Samuel Eagles' Spirit - Ask Seek Knock (2017) FLAC

Increasingly incandescent across the London jazz, funk and world music scenes, alto saxophonist and composer Samuel Eagles announces his debut Whirlwind release 'Ask, Seek, Knock' with his band, Spirit (saxophonist Duncan Eagles, pianist Sam Leak, vibraphonist Ralph Wyld, double bassist Max Luthert and drummer Dave Hamblett), breathing life into eight, expansive, original compositions.

Eagles' solo debut of 2014, 'Next Beginning', plus subsequent appearances on studio recordings with other artists, provided the swift impetus to a professional career which had its roots set at the Royal Academy of Music and then nurtured at Trinity College of Music. The saxophonist was mentored and educated by musical luminaries Mornington Lockett and Jean Toussaint, so it's entirely appropriate that Toussaint augments the personnel here by guesting on two numbers with customary flair.

Pairing alto and tenor saxes upfront, as well as overlaying the differing timbres of piano and vibes, affirms the richness of Eagles' writing. His ear for textural combinations and strong, melodious riffs can be heard in the steadfast buoyancy of "Eternity Within My Soul", which teems with improvisational character, and in the searching serenity of "Changed, Changing Still", enhanced by Ralph Wyld's sustained vibes and the lucid double bass expression of Max Luthert.

Beauty, light and courage are symbolized in resolute 'Dreams and Visions of The Son', including a lush, prismatic tenor spotlight from Jean Toussaint and "Hear His Voice" sparks lively, modal conversation between Toussaint and Samuel Eagles, bolstered by the robust rhythms of Luthert and Dave Hamblett.