Jazz doesn't get more spiritual than "Eyes of the Heart" by Keith Jarrett and his American Quartet with Dewey Redman, Paul Motian and Charlie Haden. Turn out the lights and fire it up.
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@simonmoon Shabaka and the Ancestors are great! I’m listening to “ We Are Sent Here by History“ right now and I also have “Wisdom of Elders”. Have you heard anything by “Comet is Coming”? It’s another band from Shabaka Hutchins. |
I love to see some recent entries in the spiritual jazz subgenre mentioned above! Muriel Grossmann, and Kamasi Washington are great modern successors. For more contemporary spiritual jazz, also check out: Nat Birchall Shabaka and the Ancestors The Circling Sun Matthew Halsall Chip Wickam Mammal Hands Hania Rani Caoilfhionn Rose |
Here's one you might not know. Soul Flutes - Trust In Me I bought this in 1968. It was considered an "underground" album at the time. The story was that all the musicians were on an LSD trip during the sessions. Don't know if that's true. It's Herbie Mann with Ron Carter, and a bevy of other greats. Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder. Herbie was under contract to another label so they put this out under a group name without listing the musicians. It's the most relaxing album I've ever had. https://www.discogs.com/release/779627-Soul-Flutes-Trust-In-Me |
I have to second Cannonball, anything he did really. I particularly like Operation Bread Basket, hard to find, but the spirit he projects and that his live audience responded to captures the essence of soul jazz circa 1970. In a completely different vein, listen to the great Shirley Scott. Anything she ever did is enough to shake any living being to the depths of their being. |
Here are some of my Spiritual Jazz favorites: John Coltrane - A Love Supreme 1965 Philip Cohran and the Artistic Heritage Ensemble - On The Beach 1968 Herbie Hancock with Albert Heath and Don Cherry - Baraka 1970 Alice Coltrane - Journey In Satchidananda 1971 Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Prepare Thyself to Deal With a Miracle - 1973 Michael White - The Land of Spirit and Light 1973 Don Cherry - Brown Rice 1975 Steve Reid - Nova 1976 Kamasi Washington - The Epic 2015 Muriel Grossmann - Devotion 2023 Liberation Music: Spiritual Jazz and the Art of Protest on Flying Dutchman Records 1969-1974 Celestial Blues Cosmic, political and spiritual Jazz 1970 to 1974 A Loud Minority Deep Spiritual Jazz from Mainstream Records 1970-1973 (I’m a big fan of this genre)
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Man, I wrote this detailed thing and inadvertently wiped it. I agree that spiritual jazz and soul jazz are different. Spiritual jazz typically claims to be rooted in A Love Supreme, as @frogman noted, but the sounds can be very different- the concept of "transcendence" through music is a common denominator, but that’s true of a lot of music. Alice Coltrane did some amazing records before she left for the ashram. This track, on Ptah, the El Daoud, is worth the price of admission: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUMuDWDVd20 The record was out of print since 1974 and finally got reissued from a digital master in the last couple years. The goldmine, as I learned from a fellow collector, was probably the Strata-East label, a small collective. Cecil McBee, probably one of the most tuneful bassists, is on some of the records, but there are great ones and clunkers- the catalog has been reviewed a number of times. Interestingly, the Grubbs brothers out of Philly, who had a group called The Visitors, and did what is considered archetypal "soul jazz" were related to Coltrane’s first wife. Bobby Hamilton’s Dream Queen is sort of a slo-fi lounge act, but it became a cult record commanding high prices. The title track is a killer. It was reissued from the tape, cut by the notorious Bernie G. and should cost you 30 bucks, rather than 4 figures for an OG. That was a private label release, as were many others in the spiritual jazz vein. Milt Ward and Virgo Spectrum-- reissued but from a needle drop. An OG is hard to find and probably pretty pricey now. Jothan Callins, an educator out of Birmingham, Alabama who studied with Nathan Davis at Pitt and played with Sun Ra’s orchestra did a one and done as a featured artist called Winds of Change. I do not know if that was reissued on vinyl. Finding the masters is very difficult for these small pressings. Pharoah’s self-titled, on the India Navigation label, is another rarity and commands big money. It was reissued, pulled from a digital file. Harvest Time is the track. It’s very meditative, and doesn’t have his signature aggressive squawk. Other small labels- check Nimbus West, Horace Tapscott; Tribe in Detroit, Black Jazz, a label funded by Dick Schory, famous for some of the percussion spectaculars like Bang, Barroom, is more soul and funk. I’ve written about a number of these, but there’s lots of info on the web. I’d say just dig in and listen. Almost anything that Cecil McBee plays on is good, even if it is straight jazz, blues or more esoteric stuff- listen to his work on Art Pepper’s late recording of Patricia-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXNpG0w_rks It’s Art, Cecil, Roy Haynes and Stanley Cowell on piano- Cowell co-founded Strata East. There’s also new work being released in both genres. There’s an English collective called Maisha that worked with Gary Bartz, one of the original sidemen from the period. The record was cut direct to disc and isn’t terribly expensive. Part of the fun is exploration. These guys were cutting new ground at the time- a lot of it due to the recession in mainstream jazz, the emergence of black power and focus on the local community, as well as the entry of Eastern influences. You can hear this in Abdul Wadud’s By Myself, a classically trained musician who was also into free jazz. That album was reissued a few years ago-- another rarity that is now accessible for a modest price. You’ll find some stuff that resonates and other stuff that is perhaps a little too out there. But, it will also expand your listening horizons: some stuff I would have regarded as cacophony is now readily digestible.
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For me, two different genres. Soul Jazz: funky with emphasis on the groove. Groove which has more of a straight, even eighth note feel as opposed to the typical Jazz “swing” feel where the upbeat is closer to the following downbeat, A few that come to mind. Not strictly from the 70s and beyond, but favorites and perhaps new to you. Horace Silver’s “Song For My Father” is an early and influential example and a great record. Cannonball Adderley “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy”. Classic. Les MacCann “Swiss Movement”. Classic. Lou Donaldson “Funky Mama” Most things by Hammond B3 players Richard “Groove” Holmes, or Jimmy Smith. ——— Spiritual Jazz: As the word says, spiritual, often leaning, or deeply into the avant-garde. John Coltrane “A Love Supreme”. The greatest. Pharoah Sanders/Alice Coltrane “Love Is In Us All”, “Jewels Of Thought” Rahsaan Roland Kirk “Prepare Thyself to Deal With A Miracle” ——— Calling @whart
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