"Lonnie Liston Smith (now 82 years old), a keyboard revolutionary in the 1970s, had played with Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis before carving a career as a jazz-funk maestro and champion of cosmic jazz. Smith has now become the latest veteran to be tempted back to the studio by producers Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of Jazz Is Dead (a name intended to prove the opposite). As graduates of the hip-hop generation, the pair are well aware of the way Smith’s grooves and riffs have been lucratively sampled by the likes of Jay Z. Their working methods remain simple, feeding ideas and motifs to their chosen star alongside a rhythm section and adding more later. The nine pieces here capture the vibrancy and allure of Smith’s playing, whether it’s electric grooves, or complex, discordant piano pieces. It’s all infected with 70s idealism, and the soaring vocals of Loren Oden recall those of Donald Byrd and Stevie Wonder. The magic remains in place." (The Observer; 4 uit 5 sterren)
"After the death of Coltrane, while there were many seeking to make a spiritual music that encompassed his ideas; no one came up with the goods until Sanders on this 1969 date. There are only 2 tracks: the 32-plus minute "The Creator Has a Master Plan" and the 5 1/2-minute "Colours." "Creator" begins with a quote from "A Love Supreme," a nod to Coltrane. But something else emerges here as well: Sanders' own deep commitment to lyricism and his now inherent knowledge of Eastern breathing and modal techniques. At 18 minutes it explodes, rushing into a silence that is profound as it is noisy in its approach. Sanders is playing microphonics and blowing to the heavens and Thomas is screaming. They are leaving the material world entirely. When they arrive at the next plane, a new kind of lyricism emerges. There is nothing to describe the exhilaration that is felt when this tune ends, except that "Colours" was the only track that could follow it. You cannot believe it until you hear it." (Thom Jurek, Allmusic)
Album uit 1974 dat z'n titel waarmaakt met uitgesponnen funky fusionjazz, waar de pianist een spirituele lading aan toedicht, net als bij Mahavishnu Orchestra, maar dit is meer funky en minder rocky. Met oa een versie van Coltrane's 'Naima'.
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