Elevation (Pharoah Sanders album) explained

Elevation
Type:	Live album
Artist:	Pharoah Sanders
Cover:	Elevation (Pharoah Sanders album).jpg
Released:	1974
Recorded:	September 7, 9 & 14, 1973
Genre:	Jazz, free jazz, ethno jazz
Length:	47:18
Label:	Impulse!
Producer:	Ed Michel
Chronology:	Pharoah Sanders
Prev Title:	Love in Us All
Prev Year:	1974
Next Title:	Pharoah
Next Year:	1977

Elevation is a live album by American saxophonist and composer Pharoah Sanders (containing one track recorded in the studio), released in 1973 on the Impulse! label.^[1]

Reception

The AllMusic review by Thom Jurek stated: "This may not rate as highly as some of Sanders' other recordings for the label like Thembi or Karma, but there is plenty here for fans, and it is well worth the investigation and the purchase."^[2]

Brian P. Lonergan of All About Jazz compared the album to Alice Coltrane's Journey in Satchidananda, on which Sanders appeared, noting that it "shares much of the ambiance and sonic palette" of that recording, and stated that it "ventures into some pretty bizarre and wild territory."^[3]

A writer for Jazz Impressions singled out "Greeting to Saud" for praise, calling it "a rich soundscape that is both peaceful and meditative," and "a tranquil counterpoint" to the opening track.^[4]

Track listing

All compositions by Pharoah Sanders except as indicated

1. "Elevation" – 18:01
2. "Greeting to Saud (Brother McCoy Tyner)" – 4:07
3. "Ore-Se-Rere" (Ebenezer Obey) – 5:38
4. "The Gathering" – 13:51
5. "Spiritual Blessing" – 5:41

• • Recorded in performance at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles, California on September 7, 1973 (tracks 3 & 4) and September 9, 1973 (tracks 1 & 5) and at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco, California on September 13, 1973 (track 2)

Personnel

• Pharoah Sanders – tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, shaker, vocals, bells, percussion
• Joe Bonner – piano, harmonium, cow horn, wood flute, percussion, vocals
• Calvin Hill – bass, vocals, tambura
• Michael Carvin – drums, vocals
• Lawrence Killian – conga, bell tree, vocals
• John Blue (tracks 3 & 4), Jimmy Hopps (tracks 1, 2 & 5) – percussion, vocals
• Michael White – violin (track 2)
• Kenneth Nash – percussion (track 2)
• Sedatrius Brown – vocals (track 2)

Notes and References

1. http://www.jazzdisco.org/impulse-records/catalog-9200-series/#as-9261 Impulse! Records discography
2. Jurek, T. Allmusic Review accessed January 5, 2012.
3. Web site: Pharoah Sanders And Don Cherry: Elevation And Where Is Brooklyn? . Brian P. . Lonergan . September 9, 2006 . All About Jazz . October 17, 2022.
4. Web site: Pharoah Sanders – Greeting To Saud (Brother McCoy Tyner) . March 27, 2020 . Jazz Impressions . October 17, 2022.