Pharoah Sanders - Karma

Pharoah Sanders was a part of John Coltrane's later groups exploring avantgarde free jazz stylings in the 1960s.Sanders possesses one of the most distinctive tenor saxophone sounds in jazz. Harmonically rich and heavy with overtones, Sanders’ sound can be as raw and abrasive as it is possible for a saxophonist to produce. He can also be warm and glowing with his tone. His album Karma contains the song The Creator has a Master Plan which covers the gamut of expression over the course of 32 minutes. There are sections where it reminds me of the cries of a baby being born juxtaposed with other parts that evoke the deep joy of a golden sunrise. Leon Thomas does the vocal parts with a very strong and innovative approach. Besides chanting the words he also uses his unique yodeling technique to great effect on improvised vocal sections that showed that there were other approaches to scat singing previously unexplored. When I first heard this album in 1969 it seemed that half of this song was incomprehensible. The last time I revisited it I couldn't find anything that didn't work for me. I suspect that Lysergic Acid may have help ease Sanders in the direction he took. If you like this you may also enjoy Jewels of Thought. This song is definitely a trip to the deep end so please wait till you are in the right mood to give it a listen.