Seeking to offer audiophile grade versions of some of the best jazz records ever made, Verve and Universal Music new audiophile Acoustic Sounds Series is supervised by Chad Kassem, utilizing the skills of top mastering engineers and the craft of Quality Record Pressings, with all titles being mastered from the original analog tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl and packaged by Stoughton Printing.

• Acoustic Sounds Series
• Mastered from the Original Analog Master Tapes
• Cut by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound
• Audiophile 180 Gram Vinyl LP
• Pressed at Quality Record Pressings, QRP USA
• Deluxe Gatefold cover by Stoughton Printing

Seeking to offer definitive audiophile grade versions of some of the most historic and best jazz records ever recorded, Verve Label Group and Universal Music Enterprises' new audiophile Acoustic Sounds vinyl reissue series utilizes the skills of top mastering engineers and the unsurpassed production craft of Quality Record Pressings. All titles are mastered from the original analog tapes, pressed on 180-gram vinyl and packaged by Stoughton Printing Co. in high-quality gatefold sleeves with tip-on jackets. The releases are supervised by Chad Kassem, CEO of Acoustic Sounds, the world's largest source for audiophile recordings.

Released in May of 1969, Karma was the famed tenor saxophonist's third Impulse! Records album and is now seen as a milestone of the Spiritual Jazz movement. A natural progression in the sonic exploration that Sanders, along with John Coltrane and Alice Coltrane, had spearheaded throughout the previous five years, the album features two tracks, the 32-minute-long "The Creator Has A Master Plan," and "Colors." Filling the entire A-Side of the LP, "Creator," co-composed by Sanders with vocalist Leon Thomas, is as close as Spiritual Jazz comes to having its own anthem. Meanwhile, the lone B-side track, "Colors," is no less transfixing.

This reissue honors the late jazz legend who passed away in September at the age of 81 and concludes the series for 2022. The nearly two dozen releases from the series to date feature many of the timeless, classic albums from the Verve Label Group's stable of labels including Decca, EmArcy, Impulse! Records, Philips Records and Verve.

Pharoah 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. Yet, Sanders is highly regarded to the point of reverence by a great many jazz fans. Although he made his name with expressionistic, nearly anarchic free jazz in John Coltrane's late ensembles of the mid-'60s, Sanders' later music is guided by more graceful concerns.

The hallmarks of Sanders' playing at that time were naked aggression and unrestrained passion. In the years after Coltrane's death, however, Sanders explored other, somewhat gentler and perhaps more cerebral avenues – without, it should be added, sacrificing any of the intensity that defined his work as an apprentice to Coltrane. Sanders made his first record as a leader in 1964. After Coltrane's death in 1967, Sanders worked briefly with his widow, Alice Coltrane. From the late '60s, he worked primarily as a leader of his own ensembles. In the decades after his first recordings with Coltrane, Sanders developed into a more well-rounded artist, capable of playing convincingly in a variety of contexts, from free to mainstream.

1969's spiritually-themed Karma served as his third album as a leader and finds the tenor saxophonist leading a top flight group comprised of Leon Thomas (vocals), Lonnie Liston Smith (piano), Reggie Workman (bass), Billy Hart (drums) and Julius Watkins (French horn). The two accessible free-jazz tracks - 32-minute "The Creator Has A Master Plan" and 5-minute "Colors" - are diverse and dynamic excursions which leave the listener wanting more.

Musicians:

Pharoah Sanders - tenor sax
Leon Thomas - vocals, percussion
Julius Watkins - French horn
James Spaulding - flute (Side One)
Richard Davis - bass (Side One)
Reggie Workman - bass (Side One & Two)
Ron Carter - bass (Side Two)
Lonnie L. Smith, Jr. - piano
William Hart - drums (Side One)
Frederick Waits - drums (Side Two)
Nathaniel Bettis - percussion (Side One)

Track Listing:

Side A

1. The Creator Has A Master Plan

Side B

2. Colors

Click here to listen to samples on YouTube.com ♫