Customer Reviews

Karma

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One day (after years of Jazz listening) I saw this cd and decided to give it a try. I had never listened to Sanders before and had no idea what I was going to hear. Seconds after "The Creator Has a Master Plan" started playing I felt like breathing for the first time in years... like if I had just come out from the water and had a deep breath! That's how I feel about this album. A breathtaking musical experience! Long? Yes, but it actually pays off! It is free, damanding and never boring or anything like that. Since then, I have been a Sanders fan all the way and I really think one cannot talk about Jazz and not to know Sanders (and this album particularly). It's incredible how one can be so free, so full of life and be able to pass those feelings so well to the listenner. A master plan by a master musician. For your soul!

Pharoah Sanders' 1969 album, "Karma", is generally (and rightfully) acknowledged as one of the masterpieces in the free jazz movement of the '60s. The majority of the album is absorbed by the lengthy "The Creator Has a Masterplan", with a brief second piece, "Colors" also on the record. "The Creator Has a Masterplan" has worked its way into jazz consciounsess, becoming a standard of sorts performed by everyone from Louis Armstrong to Don Cherry to Jamaaladeen Tacuma. Composed by Sanders and vocalist Leon Thomas, it receives on this album a sprawling treatement (extending nearly 33 minutes) that is something to be heard.

Beginning with a swelling theme by Sanders (on tenor exclusively), with a nimble rhythm section including Lonnie Liston Smith on piano, Richard Davis and Reggie Workman on bass, William Hart on drums, and Nataniel Bettis and Thomas contributing percussion, Sanders evokes a mood-- mysterious, spiritual and haunting in his blistering playing with falutist James Spaulding and french hornist Julius Watkins countering him ably. After a couple minutes, the piece bleeds into a relaxed tempo with one bassist plucking the familiar bass theme and one by one instruments joining-- swiping piano, flute doubling the main theme, and Sanders at his most lyrical and emotional until finally Thomas intones the chorus to the piece (oddly enough, the verses are not included in this recording).

What follows is the beginning of an explosive improv-- Thomas in his odd yodelling style, Sanders ferocious on tenor, and Smith at the piano all take turns, with the rest supporting-- increases in tempos signal increases in the power of the improv and the preceedings rise and fall repeatedly-- the opening theme is reprised, the main theme is reprised, and it builds one last time until Sanders doubles the main bass line towards the end (about 28 minutes in) and plays one of his loveliest and most powerful solos to bring the piece to its conclusion.

When it's done, "Colors" almost seems like a waste of time-- a reasonable song with some nice playing and a pretty goofy lyric about the colors of nature, its altogether a fairly pointless piece, inoffensive, but not terribly inspired after 'Creator'.

The CD reissue includes lyrics for both pieces (including the unsung verses of 'Creator') but sadly no essay in the liner notes. Sonically, the remastering on this recording is superb and it sounds crisp and clear.

Interested parties after hearing this should dig up Leon Thomas's "Spirits Known and Unknown", he performs "The Creator Has a Masterplan" (among other cuts) in a briefer version with its full lyrics intact and an ensemble that includes several of the players here. Both recordings are highly recommended.

Although a protege of "John Coltrane", Pharoah Sanders, unquestionably remains one of the most distinctive tenor saxophonist's of his generation, Pharoah's style of passionate, Exuberant jazz is Harmonically rich and heavy in sound & tone, and although his music is largely considered to be expressionistic, spiritual free jazz, into a ultra-dense flurry of sound that relied heavily on the non-specific pitches and timbral distortions. (although his later music would inhibit a sense of gentler tones and more cerebral tones, without sacrificing any of the intensity that he was known for).

His 1969 landmark album "Karma", was his third album as band leader, and was probably not only his most distinctive album, but also the album that truly encapsulated his considerable talents onto one studio recording. If you've ever heard people refer to music as 'Spiritual', this arguably could be a form/level of music that is, in parts, impeccably performed & arranged performances largely due to the stunning line-up: (Reggie Workman - Bass, Pharoah Sanders - Sax (Tenor), Freddie Waits / Billy Hart - Drums, Nat Bettis - Percussion, Ron Carter/ Richard Davis - Bass, Lonnie Liston Smith - Piano, James Spaulding - Flute, Leon Thomas - Percussion /Vocals, Julius Watkins - French Horn).

The album is broken down into two tracks (??), the main meat of the album, is the first track "Creator has a Master Plan", which runs at a staggering 32 minutes. Most musicians would struggle to fill even half of that running time with a track that'll retain the listeners attention, but such is the confidence and creative ability of the musicians involved here, that Pharoah and his band easily creative a completely jaw-dropping track, that is the musical equivalent of a huge multi-threaded story, in which sounds, arrangements, solo performances and deep commitment to a constantly evolving sound, all work alongside each other fleshing out the sound, producing something incredibly organic, and spiritually freewheeling at the same time. Think of this as cosmic music, with a heavy influence of time & space augmenting the sound, with African and Indian instruments adding extra substance to the track. The Flute features heavily throughout the track, softening the edges of between the introduction of Drums & Percussion. With simple music repetition giving way that gradual shifts in sound & mood.

The music is heavily textured throughout the track, with the occasional vocal, "The creator has a master plan--peace and happiness for every man.", repeated throughout certain keypoints of the track, although Pharoah's contribution here really shouldn't be underestimated, he frequently features, for almost the entire length of the track carrying melody wherever appropriate, and empowering the music with a Avant-Garde / Free Jazz feel, with a lot of the improvisation firmly on his shoulders. The mood and gradual musical exploration of the track is partly due to his stunning direction, and all of Sander's key elements are fully utilised here. Be it, the Afro-centric spiritualism, sweeping use of mood from long, relaxed intervals to frenetic cacophony, and a deep sense of melody and rhythm. Its far beyond conventional jazz structures and the composition is amongst the most adventurous & organically created / improvised tracks created.

