Hymn to Freedom
Context
The only original composition on the album Night Train, this theme was written by Oscar Peterson in the studio on December 16, 1962, in Los Angeles, Norman Granz having wanted a track with the flavor of old blues. Peterson plays the first chorus alone before Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen join him. Named in tribute to Martin Luther King and given lyrics by Harriette Hamilton in 1963, it became an unofficial civil rights anthem.
In the genealogy of jazz
This track belongs to Hard bop. Among the origins and influences of Hard bop: Blues, spirituals, work songs, Bebop (Minton's, Monroe's).