Let the Chaos Calm You: ep. 39 – 21st-Century Spiritual Jazz #3
In this episode of the 21st-century spiritual jazz series In the Name of the Spirit, we explore how contemporary musicians continue the tradition of treating spiritual jazz as an interpretation of “spirit”—a flexible idea that can point to ancestry, ritual, personal insight, social connection, or simply a search for meaning through sound. Rather than prescribing a single definition, the genre invites each artist to shape their own pathway. This mixtape brings together music by Cochemea, Kahil El’Zabar with David Murray, Cat Toren, Matthew Halsall, Alabaster DePlume, and the Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet, along with Steve Reid Ensemble, The Cosmic Tones Research Trio, Ravi Coltrane, Nduduzo Makhathini, and Tobias Wiklund. Across these recordings, we hear different approaches to expressing the unseen, highlighting how spiritual jazz continues to evolve and expand in the 21st century.
- - Cochemea – Procession Of Spirits (Vol III: Ancestros Futuros, 2025 - Daptone Rec.)
- - Kahil El’Zabar, David Murray – In the Spirit (Kahil El’Zabar’s Spirit Groove, 2020 - Spiritmuse Rec.)
- - Cat Toren – Soul (Cat Toren’s Human Kind, 2017 - Catherine Toren)
- - Matthew Halsall – Joyful Spirits of the Universe (Salute to the Sun, 2020 - Gondwana Rec.)
- - Alabaster DePlume – The Sound of My Feet on This Earth Is a Song to You (GOLD, 2022 - International Anthem)
- - Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet – Spirit To All (Spirit To All, 2022 - WMQ Rec.)
- - Steve Reid Ensemble - It Can't Be True (Spirit Walk, 2021 - Soul Jazz Rec.)
- - The Cosmic Tones Research Trio - Spirit if Truth (The Cosmic Tones Research Trio, 2025 - Time Longer Than Rope)
- - Ravi Coltrane – Spirit Fiction (Spirit Fiction, 2012 - Blue Note)
- - Nduduzo Makhathini – Water Spirits: Izinkonjana (uNomkhubulwane, 2024 - Blue Note)
- - Tobias Wiklund – Where the Spirits Eat (Where The Spirits Eat, 2019 - Sundance Music)