Much free jazz has a transcendent quality that might be described as spiritual, but jazz can also be spiritual in a stricter sense, as in the sacred concerts of Mary Lou Williams and Duke Ellington, or the Hear, O Israel album by Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter… and a rabbi. This compilation starts off with spiritual jazz in the latter sense: an ambitious version of the Eucharist by Austrian trombonist Eric Kleinschuster. Not every tune is so obviously liturgical: we have the Michael Garrick Sextet with a live version of the eastern-influenced ‘Temple Dancer;, while the African-inspired ‘Afrika Freak Out’, by French saxophonist Barney Wilen, is closer to soul jazz. But wherever you stand on religion – and personally I'm only just shy of the not just atheist but anti-theist position adopted by the late Christopher Hitchens – Spiritual Jazz provides ample proof that the devil doesn't always have the best tunes.