Karma [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED]

Pharoah Sanders

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 7, 1995)
• Original Release Date: February 14, 1969
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: Grp Records
• ASIN: B000003N7C
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #42,039 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Although introduced as a protégé of John Coltrane and touted by many as his heir apparent, reedman Pharoah Sanders quickly proved his own man. His shared interest in the "cosmic" music of Coltrane's final period belies the fact that Sanders frequently plays with an unhurried sense of peace and satisfaction rarely found in his mentor's music. His use of space, African and Asian motifs and instruments, and simple, repetitive melodies also pointed the way for jazz, rock, and new age musicians in the '70s and '80s, while his sometimes raucous use of harsh, shrieking runs influenced many of jazz's most adventurous saxophonists.

The centerpiece of Karma is the marathon half-hour octet recording "The Creator Has a Master Plan." Although the track features a warm vocal by Leon Thomas, its true feature artist for almost the entire length is Sanders, who carries the melody, feel, and improvisation firmly on his shoulders. All of Sanders's key elements--Afro-centric spiritualism, sweeping use of mood from long, relaxed intervals to frenetic cacophony, and a deep sense of melody and rhythm--are in evidence. The album's religious feeling is cemented by the album's closer, "Colors," which serves as a deeply felt invocation. --Fred Goodman

Product Description
Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. 2007. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A master plan by a master musician!, August 28, 2000

By	Paulo Leite (Lisbon, Portugal) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece., August 5, 2005

By	Michael Stack (North Chelmsford, MA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking, Awe-inspiring & Utterly unique......, April 12, 2005

By	fetish_2000 (U.K.) - See all my reviews

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.