AKHENATEN by NAT BIRCHALL

A deeply meditative offering of heartfelt Spiritual Jazz, in the classic mode of late 1960s/early 1970s John & Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders

Akhenaten was the first album Nat released on the fledgling Gondwana label back in 2009, it was the second release on the label and has remained a hugely popular and much sought after album ever since.

Jazzman Records issued a vinyl version in 2016 (which quickly sold out and is now a collector’s item)
and Nat reissued a CD version a few years later, but this is a much needed and long awaited new vinyl pressing.

The album on the whole features a quartet, and is expanded to a quintet on the title track where UK trumpet virtuoso Matthew Halsall joins in with a stunning solo. The album explores deep, hymn-like themes at length, finding much to say on the relatively simple melodies and arrangements.

Nat and his fellow band members play here with the selfless motivation and focus that's required to allow them to tap deep into the human psyche, producing music that is soulful and stately. Very different from most modern jazz styles played nowadays, the music has a timeless beauty that will stand the test of time.