Category: The Circling Sun

New Zealand’s cosmic jazz ensemble The Circling Sun comes forth with Orbits, the sequel to 2023’s Spirits and, like it, deftly serves up Yusef Lateef vibes on a platter. The group has all the irreverence and joy that makes spiritual jazz so compelling versus its more competitive, virtuosity-obsessed co-genres—especially when delivered by a group this numerous (an undectet!), you can almost hear the musicians having fun.

Name checking Sun Ra, Pharoah Sanders and Alice Coltrane, The Circling Sun is collective murderer’s row of New Zealand jazz luminaries crafting modal/spiritual jazz. Spirits, released later this month via Soundway Records, is their debut.