The History of Spiritual Jazz: A Transcendent 12-Hour Mix (ft. John Coltrane, Sun Ra, Herbie Hancock, & More)
This article passed through my newsfeed today and, while I haven't had the chance to give either parts a full listen yet, I can guarantee that they'll get plenty of action from me during my work week. I'm sure there are some other jazz fans here on the site who may enjoy this bit of musical history all rolled into a couple of long-play mixes.
I will say, however, that it's a little weird they used the cover of Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew" for the mixes, but didn't include any of Miles' stuff on either mix considering how influential his stuff was for this particular aesthetic, but whatever.
Enjoy!
'Jazz has inspired a great many things, and a great many things have inspired jazz, and more than a few of the music's masters have found their aspiration by looking — or listening — to the divine. But that doesn't necessarily mean they subscribe to traditional religion. As befits this naturally eclectic music that grew from an inherently eclectic country before it internationalized, its players tend to have an eclectic conception of the divine. In some of their interpretations, that conception sounds practically all-encompassing. You can experience the full spectrum of these aural visions, from the deeply personal to the fathomlessly cosmic, in this four-part, twelve-hour playlist of spiritual jazz from London online radio station NTS.
"During the tumultuous '60s, there was a religious revolution to accompany the grand societal, sexual, racial, and cultural shifts already afoot," writes Pitchfork's Andy Beta. "Concurrently, the era’s primary African-American art form reflected such upheaval in its music, too: Jazz began to push against all constraints, be it chord changes, predetermined tempos, or melodies, so as to best reflect the pursuit of freedom in all of its forms."
This culminated in John Coltrane's masterpiece A Love Supreme, which opened the gates for other jazz players seeking the transcendent, using everything from "the sacred sound of the Southern Baptist church in all its ecstatic shouts and yells" to "enlightenment from Southeastern Asian esoteric practices like transcendental meditation and yoga."
It goes without saying that you can't talk about spiritual jazz without talking about John Coltrane. Nor can you ignore the distinctive music and theology of Herman Poole Blount, better known as Sun Ra, composer, bandleader, music therapist, Afrofuturist, and teacher of a course called "The Black Man in the Cosmos." NTS' expansive mix offers work from both of them and other familiar artists like Alice Coltrane, Earth, Wind & Fire, Herbie Hancock, Gil Scott-Heron, Ornette Coleman, and many more (including players from as far away from the birthplace of jazz as Japan) who, whether or not you've heard of them before, can take you to places you've never been before. Start listening with the embedded first part of the playlist above; continue on to parts two, three, and four, and maybe — just maybe — you'll come out of it wanting to found a church of your own.'
