Richie Cole: Come Sunday: My Kind of Religion

Links between jazz and religion, from the vocalized gospel inflections of the blues to the masses of Ellington and Brubeck, are many. Here, we meet a “reborn” Richie Cole, whose always torrid alto “sings” with even greater passion. In the opener, “I Believe,” Cole rises to impressive heights atop a throbbing pulse reminiscent of the Charles Lloyd Quartet of “Forest Flower” fame. There’s also a sanctified version of “The Eye of the Sparrow” and an engaging calypso-esque limning of “Amazing Grace” with “Preacherman” Herman Wynter raising the rafters.