The Space In Which The Uncontrollable Unknown Resides, Can Be The Place From Which Creation Arises
by Work Money Death

The Pharoah Sanders influence is of course quite accurate, though it has to be said it's not that obvious or dominant to the point of overshadowing the individuality of this. I would say it might lack some of the intensity and spirituality of the forementioned artist, but it makes up for it by adding a more playful dimension - at least in parts. Also, the Dusk/Dawn idea works like a charm, they are diverse enough but at the same time feel like they belong to the same album, still haven't made up my mind which of the two I prefer. No complaints when it comes to length either, it's more or less ideal.

From Mercury 03/09/2021 18:18 | #267124

(Pharaoh Sanders-style spiritual jazz with 2 big, meaty pieces of transcendent beauty. Really solid album here.)

I wasn’t aware how much I craved some spiritual jazz to swim around in until I pushed play on this. I instantly was just in a better place as I listened.

The album itself is composed of 2 pieces, both about 16-17 minutes, called “Dusk” and “Dawn”.

To say this sounds Pharaoh Sanders would be an understatement, as it is clearly very similar to Sanders’ work. Of course that isn’t a bad thing, as Sanders is an absolute giant and his influence and style has influenced a myriad of artists. But if you are someone who for some reason feels personally offended if a modern artist wears their influences on their sleeves, then you’ll maybe be turned off by this fact.

At the same time, their is a vibrant, joyous, exploratory atmosphere that these musicians create that is their own. For example as the music of “Dusk” builds and shifts and crescendos from its breezy and blissful opening minutes to its clattering, more abstract avant-garde final phase, it’s clear that the musicians have gone into a different creative realm. It’s quite beautiful and inspired.

“Side 2” is a completely different vibe. “Dawn” doesn’t crescendo with a noisy clash of horns nor get particularly avant-garde, instead it is a more consistently uplifting feel and the vocal line/chant comes in and makes the whole thing just groove in a powerful and beautiful way.

I’m no expert on jazz, but I do love the spiritual jazz masters I’ve delved into such as Sanders and Alice and John Coltrane. This is a beautiful modern reimagining of that music. And it’s clear that there is a really beautiful jazz scene alive and prospering in England these days. I look forward to seeing where else it takes us.