400 essential spiritual and cosmic jazz records, selected and annotated by DJ Amir Abdullah (180 Proof Records, Strata Records) and Manu Boubli (Comet Records, Superfly Records). Five chapters trace the genre from its mid-1960s awakening through its golden age to the artists reimagining it today, with rarity scores, collector's checkboxes and full-color original artwork throughout.
The 1960s saw radical changes in the world of jazz, as musicians sought a newfound purpose in an era of political turmoil and rising cultural consciousness, searching for fresh approaches to the form that would sonically illuminate the state of the world and what lay beyond. Artists like Sun Ra, Pharoah Sanders, and Alice and John Coltrane built a creative foundation that emphasized peace, universality, devotion, and cosmic awareness through music, and came to be known as spiritual and cosmic jazz.
Influential friends and figures in the spiritual jazz scene, including musicians, scholars, and experts like Gilles Peterson, King Britt, and Matthew Halsall have contributed lists of their favorites, giving insight into the personal connection these songs have with so many.
Written by Amir Abdullah and Manu Boubli. Edited by Andrew Mason. First volume of Vinyl Digest, the series of collector's field guides published by Dust & Grooves Editions.