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Over the course of 24 tracks and spanning 2 x 2LPs, we present an overview of the contemporary exponents of Spiritual Jazz; musicians who are intent on bringing something personal to the table, as much as they recognize the importance of those who have paved the way for them. We feature music recorded within the past 20 years and from 15 different countries, including modern classics from veterans Steve Reid and Idris Ackamoor, providing a vital link between the past masters and the enlightened new generation.

It’s pioneers such as John Coltrane, Sun Ra, Pharoah Sanders et al, with their innovations in reaching another plane of consciousness that was and remains uppermost in the minds of exponents of Spiritual Jazz. Fittingly, several of the artists featured on this compilation, such as Cat Toren and David Boykin, are practitioners of the art of music therapy and sound healing, and have absolute conviction in the role of song as solace. The pioneers may no longer be with us, but their saintly selves loom large, shining a light in the darkness, inspiring many a brave new disciple today, as this album will testify: the new wave of jazz is gathering pace and still sounds fresh, vibrant and as relevant as ever. - Jazzman

The complete Don Rendell & Ian Carr Lansdowne recording sessions are now available as individual LPs. We located and acquired the original analogue master tapes from the Universal vaults and created masters at Abbey Road Studios to produce audiophile quality 180g pressings replete with replica artwork - shape, design, and even paper stock. No stone has been left unturned to deliver this absolute labour of love to the highest possible standard! Inside is a link to a printable online pdf which contains never before seen photographs, interviews with the remaining living band members and liner notes from BBC Radio 3 presenter and award-winning jazz writer Alyn Shipton.

The band played together for seven years and during this fruitful time they made a plethora of deeply melodic, post-bop British jazz compositions that later on took influences from Indo and more spiritually guided jazz. Produced by the influential Denis Preston and recorded at his Lansdowne Studios in London, the band was primarily made up of saxophonist Don Rendell, trumpeter/composer Ian Carr, and pianist/composer Michael Garrick. This is UK jazz at its absolute finest and is a treasure not to be missed. – Jazzman

In our latest chapter of Spiritual Jazz, we return to the source – the Impulse! label, and the monumental influence of its most prominent artist, John Coltrane.

Since the first release in the series back in 2008, we have mapped out the growth of the spiritual sound in jazz. Spiritually energized and politically conscious, the spiritual sound in jazz music is one of the most important currents in the music. Our series has charted the growth of the style from early experiments at Blue Note and Prestige to European excursions, exiled experimentalists, and sounds from across the globe. But whenever you think of spiritual jazz, it’s a fair bet that the double exclamation mark and orange and black spine of Impulse quickly comes to mind. 

Home to John and Alice Coltrane, Pharaoh Sanders, Yusef Lateef, McCoy Tyner and countless other musical pioneers, Impulse! was the most important and forward-thinking jazz label of the 1960s. With the music-first attitude of an independent but the clout of a major, producers Creed Taylor and Bob Thiele made Impulse the defining imprint of a crucial decade of social upheaval that still resonates today. They hand picked the top players of the moment and gave them freedom to record the music they wanted, setting out their stall with a bold slogan – ‘The New Wave Of Jazz Is On Impulse!’ 

Here we dive deep into the Impulse! catalogue, bringing celebrated masterpieces from Alice Coltrane and Pharaoh Sanders into the arena, together with lesser known cuts from Phil Woods and John Klemmer as well as straight-up classics such from Yusef Lateef and Elvin Jones. Fifty years on and the new wave of jazz still sounds fresh, vibrant and as relevant as ever. - Bandcamp

The tenth edition of our Spiritual Jazz series takes a closer look at the music Prestige was recording at the start of the 1960s. This was the period when the modal jazz sound pioneered by Miles and Coltrane was starting to percolate through the jazz underground. In its heyday, Prestige was the only jazz label that could hold a candle to Blue Note. Prestige was always quick off the mark to record new artists, and in the years after Kind of Blue the label was quick to release some of the most innovative early explorers of the new style.

Founded as New Jazz in 1949 by 20-year old jazz fan and entrepreneur Bob Weinstock, Prestige was the only other imprint besides Blue Note to capture the iconic jazz sounds of the 1950s, and like its rival it grew to be an icon itself. If Blue Note documented the sound of hard bop in its most carefully crafted and beautifully presented form, the low-key, jam-session approach that Weinstock preferred meant that the music captured by Prestige has a tough, unfiltered energy that was a lot closer to way it was being played live, night after night, by New York's most prominent jazz musicians.– Jazzman Records | Bandcamp

“Tumi, born in 1987 and already an accomplished drummer on the Jo'Burg scene, was at the time studying music at the Tshwane University of Pretoria where he became close friends with opera singers working on the same campus. So unlike some of his US peers Tumi's beliefs are not 'religious'…

This album is neither a jazz mass like Mary Lou William's Black Christ of the Andes, nor a compilation of devotional pieces like Donald Byrd's Christo Redentor. Project Elo stands for Project Elohim, the angelic entities of the spiritual scriptures which are in the drummer's philosophy, a symbol for accomplished human beings. The spirituality the album conveys is attuned to a 21st century syncretic, non dogmatic vision infused with esotericism. Recorded live with no overdubs in two days by a group of friends, this album captures a moment of Eternity and will defy any idea you may have of what South African jazz is. Tumi's music transcends labels and styles. When composing or playing he is only concerned with being true to the primodial source of life, which cannot be confined to any genre.” – Bandcamp

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