Review: Levitation Orchestra - Sanctuary (5dB Records)

If you can have a new favourite "10-piece cinematic jazz fusion collective", Levitation Orchestra at it and their latest album, 'Sanctuary' is where it's at.

Formed in 2018, this is their third album and the 'Embrace' and 'Imladris' have been played on BBC Introducing, Radio 3 and Worldwide FM with a gig as part of EFG London Jazz Festival on 17th November at Islington Assembly Hall.

We know this is a project Mackwood is involved in, real name Harry Ling (drums) is involved with (see HERE) but there's also other leading lights on the UK jazz scene like James Akers (tenor sax - also with Nadav Schneerson, see HERE), Maria Osuchowska (harp), Lluís Domènech Plana (flute) and Plumm (on vocals).  It sounds very 'Tomorrow's Warriors' as founder/trumpeter/leader/arranger, Axel Kaner-Lidstrom created the team from a "non-elitist approach to creativity" workshop.

If anyone is looking to have a modern day Pharoah Sanders/Sun Ra view of 'Sanctuary' from a Cinematic Orchestra jazz sperfective, there's no better place to look than these eight tracks with the meditatve title track to starts things off along with tracks like 'Breath' and 'Home'; a track featuring Plumm vocals and the harp making it closer to the Alice Coltrane 'school' (Ed. or should that be 'ashram'?).

'Home' links with 'Within Us, WIthout Us' as they gets their cinematic rocks on alongside BRUK leanings and the horn attack giving the group a modern Big Band amalgum  Hardly live from the Mecca Ballrooms as 'Imladris' is the intermediate step to the other extreme, 'Premedetatio Malorum' boarders on jazz-dance sounds with the vibes echoing more Ruth Underwood (Zappa) than Roy Ayers whilst there's a bit of a Spanish theme going on: JazzCoTech dance sweat!

All this is a build up to the 9 minute opus 'Another Way' - a ambient-folk-jazz-rock statement if there was one (I hope one day we'll hear a live version where the closing paino riff gets extended into a full on Van der Graf Generator blast out).  

No surprise then that all the big heads are on this, Craig Charles, Gilles Peterson, Jez Nelson, Robbie Vincent as there's something for everyone.

BUY LINK / PRE-ORDER Vinyl: Sanctuary | Levitation Orchestra

Artist: Levitation Orchestra 

Title: Sanctuary

Label: 5dB Records

Release date: 14th November, 2025

Cat.No.: TBC

Format:Vinyl /Digital / Bandcamp