Time Has Come: Music Between The Spiritual & The Soulful CD

Taking their cues from some of the more spiritual and celestial thinkers in jazz's history, German group Cosmic Groove Orchestra have turned their influences into something truly transcendent. Time Has Come has a genuine vibe to it that's fresh and unique - all the tracks recorded live and organically, letting the instruments breathe in the room to create a hothouse of ideas. The instrumentation itself is unique - a mix of harp, electric guitar, drums and double bass. Using the harp in a jazz setting instantly reminds you of Alice Coltrane, and this debt is acknowledged by their cover of her classic Journey in Satchidananda.<br>


The electric guitar really gets to shine though on "Midnight Tango", which stumbles drunkenly at a deathly slow pace while a guitar solo glides wildly over the top playing Eastern European motifs. More conventionally, the two part "Suite Cosmique" reaches for the stars with the harp playing some glorious phrases along the way. "Time Has Come" also showers the listener in melody, with the Bill Frisell-like guitar playing recalling some of Miles Davis's late-60s output.

Ennio Styles