Bomb! Even the most casual glance at the landscape of contemporary music will reveal a startling reemergence of jazz. After decades of relative neglect that might have relegated its cultural relevance to the artefacts from the past, new generations of artists - spanning the coast of The United States, Latin American, Europe, Scandinavia, the African continent, and numerous locations in Asia - have pushed forward, reclaiming and reinvigorating it for listeners young and old. Unsurprisingly, given the country's long history at the vanguard of this music, one of the most striking contexts of contemporary jazz is unquestionably within the UK, and among the most noteworthy project within that scene is the Leeds based collective Work Money Death. Returning to the venerable ATA Records with their fourth full-length and sixth release with the label, the project emerges from the ashes of the tragic passing of their guitarist Chris Earl Dawkins in early 2025, with A Portal to Here, a storming vortex of rhythm and tone, drawing upon the emotional weight of this recent loss and a deep well of Spiritual Jazz reference points that place them as the worthy inheritors of a sonic realm first plumbed and mapped by John and Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, and Sun Ra. Issued in a beautiful X2 LP, vinyl edition, complete with extensive liner notes by Richard Ormrod, these are the sounds of hope and tears, and everything that's needed to fortify the soul.

Originally convened to back the saxophonist, Tony Burkill, on his 2017 debut LP for ATA Records, the title of which the Leeds based band subsequently drew their name, Work Money Death shares a rotating and fluctuating membership with parallel groups working in the UK, The Sorcerers, The Lewis Express and Nat Birchall's band. While Tony Burkill has remained a driving force within the project since its inception - forging ahead within brilliantly intoxicating expanses of long-form spiritual jazz that has defined four full-lengths and two EPs - one of the collective's most consistent creative voices was guitarist Chris Earl Dawkins, who sadly passed away in early 2025. Internalizing their fallen brother's spirit and memory, following a period of necessary mourning, Work Money Death now return with one of their most striking releases to date, A Portal to Here, comprising four side long pieces that push their idiom toward a transcendental space.

The current lineup of Work Money Death, as it appears across the length of A Portal to Here is Tony Burkill on tenor sax, Neil Innes on bass, Sam Hobbs on drums, Johnny Richards on piano, and Alice Roberts on harp, with further brass and woodwind contributions from Ben Powling, Richard Ormrod, Kev Holbrough and Steve Parry, collectively working in unison to produce the album's remarkable sonic density and modal grooves. While respective nods to seminal artefacts from the historic Impulse, Strata East, Milestone, and Saturn catalogs are never far from hand, it's equally important to regard this remarkable band and what they achieve with A Portal to Here as being a product of our own present day, and very much its own thing. Whatever you call it and wherever it points, it's first and foremost a joyous meeting of consciousness, creativity, and sound, or perhaps more fittingly, in their own words: "spiritual jazz as testament and tribute. Music for healing. Music for remembrance. Music for transcendence."

Entirely rooted in the practice of improvisation, the four side-long tracks that define A Portal to Here - Pain Becomes Prayer And Prayer Becomes A Song, A Dance For The Spirits, Brother Earl, and Sometimes It's Death - dig deep and soar toward sorrowful heights, clearly pointing toward the looming specter of Chris Earl Dawkins through their titling and the emotional temperaments that rumble at their core. Masterfully constructed by a brilliantly talented band in real time, Burkill's sax cuts like a knife through the pulse provided by the rhythm section of Innes and Hobbs, the rippling lines and cycling arpeggios provided by Richards and Roberts' piano and harp, and the remarkable, layered sheets of tonality provided by the expanded brass and woodwind sections that clearly nod toward the big band potential first unlocked by Sun Ra.

Engrossing, intoxicating, and deeply inspiring with every step and turn, with A Portal to Here, Work Money Death returns with fury, sorrow and depth, pointing toward the future and past within a seamless force that ebbs and flows across its four sides. Issued by ATA in a beautiful X2 LP, vinyl edition, complete with extensive liner notes by Richard Ormrod, before us is a potent reminder of the eternal, evolving power of jazz and sonic creativity unfolding in real time.