I came upon a moving and exceptional concert performance by Oscar Peterson- "The Hymn to Freedom" via YouTube. It struck a political and emotional chord with me, so much so that I wanted to pass it along.

The YouTube is long, (6:07), but worth every moment. Go to YT directly to learn about this 2005 concert.

The track was first laid down in 1962, without lyrics. A few months later, Harriette Hamilton was asked to compose lyrics for the tune, which are:

When every heart joins every heart and together yearns for liberty,
that’s when we’ll be free.
When every hand joins every hand and together molds our destiny,
that’s when we’ll be free.
Any hour any day, the time soon will come when men will live in dignity,
that’s when we’ll be free, we will be
When every man joins in our song and together singing harmony,
that’s when we’ll be free.

For of the more of the musical history, links and some snippets:

"This effort at composition made its debut on the Oscar Peterson Trio album, Night Train (Verve 1962) with Ray Brown on bass, and Ed Thigpen on drums. It has subsequently become one of Peterson’s most acclaimed compositions…" The link is here, and also includes a 1963 quote from Peterson, thus: "The bravest man of all is…Rev. Martin Luther King. He has risked his life, not once but countless times."

In The True Origin of the "Hymn to Freedom" Peterson tells how the music and the lyrics came about(snippets):

[ ]I tried, to the best of my ability, to recall the various church renderings of numerous Negro spirituals that I grew up with, and within this form I attempted to construct the melodic and harmonic first chorus of what was to become the "Hymn to Freedom." ….When it was over, Norman came into the studio smiling and said something about, "That’s the way you guys should have played this whole session." Realizing that the material was original, he asked me what the title should be and I decided, due to the predominance of Martin Luther King, Jr. at the time, and the intense focus on the Civil Rights Movement taking place, that it should be called "The Hymn to Freedom."[ ]

Oscar Peterson, in Musician’s Heaven, now, I celebrate you.