The Nat Birchall Quartet ‎– The Storyteller - A Musical Tribute To Yusef Lateef

One year and a half after the Sufi-inspired Cosmic Language, Nat Birchall comes back with a tribute to Yusef Lateef, in which apart from interpreting several songs of the legend ("Ching Miau," "Love Theme From Spartacus," Morning," "Ringo Owiake," he writes a few originals dedicated to his musical approach. As with with Birchall, you can expect the best spiritual/deep/modal jazz, but here he has yet again reached new dimension, with more blues and ballad in his repertoire, plus incorporating a few African instruments such as balafon and mbira. 2019 cd on Jazzman.

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Owen Marshall - The Naked Truth

Incredibly deep, dark and psychedelic spiritual jazz by this dude who recorded nothing apart from this album and a single (also included) as a statement against the record music industry. A point of reference would be Herbie Hancock's Crossings and Sextant, but the dark funk and exotica elements combined with the lo-fi, swampy production also gives me a feeling of early Dr. John for some reason. Originally released in 1975 by Aditi Records, this is the 2012 Jazzman cd re-release.

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Various ‎– Spiritual Jazz Vol.8 Japan: Parts I & II

The most recent in the Spiritual Jazz series features 60s and 70s jazz artists from Japan, ranging from bop and spiritual to free jazz and fusion. Outstanding tracks include Minoru Muraoka's blend of jazz with traditional Japanese instruments like the shakuhachi, biwa, and koto, Sadao Watanebe & Charlie Mariano's aggressive free jazz, and Tohru Aizawa's deep spiritual. 2018 2Xcd on Jazzman/Spiritual Jazz.

PS. These Spiritual Jazz cd contain very informative booklets on the artists, but unfortunately my time is too limited to get into the trouble of scanning them. However, since the music is amazing, I strongly urge everyone to buy the actual physical thing to get all the info and of course support the label.

Disc 1
Disc 2 

Various ‎– Spiritual Jazz 5 - Esoteric, Modal And Deep Jazz From Around The World 1961-79

The fifth installment of the Spiritual Jazz series features progressive jazz from all around the world, from countries such Israel, Turkey, Jamaica and Argentina. My favorite tracks are the Indian Louiz Banks's heavy funky raga jazz, Oladepo Ogomodede's gritty cover of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five," and Hideo Shiraki's koto-and-flute based dark, subdue jazz. 2014 cd on Jazzman/Spiritual Jazz.

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Various ‎– Spiritual Jazz - Esoteric, Modal And Deep Jazz From The Underground 1968-77

The first release in a series of compilations on various aspects of spiritual/deep/modal/soul jazz, this cd includes various underground and not too well-known jazz artists and bands from the late 60s and early 70s, most of whom showcase dark jazz and many times with ethnic vibes. My favorite tracks include Lloyd Miller's beautiflu santur-based jazz version of an Iranian traditional song, South African Ndikho Xaba's deep vamp, and the one by Ohio Penitentiary 511 Jazz Ensemble, which consisted of prisoners. 2008 cd by Jazzman/Spiritual Jazz.

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Nat Birchall - Cosmic Language

In his new album, Nat Birchall presents his more experimental and tonal side. The tracks are epic spiritual jazz jams, showcasing a more peaceful and restrained mood than in the more energetic Creation, with the exception of the cataclysmic final track "Dervish." His pianist Adam Fairhall abandons the piano and plays harmonium throughout, which provides the album with a droney sound as well as a likeness to Qawwali music, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan-style. Birchall's sax playing is also on top of the game, playing beautiful touching lines. Truly devotional jazz music by some of the greatest musicians in recent years. 2018 cd on Jazzman Records.

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Nat Birchall - 4 albums (The Sixth Sense, World Without Form, Invocations, Creation)

Nat Birchall is a tenor and soprano sax player from Manchester who plays amazing soulful jazz in the direction of Pharoah Sanders, John Coltrane and Alice Coltrane. He as also played in albums by fellow Mancunian trumpet player Matthew Halsall, owner of Gondwana Records, on which he has released two albums. Below are four of Nat's albums.

Nat Birchall - The Sixth Sense
 

This 1999, much underrated debut album is less immersed in spirituality and possesses a stronger hard-bop sound and contains a cover of McCoy Tyner's "Passion Dance." 1999 cd on Sixth Sense.

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Nat Birchall - World Without Form

 

 

This is his fifth album, and having heard the previous two, Akhenaten and Sacred Dimension, I think this is the one where he moves toward spirituality and sky-reaching majesty, whereas the aforementioned albums were still in a Coltraney My Favorite Things vein before he himself went up in the sky with Ascension. Contains the amazing piano playing of Adam Fairhall and the supreme ballad "Dream of Eden." 2012 cd on Sound Soul And Spirit.


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Nat Birchall - Invocations



 


This is even deeper and more soulful, while also being more free-form. Includes a cover of Coltrane's "To Be." Highly recommended shit. 2015 cd on Jazzman.

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Nat Birchall - Creation



His latest album has an amazing sense of uplifting, liveliness and intensity not found so much in his earlier stuff, and this is certainly influenced by the inclusion of two drummers. Whereas the cosmic vibe - central in all albums - up to this point was more reliant on atmosphere, here it reaches another level accentuated by the energy of the players, who are constantly sprouting colors and ideas.

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