Elevation (Pharoah Sanders album)

Elevation
Live album by Pharoah Sanders
Released	1974
Recorded	September 7, 9 & 14, 1973
Genre	Jazz, free jazz, ethno jazz
Length	47:18
Label	Impulse!
Producer	Ed Michel
Pharoah Sanders chronology
Love in Us All (1974) Elevation (1974) Pharoah (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

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[4]
Uncut	8/10 [5]

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." ^[6]

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. ^[7]

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)

References

1. Impulse! Records discography accessed January 5, 2012
2. Jurek, T. Allmusic Review accessed January 5, 2012.
3. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7. MUZE. p. 245.
4. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1259. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
5. "How to Buy Pharoah Sanders". Uncut . November 2023. p. 69.
6. Lonergan, Brian P. (September 9, 2006). "Pharoah Sanders And Don Cherry: Elevation And Where Is Brooklyn?". All About Jazz. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
7. "Pharoah Sanders – Greeting To Saud (Brother McCoy Tyner)". Jazz Impressions. March 27, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2022.