A Spiritual Journey: Pharoah Sanders - "Summun Bukmun Umyun (Deaf Dumb Blind)"

A Spiritual Journey: Pharoah Sanders - "Summun Bukmun Umyun (Deaf Dumb Blind)"

In 1969 Sanders released Karma, a highly accesible album that brought him widespread praise and commercial success. This was in no small part helped along by the presence of vocalist Leon Thomas, who certainly helped the recording find an audience with the hippie culture of the late 1960's who were accustomed to lyrical content in their music. Summun Bukmun Umyun (Deaf Dumb Blind) was not nearly as accessible to non-jazz fans - even many jazz fans must have been puzzled by it - and as such it is not nearly as well known.

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John Coltrane - "Meditations"

John Coltrane - "Meditations"

I always find myself conflicted about late-period Coltrane recordings: are they pure brilliance or just a whole bunch of noise? Meditations finds a middle ground for Trane's forays into the free jazz that he was beginning to explore towards the end of 1965. What makes it accessible to the less adventurous listener are the passages of quiet and relaxed beauty.

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