Earthborn Tales of Soul and Spirit

...The sound is tremendous, as are the performances...To these ears, (Moulder's aesthetic) is probing and kaleidoscopic.
JAZZTIMES

Reflecting on the inspiring spiritual presence of John Coltrane, Ruby Bridges (the first student to desegregate an all-white New Orleans Elementary School in 1960), and spiritual writer and social activist, Thomas Merton, Chicago guitarist John Moulder composed this set of music in celebration of their ongoing influence. "Earthborn Tales of Soul and Spirit" features saxophonist Donny McCaslin and trumpeter Marquis Hill, along with a cast of Moulder's longtime musical colleagues, including drummer Paul Wertico, bassists Steve Rodby, Larry Gray & Eric Hochberg, and others. "The radiant, life-affirming glow of this music is unmistakable." - Chicago Tribune.

Production Info:

Produced by John Moulder and Vijay Tellis Nayak
Recorded & mixed by Vijay Tellis Nayak at Transient Sound, Chicago, IL.
July 16, 2014 and August 6 and 8, 2014
Mastered by Brian Schwab, Chicago, IL.
Cover design & layout by John Bishop

Reviews of Earthborn Tales of Soul and Spirit

Midwest Record (Chris Spector)
Chicago's own guitarist rounds up a crew of his jazzbo pals that have played with everyone everywhere that matters and leads them through the kind of set Paul Horn (if he played guitar) would have led them through 40 years ago if he were of the same like minded mysticism as Moulder. Influenced by those who were influenced by the far East and the s ...

KUCI - Irvine, CA (Hobart Taylor)
Guitarist/Composer Moulder is joined here by an exceptional cast, including but not limited to trumpeter Marquis Hill, tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin and pianist Jim Trompeter. Like Coltrane, or more recently Larry Coryell or Christian Finger, Moulder takes Indian and other non western musical traditions as points of departure for his own melodic ...

Chicago Tribune (Howard Reich)
In a holiday season when musical treacle is practically unavoidable on the airwaves and in shopping malls, it's comforting to know there's an alternative. For though Chicago guitarist John Moulder's newest recording, Earthborn Tales of Soul and Spirit, wasn't conceived as holiday fare, it addresses spirituality in far deeper ways than we'r ...

Chicago Jazz Magazine (Hyayr Attarian)
Guitarist John Moulder's multi-faceted and ambitious Earthborn Tales of Soul and Spirit derives inspiration from a variety of somewhat disparate sources. These include the works of legendary saxophonist John Coltrane, Trappist monk and social activist, Thomas Merton, and philanthropist Ruby Bridges. The two-part "Ruby's Way" reflects the complem ...

Jazziz (Neil Tesser)
Chicago guitarist John Moulder has proven himself as versatile as he is virtuosic. He's served as producer on a handful of his own albums, and each has a strikingly different theme, purpose and array of musicians. Despite that, Moulder almost always inclines toward big picture concepts — something you could reasonably expect, given that he's spen ...

JazzdaGama (Raul da Gama)
On Earthborn Tales of Soul and Spirit John Moulder finds the beating heart of music in the quietude of meditation and silence broken only by the promptings of the Holy Spirit, which coalesces around the music of this joyous disc – the fifth that the guitarist has recorded with Origin Records. Moulder is a prophetic jazz embodying spiritual values ...

MultiKulti Project (Poland) (Mateusz Krępski )
4 1/2 - STARS John Moulder remains one of the most underrated jazz guitarists in the world. His work combines elements of both jazz tradition, jazz-rock, blues and folk. This Chicago guitarist and composer has developed a characteristic, recognizable style over the years - intense and rapacious, he is a hellishly exact, demanding and incredibly sp ...