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Guiding Spirit is a follow up to last year’s critically acclaimed Akhenaten (though maybe The Independent were going a little too far in coupling the album’s spiritual leanings and its Manchester origin by calling it ‘rain soaked spiritual jazz from Manchester’). It is an appealing cliche to use though, as Guiding Spirit has definite (but quieter) Pharoah Sanders type leanings and the playing is sombre and muted.

Label owner and co-producer Halsall is making a name for bringing jazz to a wider audience, including the club jazz/jazz dance market, who have been dis-franchised from the wider jazz market for years, and this album is certain to meet that gap. As mentioned the style and execution is consistent with the new wave of jazz on label on Gondwana; a style of soft melody and ‘sound textures’ (‘Going to the Mountain’) and cool (a la Cannonball Adderly) playing (‘Becoming’).

Highly-rated harpist Rachel Gladwin returns on two tracks; ‘Higher Regions’ and the title track, recorded at the beginning of the year, during this year’s cold, winter and her serene playing convey both the magic of the angelic instrument and the mood of a cold winter.

All tracks are originals, though ‘Keep the Light Showing’ borrows heavily from the aforementioned Pharoah Sanders’ ‘The Creator Has A Masterplan’. This a difficult and legendary tune to interpret and that it is done so well, speaks volume of Birchall.

All in all, along with Four Tet, my album of the year.