The second track "Colors" which runs at a mere 5 1/2 minutes, was always going to struggle in comparison to the centre piece track, but its inclusion is no less diminished. Sure, as a track, it can't hope to compete with the magnificent undertaking that is the "Creator has a masterplan", but it is a piece recognising the divinity and harmony of life through the simplest of messages. And the tracks religious feeling is cemented by the fact that it feels deeply engaging, and a sound that through Pharoah's dynamics and leadership pushes irrepressibly forward, with Sanders shifting between spiritual peace and violent outbursts in his tenor solos.

If you are prepared to give Pharoah's music a try, then other than possibly buying a 'Best of / Compilation', this is largely considered to be the best of his studio album output. But be warned if you haven't sampled his work before, this isn't Jazz music in the conventional sense, and if the idea of very open-ended music that gradually unfolds over long arrangements doesn't appeal to you, its advisable that you download or hear a track first before you purchase this. Or even if you're relatively new to Jazz, hearing this first before buying, is most definitely advisable, as it's a little bit like being thrown in the deep end of a musical genre. But if you are well adversed with the many facets of Jazz music, or your feeling particularly adventurous (& Patient), this has to be easily amongst some of the most awe-inspiring jazz out there.

This album recieved only 3 stars in it's Downbeat review. Amazing how it has stood the text of time, as has Pharoah himself. Yes, it's a 60s trance album, but it is one of the best ever recorded. Pharoah is a modern shaman.

I've enjoyed this album (oops I'm dating myself) CD since about 1970 and have never tired of it. Regular listening to "The Creator Has A Master Plan" can lift your spirts anytime, anyplace. I had the joy of seeing Sanders and Leon Thomas perform this song and the other track "Colors" a couple of times during a stint they did at a club in Cleveland and it remains one of the great musical moments of my life.

To those who trim a star from the rating because it's "hippy jazz," I say "get a grip." The music of Sanders, Thomas and their excellent accompanyists is pure, unbridled joy. Sanders takes Coltrane's overblowing technique to original heights; Thomas sings the best of his incredible career. Liston Smith's Piano and Reggie Workman's bass are tremendous throughout - in particular they are in terrific form in the parts where they group breaks away from the main theme of "Creator."

Hey Amazon! Can I make it 6 Stars?

I first came across an edited version of "The Creator Has A Masterplan" on a cd sampler....I purchased the full length version the next day.

This album has that indescribable quality of all true classics. It isn't the lyrics, the vocals or the superb improvised passages that make this a great work. It's the mood that the combination of all of the above creates that captures the listener.

The playing lifts you up and carry's you along for the ride. The long soulful vocal passgaes give way to franctic instrumentals segueing into quiet lulls. Underlying all this is a smooth African backbeat which lends the piece its structure.

The best way to listen to this is in a darkened room or in a car at night. Let the music rush through you and let the music build the images in your mind. It is amazing that a record with so few lyrics can be so thought provoking.

The terms freeform-jazz and jazz-funk ordinarly induce horrific images in my mind but this record transcends stylistic boxes in a similar fashion to Van Morrison's Astral Weeks. Analysis is worthless, the album is great becuase it is!!!

From the variations on the bass vamp from "A Love Supreme" to Pharoah's unique solo voice, this disc is a masterpiece. The album seethes, wahing over you with the intensity of Trane combined with the warmth and love of Pharoah Sanders. An essential disc; Impulse! always did it, and they've done it again.

This album is brilliant. Only two tracks, the first, called "The Creator Has a Master Plan" lasting over 30 minutes, Karma is awesome. Slowly building, "The Creator Has a Master Plan" gets grooving almost 9 minutes into it and features a repetition of "The creator has a master plan, peace and happiness for every man." This is really one of those albums that I plan on listening to over and over.

Why did I purchase this? Well, I'd finally managed to get my head around Coltrane's "Mediations" and learned to love it. I happened to pick up a used disc by Alice Coltrane "Journey in Satchimandana". Both of these works feature Mr. Sanders. I got curious and discovered his web site. If you haven't been there you should stop in there soon! The "Tunnel" video is wonderful! So anyway, I picked this up along with "Jewels of Thought".

Both releases are almost 100% wonderful but I do have one thing that bothers me. Leon Thomas' singing is good, he's a good vocalist. There is nothing at all wrong with his bizarre "yodeling" affect... But... it is over used to the point of distraction in my opinion. It really catches the new listener off guard, and that's ok. There is just too much of it. That is the only reason I say 95% Fantastic and Awesome, I just wish there was a little less Leon and a little more Pharoah. Of the two releases I think I prefer "Jewels of Thought" but both are worth owning. I also recently heard "Black Unity" and was totally blown away, I plan to pick that one up as well (no Leon Thomas on that one).

This is an incredibly unique recording and well worth your hard-earned pennies. Note that while most of this CD is gentle, there are spots of intensely chaotic playing, which Sanders is known for. If you have not heard Sanders before, you cannot judge this recording on the basis of the Amazon clips. See if you can find some of his music on a Web radio site (he is out there on some of these sites) or perhaps your library can get some in to their collection.

The beauty of Karma is not the Free Jazz, but rather the repetitive hymnal harmonic chord progression that is uplifting. The vocal aspect is also very nice.

I have this on vinyl and recently listened to it. I can't give it 5 stars, because I can't give an album that is largely a couple of ideas taken ad nauseum 5 stars; however, I will say this: I hear some references to Coltrane's A Love Supreme in this album. It is even more uplifting in some ways than A Love Supreme, if not as influential in its scope.

By the way, the LP contains all the music that this CD contains, except that it is continued on side 2.