With Oneness, Matthew Halsall continues his journey through modal jazz with a great spirituality. A big fan of Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, the Mancunian trumpeter and founder of Gondwana Records has gathered together here old sessions from January, March and September 2008 while he was experimenting and searching for himself. He was barely 25 years old. The tapes also focus on the birth of his Gondwana Orchestra and bring together many musicians who would later become firm favourites, such as harpist Rachael Gladwin, bassist Gavin Barras and saxophonist Nat Birchall. These recordings were kept in a box on a shelf for over a decade at Gondwana Records before Halsall thought it was time to take them down. “I’ve always treasured these recordings and loved how vulnerable, open and free they are, but I felt they were too subtle and sensitive to release early on in my career, so I held them back until now. I also feel now is the right time to release these before I begin a fresh journey with a new bunch of musicians.” Unsurprisingly, John Coltrane’s widow and her legendary album Journey In Satchidananda often comes to mind. And Matthew Halsall’s playing, which is more meditative than ever, is mainly based on exchanges with the other young musicians that surround him. This record is a beautifully moving document that he did well to dig up. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz