Great Spirit

An album led by American tenor saxophonist James Finn, an intense free-jazz player working in the spiritual, energy-driven tradition descending from late Coltrane. Released by Not Two in 2005, Great Spirit marks Finn's first quartet recording, joining his fervent, searching tenor with Deanna Witkowski on piano, Leon Lee Dorsey on double bass, and Klaus Kugel on drums. Across its six movements the album channels Finn's deep engagement with meditation and spiritual practice, drawing on both Eastern philosophies and Native American traditions. Anchored by a tone of Hawkins-and-Webster heft and Coltrane-inspired urgency, the music builds dense, devotional intensity, with the addition of piano opening fresh harmonic space within his characteristically headlong improvising.