AKHENATEN by NAT BIRCHALL

Following the rapturous reception accorded to last year’s Matthew Halsall album ‘Sending My Love’, Gondwana present Nat Birchall’s debut for this young Manchester jazz label. Nat has earned a reputation over the past thirty years as an impeccable saxophonist. Initially inspired by the great horn men of Jamaica such as Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond, Tommy McCook and Cedric Brooks, Nat found his way into the music of Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, which in turn directed the development of his own voice on his instrument. His sound has been favourably compared to Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders and latter day Charles Lloyd. Check!Akhenaten, meaning effective spirit of Aten, was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who attempted to compel the Egyptian population in the monotheistic worship of Aten, the disk of the sun in ancient Egyptian mythology. Over the four compositions that make up ‘Akhenaten’, Birchall’s mastery of the saxophone flows throughout. The familiar jazz line up of double bass, piano and drums perfectly complement his lead, and combined they exude irresistible brilliance and a knowledge of the music’s roots. ‘Akhenaten’ is a spiritual journey that draws from aspects of the work of John and Alice Coltrane – his playing throughout evokes the reverent hush of Sanders’ ‘Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord’, but all channeled through Nat’s absolute focus – the expression is natural, the performances effortless.