Carsten Meinert

Fiercely beautiful Danish jazz from 1968, sworn body-and-soul to the legacy of John Coltrane, and the raw sense of music as a healing force, tearing through the cosmos — but with its own intensely compelling voice, on the line from Copenhagen, to you. So a searching, hurting version of Naima gives way to Meinert’s terrific, succinct, Lateef-flavoured tribute to Alice Coltrane  and a thrilling set of modal originals, including a tender ballad for Martin Luther King.
Remastered from the tapes; 140g vinyl in a deluxe, old-school sleeve, featuring the lovely original artwork by Clovis Gauguin (great grandson of Paul).  Warmly recommended.

“ An incredible record from the Danish scene of the late 60s – beautifully spiritual, and a set that we might well place next to our classics from John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders! The album grabs us right away – not just because leader Carsten Meinert begins the record with aversion of Coltrane's "Naima", but also because his tone on tenor is incredibly moving – both bold and fragile at the same time, as he blows tremendously on the tune, then leads the group through these wonderful modal compositions of his own – all building in this round, elliptical energy through the piano of Ole Matthiessen, bass of Henrik Hove, and drums of Ole Streenberg – as Meinert soars over the top with these incredible solos, and this sense of freedom that still holds onto plenty of soul, and which works with a really inherent sense of rhythm. The approach is wonderful – and the players build together in a style that's certainly informed by the work of the Coltrane Quartet of the early 60s, but which definitely comes through in their own voices as well – not a European rehashing of the inspiration of the Great One – but a step forward, using his genius as a platform" Dustygroove