#4602 Spiritual Jazz From the UK (Mostly)
One mentions “spiritual jazz” usually in the same breath as John Coltrane and his masterpiece A Love Supreme, released in 1965, which “laid bare all of the demons that he had previously struggled with and purged them though song,” (udiscovermusic.com.) Then there’s the transcendental chant mixed with gospel of Alice Coltrane, the otherworldly cosmic jazz of bandleader, Afrofuturist, and composer Sun Ra, and legendary sax player Pharoah Sanders’s musical journey, The Creator Has A Master Plan. Check the four-part playlist of spiritual jazz from London online radio station NTS.
For this New Sounds, hear some of the UK-based players of “spiritual jazz,” which also embraces gospel, soul, Afrofuturism, trance music, and continues to circles the globe to include Eastern practices and world music as musicians seek out connections. Listen to music from trumpeter Matthew Halsall, whose sound “draws on the heritage of British jazz, spiritual jazz, world music and electronica influences, and even modern art and architecture,” (Bandcamp.) Hear playful and organic music from a live Salute to the Sun session of seven musicians, including harp and percussion, recorded during lockdown in November of 2020, in the Manchester venue, Hallé St Peter’s.
Then, listen to music from US-born, India-raised, London-based drummer and tabla player Sarathy Korwar together with the Upaj Collective, recorded at Church of Sound in London. Hear an arrangement of music by Alice Coltrane, which combines East Indian music, jazz, and electronics. There’s also music from Flock, an impromptu collaboration which brings together London jazzers and experimental players: Bex Burch (Vula Viel), Sarathy Korwar, Dan “Danalogue” Leavers (Soccer96, The Comet Is Coming), Al MacSween (Maisha) and Tamar Osborn (Collocutor). Plus, music from Belgian band Stavroz, who play with jazz and electronica inspired by the founders Balkan roots, and more. - Caryn Havlik
Program #4602 Spiritual Jazz From Europe (Mostly England)
ARTIST: Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, London Symphony Orchestra
WORK: Promises, Movement 1 [1:00]
RECORDING: Promises
SOURCE: Luaka Bop
INFO: luakabop.com
ARTIST: Matthew Halsall
WORK: Salute to the Sun (live) [9:47]
RECORDING: Salute to the Sun – Live at Hallé St. Peter's
SOURCE: Gondwana Records
INFO: matthewhalsall.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Stavroz
WORK: The Finishing [8:01]
RECORDING: The Ginning EP
SOURCE: Delicieuse Records
INFO: delicieuserecords.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Sarathy Korwar feat. Upaj Collective
WORK: Alice Coltrane: Journey in Satchidanada [10:25]
RECORDING: My East Is Your West
SOURCE/INFO: sarathykorwar.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Flock
WORK: Expand [8:01]
RECORDING: Flock
SOURCE: Strut Records, Due out May 20, 2022
INFO: flock.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Contours, ft. Abel Selaocoe & Callum Connell
WORK: Keld [6:00]
RECORDING: Balafon Sketches
SOURCE/INFO: contoursmusic.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Matthew Halsall
WORK: Harmony with Nature (live) [8:50]
RECORDING: Salute to the Sun – Live at Hallé St. Peter's
SOURCE: Gondwana Records
INFO: matthewhalsall.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, London Symphony Orchestra
WORK: Promises, Movement 1 [1:00]
RECORDING: Promises
SOURCE: Luaka Bop
INFO: luakabop.com
