When the World Was One

A bright light on the British jazz scene, trumpeter/bandleader/DJ Matthew Halsall has turned a lot of heads since his 2008 debut. On his fifth album, he’s writing and arranging for a large pool of players (including Cinematic Orchestra drummer Luke Flowers, flautist Lisa Mallett and harpist Rachael Gladwin). Here he looks back to the early ‘60s music created by John Coltrane and his compatriots on Impulse! Records. Even so, Halsall has his own voice here, just as his illustrious idols did then: it’s soulful, wide-open and aspirational.