Originally released May 1969
Reissued December 16, 2022
Verve (Acoustic Sounds Series)
1xLP
Born by the name Ferrell in Little Rock, Arkansas and given the moniker Pharoah by none other than Sun Ra, Sanders would eventually become one of the only jazz artists that could compete with Sun Ra's mysticism. After a stint John Coltrane's band, including a legendary 1965 tour that was documented in 2021’s fantastic A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle, Sanders eventually struck out on his own and released this masterpiece of an album in 1969. The centrepiece, “The Creator Has a Master Plan” builds on Sander's thunderous saxophone and the bellowing vocals of Leon Thomas, who sings a mantra-like melody that returns throughout the track, which takes up the entirety of Side A and the majority of Side B. Equal parts lush and experimental, Karma is the first of Pharoah's many, many masterpieces.