Enahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou ‎– Éthiopiques, Vol. 21

An Ethiopian nun playing solo piano who released music to raise money for orphan children. This is one of the few records I've played to my partner that she likes, so I guess it must be good enough. She plays really passionate - yet mostly calming - gospel/blues/modal jazz tunes, which is shocking given that she's not African-American. Highly recommended stuff. 2006 cd on Buda Musique.

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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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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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