This is the old-school jazz album I reckon Nathan Haines has been hankering to record for a long time.
Haines is surrounded by a small but intuitive band - Kevin Field on the Steinway, Alain Koetsier on drums and Thomas Botting on bass. Haines plays the tenor sax only onthis set - not just any sax but a classic 1964 Selmer Mark VI, and for me he evokes John Coltrane, especially on Realisation, the opening track, and on Ancestral Dance. All but one track, Roy Brooks' Eboness, are originals by either Haines or Field.
Though the 'Trane influence is apparent on some tracks, on others there's more interplay between Haines and Field on sax and piano, singing from the same hymn book. The effortless empathy of the four musicians is the glue that makes The Poet's Embrace a special album, full of depth, subtlety and sublime tenor playing by Haines.
After 20 years of paying dues in various genres, this is Haines' coming-of-age album we've been waiting for.