https://www.mixcloud.com/NTSRadio/black-classical-history-of-spiritual-jazz-part-1/
Pt. 1
Tracklist:
FRED STONE-THEME FROM LAURENCE OF ARABIA
FRED STONE-ELISSA
BOB THIELE-LAMENT FOR JOHN COLTRANE
BOB THIELE-LOVE SUPREME
DWIGHT TRIBLE-IN THE BEGINNING GOD
MASSIMO URBANI QUARTET-DEDICATION TO ALBERT AYLER
ELVIN JONES-LOVE SUPREME
MASSIMO URBANI QUARTET-DEDICATION TO JOHN COLTRANE
FAMILY OF PERCUSSION-CIRCULUS AQUAE
SUNDAY PALAVER-LAST MARCH
SARAH WEBSTER FABIO-BLACKCLASSICAL REMIXES
CHEIKH TIDIANE FALL-AFRICAN SPIRITUAL SOLDIER
CHEIKH TIDIANE FALL-AFRICAN ANCESTRIAL PIECE
SARAH WEBSTER FABIO-TURN FROM LOVE
SUN RA-ANTIQUE BLACKS
SOLOMAN IRIA-PRAYER
DAVID S WARE-THEME FROM THE STARGAZERS
KARMU DAAHOUD-DEEP RIVER IN HER VOICE
KAHN JAMAL-DRUM DANCE TO THE MOTHERLOADE
MOR THAIM-RETURN OF THE FISHER KING
PYRAMIDS-ANOMAWA
PYRAMIDS-BIRTH SPEED AND MERGING
PYRAMIDS-LALIBELA SUITE
PYRAMIDS-SPEED
PYRAMIDS-KING OF KINGS
PYRAMIDS-INDIGO
PYRAMIDS-YA KE YA KE
PYRAMIDS-LAND OF THE ETERNAL NILE
HERBIE HANCOCK / DON CHERRY / MTUME-KAWAIDA
PYRAMIDS-QUEEN OF SPIRITS
BROTHER AH-SWEET ILLUMINATION
JJ CLAYTON-FRAGMENTS
JEF GILSON-MALAGASY
SAM RIVERS-TOPAZ
EDWARD VESALA-CALL OF THE SEA
ORACY-THE WEIGHT DON'T MAKE THINGS NO LIGHTER
WARREN SMITH-ECHORA
RICHARD ABRAHAMS-DEGREES AND LEVELS OF LIGHT
SUN RA-MAYAN TEMPLES
AMIR BAKRA-I LOVE MUSIC
AMIR BAKRA-BLACK MASS EXCERPT
DON RENDELL-SPACE WALK
WARREN SMITH-ANN OF NIZGH
INFINATE SOUND-SPAIN
INFINATE SOUND-OCEAN
BABATUNDE LEE-LION'S WALK
https://www.mixcloud.com/NTSRadio/black-classical-history-of-spiritual-jazz-part-2/
Pt. 2
Tracklist:
INFINATE SOUND-OCEAN (REPRISE)
GRIOT GALAXY-NECROPHILLIA
GRIOT GALAXY-AFTER THE DREAM
GRIOT GALAXY-DRAGONS
DIZZY REECE-NIRVANA
DIZZY REECE-POSSESSION
DIZZY REECE-CRISIS
CARLOS GARNETT-BLACK NILE
CARLOS GARNETT-DAWID
GRIOT GALAXY-KHAMTI NOBLIA
TWO BANKS OF FOUR-ONE DAY
CHEIKH TIDIANE FALL-FEW MAKA BLACK SNOW
TERUMASSA HINO / MAL WALDROM-REMINISCENCE SUITE
BUILD AN ARK-NATURE
ROY BROOKS AND THE ARTISTIC TRUTH-BLACK SURVIVAL
EDWARD VESALA-WIND
MILTON MARSH-EVERLASTING
DON CHERRY-BRAZILIAN CEREMONIAL HYMN
MUHAL RICHARD ABRAMS-HOW ARE YOU?
ORGANIC MUSIC SOCIETY-RELATIVITY SUITE PART 1
ORGANIC MUSIC SOCIETY-MANUSCHA RAGA KAMBOJI
JOHN COLTRANE-WELCOME
JOHN COLTRANE-OM
KARMU DAÅHOUD-POEM FOR OUR MAJESTIC ANCESTORS
LES OUBLIÉS DE JAZZ ENSEMBLE-NIGGER/UR/AH MUSICIAN
NOBUO HARA SHARPS AND FLATS-SOHRAN BUSHI
BABS ROBERT LOVE PLANET EXTRA POL ACTION-ICE CREAM 70
CHARLES TOLLIVER'S MUSIC-INC RUTHIES HEART
DINAMITRI JAZZ FOLKLORE-KONGO BELLS
AMIRI BARAKA-THERE REALLY WAS AN AFRICA POEM
MASAHIKO TOGASHI-THE BEGINNING
JOHN COLTRANE-DEARLY BELOVED
DAVE LEE JR-SPIRIT VOICES
EDDIE GALE-IT MUST BE YOU
BRUCE JOHNSON-RAINSTORM/CALM/PEACE
DONALD ALEXANDER STRACHAN AND THE FREEDOM ENSEMBLE-SONG OF SEARCHING
COZZI ANATZ-HORTUS
PHILIP COHRAN AND THE ARTISTIC HERITAGE ENSEMBLE-BLACK BEAUTY
AZAR LAWRENCE-THE BEAUTIFUL AND OMNIPRESENCE OF LOVE