With Sacred Dimension, British saxophonist Nat Birchall plugs right into the flaming core of early-1970s modalspiritual jazz, as originally propagated by McCoy Tyner and Pharoah Sanders in the wake of John Coltrane's death. With bells and shakers, Adam Fairhall's Tyner-esque piano, and Rachel Gladwin's Alice Coltrane-ish harp, opening track ‘Ancient World’ could very easily pass for a cut from Tyner's 1970 album Extensions; while the title track's limpid free-flow echoes Sanders’ ‘Greetings to Saud’, from his 1973 album Elevation. But this is more than just clever pastiche – and Birchall is obviously deeply committed to both the spiritual message set in motion by JC and his disciples and Trane's musical lessons. His soprano on ‘Ancient World’ plays out as a series of melodic permutations, owing much to Coltrane's dogged interrogations of simple themes. And, ‘Dance of the Mystic’ sets the scene for a tenor solo crammed full of ephemeral references to Coltrane motifs. This one comes straight from the heart.