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Nat Birchall Sextet: Exaltation / Live In Athens Vol 1

By Chris May
December 7, 2020
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Nat Birchall Sextet: Exaltation / Live In Athens Vol 1

The saxophonist

Nat Birchall

saxophone, tenor
b.1957

" data-original-title="" title="">Nat Birchall is, alongside his friend the trumpeter

" data-original-title="" title="">Matthew Halsall, one of the instigators of the spiritual jazz scene centred around the northern British city of Manchester, two hundred miles and a lifestyle north of London. Birchall self-released his debut album, The Sixth Sense, in 1999.

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane,

Yusef Lateef

woodwinds
1920 - 2013

" data-original-title="" title="">Yusef Lateef,

Pharoah Sanders

saxophone, tenor
1940 - 2022

" data-original-title="" title="">Pharoah Sanders and

Alice Coltrane

piano
1937 - 2007

" data-original-title="" title="">Alice Coltrane were among his formative influences and his music continues along the trajectory they mapped out.

Birchall last recorded with his own band in 2019, on the delightful The Storyteller: A Musical Tribute To Yusef Lateef (Jazzman), the first of possibly several tributes which may be released to mark Lateef's centenary in 2021. If so, it will be a hard act to follow. On the album, Birchall added bass clarinet, zurna, argul, balaphon, mbira, gunibri, bells, shakers and guiro to his battery of instruments. On Exaltation / Live In Athens Vol 1 he plays tenor saxophone only.

Exaltation was recorded in late 2018, a few months before The Storyteller was released. Pianist

Adam Fairhall

piano
b.1976

" data-original-title="" title="">Adam Fairhall and drummer and percussionist Andy Hay are heard on both albums.

Seth Bennett

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Seth Bennett replaces bassist

Michael Bardon

cello

" data-original-title="" title="">Michael Bardon in Athens, where on one of its performances the quartet was joined by the like-minded Greek musicians

Harris Lambrakis

flute

" data-original-title="" title="">Harris Lambrakis on ney (Egyptian end-blown flute) and

Nikos Sidirokastritis

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Nikos Sidirokastritis on drums.

The album opens with Lambrakis' "For Michalis," which takes up all of side one of this limited edition LP. It is followed by Birchall's "Exaltation" and "Humility." Birchall takes as his launch pad all but the furthest sonic reaches of mid and late period John Coltrane, and his solos are as gritty as they are seraphic. The album's subtitle suggests a second volume is in the pipeline. Let us hope so. (If you are reading this review, two recent AAJ articles which you may have missed might be of interest. An Alternative Top Ten Yusef Lateef Albums and an interview with Matthew Halsall).

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Track Listing

Side One: For Michalis. Side Two: Exaltation; Humility.

Personnel

Nat Birchall

saxophone, tenor

Harris Lambrakis

flute

Adam Fairhall

piano

Seth Bennett

bass

Nikos Sidirokastritis

drums

Additional Instrumentation

Nat Birchall: tenor saxophone; Harris Lambrakis: ney; Adam Fairhall: piano; Seth Bennett: bass; Andy Hay: drums, percussion; Nikos Sidirokastritis: drums.

Album information

Title: Exaltation / Live In Athens Vol 1 | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Parafono

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