If his auspicious 2014 debut Divine Travels brought to light the gospel roots of saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, then this ecstatic work signals a logical growth. Playing a repertoire associated with Mahalia Jackson, arguably the greatest exponent of the Negro spiritual tradition, Lewis captures the intensely emotive character of timeless standards such as ‘Let My People Go’, but most importantly, has found a personal route into this very specific vocabulary. On one hand his unerring commitment to melodic richness is a defining feature of the session, as he and trumpeter Kirk Knuffke conspire to sing and hark through their horns, often creating a soaring beauty in their agile unison lines.

But most impressive of all is the dynamic range of the piano-less quintet in which drummer Chad Taylor, bassist William Parker and cellist Chris Hoffman provide sensitivity and strength, not to mention tightly controlled aggression when the latter two really get into buzz saw bow and scrape. The ghost of Albert Ayler drifts through a lot of the material but then again Old And New Dreams, with Dewey Redman and Don Cherry as a double act of wordless preachers, is also implied in the solemnity of the performance.

Mahalia Jackson became the epitome of black church music, but as she showed through her landmark collaboration with Duke Ellington – the Black Brown and Beige album – she had all the finesse of an opera singer. Lewis’ music is a fitting blend of the passion, intelligence and grace that defined a woman whose spirit is eternal and whose talent remains a monument of modern music.