes, and draws his innovative style from the likes of Clifford Brown. He goes on to say that jazz is the gospel, and that Marquis Hill is the spokesmen for a new gospel, a funky gospel, one that’s morphing, filled with flavor, smooth and understated without melting into the nothingness of smooth jazz, and laced with enough post-bob edges to hold your attention from beginning to end.This is a first effort, and in that mode one expects to find perfection, but not on the level found here. New Gospel is more than the results of a first effort, New Gospel is a beacon pointing to the outwardly expanding direction Marquis Hill is riding ... and I for one, intend to be on the same road for a very long time.*** This album is currently a digital download from the usual sites, finding a hard copy like this, released several months before the digital, is a breath of fresh air ... much thanks to Kevin Johnson of Delmark Records for sending this my way. This release was the first solo outing from Marquis and is very rare to find on disc, which to do so, means that you were important to the Delmark Record family.Review by Jenell Kesler