The vocal group Afro Blue was founded (in 2002) by its director, Connaitre Miller, Jazz Voice Coordinator at Howard University in Washington, DC. Miller's approach to vocal jazz is patterned after that of such celebrated groups as Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, the Manhattan Transfer and Take 6, a blueprint that has served Afro Blue well and led to numerous awards, locally and nationally, recognizing its excellence as a group and the primacy of its three previous recordings from 2013-15. We Shall Overcome presents the ensemble circa 2017-19 in a series of bright and snappy arrangements that serve to amplify Afro Blue's already eminent reputation as one of the country's premier collegiate vocal jazz consortiums.

Miller's uncommon design is evident from the outset, as Afro Blue sings—and scats—the revered anthem "We Shall Overcome" as you've no doubt never heard it before, opening with a soulful New Orleans-style second line beat to back a trim vocal (and scat) by Ekep Nkwelle. She's soon joined by the ensemble, there's more scatting by Rickey Brown and a vibrant piano solo by