Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Nat Birchall: Sacred Dimension

149

Nat Birchall: Sacred Dimension

By

View read count
Nat Birchall: Sacred Dimension
Just outside the Victorian architectural splendor of the city of Manchester lies some of England's most beautiful countryside. The area is home to a small group of musicians whose contemporary take on the music of John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, among others, is creating some of the finest and most spiritual sounds around. Trumpeter Matthew Halsall, head of Gondwana Records, is one member of this group. Nat Birchall is a key figure, and Sacred Dimension, his fourth album, finds the saxophonist/composer combining Coltrane influences with the stark beauty of the Lancashire moors to create an exquisitely engaging recording.

Coltrane and Saunders are not Birchall's only spiritual and musical inspirations: reggae is also a major passion and was the music that initially inspired him to play the saxophone. Sacred Dimension has little obvious reggae influence in its sound, but the overall atmosphere of the album—the relaxed rhythmic grooves, the seemingly effortless engagement with the soul of the music—certainly shows an affinity for the genre's classic vibe.

Birchall's band is absolutely in tune with his style. Harpist Rachael Gladwin and pianist Adam Fairhall, both crucially important to the sound of Birchall's Guiding Spirit (Gondwana Records, 2010), make delicate and thoughtful contributions. Nick Blacka and Andy Hay add strong and muscular bass and drums without ever overpowering the lead players. Vibraphonist Corey Mwamba may be used sparingly, but he enhances the dynamics of the music with every note.

"Peace In Nineveh" flows gracefully, with Birchall's sinewy soprano saxophone, Fairhall's dexterous piano and Mwamba's sparky vibes weaving delightful patterns of sound over Blacka's hypnotic bass. "Radiant Will" (a title inspired by a Stanley Crouch article about Coltrane) and the title track showcase Birchall's free-flowing, warm and tender tenor sound, while both "Ancient World" and "Dance Of The Mystic" are filled with magical imagery. Individually these are five delightful tunes; together, they make Sacred Dimension into a truly impressive, and beautiful, album.

Track Listing

Ancient World; Sacred Dimension; Dance Of The Mystic; Peace In Nineveh; Radiant Will.

Personnel

Nat Birchall
saxophone, tenor

Nat Birchall: saxophones; Adam Fairhall: piano; Corey Mwamba: vibes; Rachael Gladwin: harp; Nick Blacka: bass; Andy Hay: drums.

Album information

Title: Sacred Dimension | Year Released: 2011 | Record Label: Gondwana Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.