Some 10 years ago Jowee Omicil was being touted as the next big thing in Caribbean jazz. But the buzz died down before the Haitian saxophonist could make a serious breakthrough in the mainstream, perhaps because expectations were too high, and his recordings, such as Let’s BasH were inconsistent, caught awkwardly between the folklore of his homeland and neo-soul. This new project is a completely different kettle of fish. It is essentially the fulfillment of the talent that set off the hype way back when.

Spiritual Healing is an ambitious concept album, a triumph of socio-political commentary as well as of musical excellence insofar as it celebrates one of the most important events in history, black or otherwise, the 1791 Haitian revolution that saw enslaved Africans overthrow European colonial forces and provide a rare example of those who are exploited besting those who have exploited.

The fact that Omicil has written a suite to convey this rather than a series of compositions gives the music a sense of continuous action or unstoppable, unfolding drama that serves the gravitas of the subject matter. The balance struck between loose, spontaneous interplay, tight rhythmic passages and melodic declarations that could well be a call to arms or a lament for lives given for the cause, is excellent. In any case the leader’s stirring vocals and enticing solos on cornet as well as several reeds makes for a very broad sound palette that is well enhanced by Arnaud Dolmen and Yoann Danier’s agile percussion, particularly the Ka drum as well as western kit, while Jonathan Jurion and Randy KerBer’s keys, at times dissonant and spectral, at times tonal and soothing, add substantial further nuance.

The result is music of immense richness, that stands in the lineage of the African-Caribbean avant-garde pioneered by the likes of the great Jacques Coursil. Omicil comes of artistic age in quite stunning fashion.