Phil Cohran and The Artistic Heritage Ensemble

This one is spiritual jazz that does things a bit differently. Usually, the spiritual aspect is directed towards celebration of God, but this one celebrates the urban spirit. The tribal vibe is what the underground sounds, doesn't matter where you're from. It's only how you distill, rearrange, and interpret the sounds in your head that will determine your thoughts on this one.

Thankfully, this album is a small bite, even for unseasoned veterans of jazz, which is a huge plus. All the moments here are easily digestible and highly enjoyable.

Highlighting a reshuffling of artists and sounds at its best--a horn from Sun Ra's Arkestra, future brass of Earth, Wind, and Fire, and guitar work that would later electrify some Miles Davis live albums--this album lays one of the spiritual bedrocks of Afrofuturism, another step along the way to creating the Great Black Music, looking not only forward in time but also delving into the past (and a re-imagining of it). As our European jazz-nerd brethren have already said, this album is an excellent link from the cosmic jazz of the 50s and early 60s and the later funk sounds that would define music out of Chicago.