In the early 1960’s jazz scene, freedom reigned, and it was good. The birthing pains of the free jazz movement had ceased, leaving a rich placenta for musicians to feast upon. Emerging from this feast with bloodstained lips of magic came a young tenor saxophonist named Pharoah Sanders. With a brain as big as his sound and a bucket-load of inter-soulular power he was destined to facilitate some of the most inventive and spiritual recording of the era.
Pharoah Sanders entered the New York avant-garde jazz scene in 1961 performing with the legendary Sun Ra. The story goes that Sun Ra gave Sanders his first name after a performance at the Village Vanguard saying that he “had all of Egypt in his horn.” After his stint with Ra, Sanders went on to play with John Coltrane in his final quintet performing on such recording as Meditation and Ascension. It was during this period his Sanders life that his playing began to take on more spiritual qualities. Through the extensive use of overblowing and multiphonics Sanders created sounds that would propel the listeners towards the heavens on a musical journey through the clouds of controlled dissonance.
In 1969, Sanders released his forth solo album Karma. Within this recording lurked the thirty-two minute masterpiece “The Creator Has a Master Plan.” Whenever this song is played Apollo orgasms. Do you understand how hard it is to make a god orgasm? In order to accomplish this feat, one must successfully combine pure technical genius with heartfelt raw emotion. That is exactly what Sanders does in this song.
“The Creator Has a Master Plan” begins soulfully; elements from jazz and African music blend perfectly creating a smooth groove that melts away any tension that may inhibit the listener from truly feeling the song. The vocalist Leon Thomas is featured prominently, masterfully using his unique type of yodeling to lift the listener towards the skies, where the sun possesses an ancient warmth.
The song then descends into chaos. The darkness of the world becomes apparent as overblown blue notes pummel the listener. But from within this darkness a feeling of ecstasy is created. The effect is to remind the listener that even when the world seems to be falling apart tranquility exists if you only reach for it.
And from this transcendental darkness the listener is birthed anew back into the spiritual groove from the beginning. With goo from the birth canal still dripping from their limbs, a chant begins:
The creator has a master plan,
peace and happiness for every man
The creator has a working plan,
peace and happiness for every man
The creator makes but one demand,
happiness through all the land
Having coaxed out the peace and happiness from any person fortunate enough to have chanced upon the recording, Pharoah Sanders leaves you renewed and reborn, ready to go out into the world and fulfill the creators one demand.
(Ed. Note: This song is really long! So it’s in three youtubes. Listen to all of them.)
Pharoah Sanders – “The Creator Has A Master Plan”