New Zealand"s jazz luminaries have assembled to form an all-star cluster: The Circling Sun. Originally formed in mid 2000s, the New Zealand based jazz collective, are set to release their debut LP Spirits, an eight track collection that channels the greats of spiritual and modal jazz and their own unique South Pacific spirit and sensibility. The group pay homage to Afro-American genre pioneers such as Alice Coltrane, Yusef Lateef and Pharoah Sanders, whilst incorporating a whole lot of love and appreciation for a myriad of Afro, Latin and contemporary musical forms. The choir used for the recording is made up of mostly Pacific Island and Maori singers and artists, an important acknowledgement of and reflection on their countries own culture and heritage that seeps into all their work.[info sheet from distr.]