Alice Coltrane Featuring Pharoah Sanders And Joe Henderson ‎– Ptah, The El Daoud

New Mint unplayed copy available here for purchase if ya want...

To be sure, this is a delightful odd album, due to Joe Henderson’s attributions being laid down on the left channel and those of Pharoah Sanders being recorded to the right channel, an entirely unexpected sonic experience.

While the Coltrane name will be forever linked with John Coltrane, Alice is a force to be recorded with in her own right. Being an atheist, it was rather difficult for me to get into this record, as I consider it to be a religious outing, where I’ve always felt the the beauty found here was designed with the aspect of conversion deeply held within these grooves. She begin following the teachings of guru Swami Satchidanada, moving to California in the early 70s and establishing the Vedantic Center, a centre for the study and practice of Hindu philosophy, which is where this presentation was recorded. This all of course means that I look at this recording as spiritualized jazz, where the music is designed around a meditative and an enlightenment adventure.

Had it not been for the religious ramifications I would suggest that this album is nothing short of brilliant, a welcomed breath of fresh air, a newly opened door into the world of jazz. Certainly the Beatles inspired these mystical visions, though quickly (except for George) got of this one way train to nowhere. That said, during this time period, black Americans were discovering their own pride, their African roots, looking toward Egypt as a source of answers and inspiration. With others claiming that Ptah, the El Daoud has an inner luminosity that transcends its performances, as well as the composition, that the album is capable of capturing, or perhaps contouring transportive passages for the listeners, it is exactly this attitude that keeps me from being devoted to the release, where I sincerely wish that I was not so keenly aware of its backstory, where I could simply drop myself into these luscious modern jazz tunes and get lost.

On a whole, the music is entirely accessible and nearly mesmerizing, all without being overbearing or monotonous, and while I’d like to infer that album is improvisation, to my ears, it somewhat just doesn’t cross that line. I would say that the record is a unexpected study in contrasts, though while not haphazard, these contrasts for some reason appear to be a recognized afterthought, a justification for something that happened, though not as a sincere attribute of planning and vision. I would suggest that these inter-workings were a nearly DNA impression left on Alice from John Coltrane … though I may be hearing something others don’t, or I may just be incorrect. Either way, this is a very good and sumptuous atmospheric listen.

The biggest drawback to the original pressing, which I own, is that my copy is a bit technically (pressing wise) noisy, though I’ve heard a friend’s pressing that sound much better than mine, where the prices are just through the roof. Perhaps the most sad and distressing aspect is that Coltrane’s masters were destroyed in the Universal storage vault fire, meaning that any future albums will be digitized copies of some form of the master, so getting reissues (those created after the fire) is a vanity purchase only, where the compact disc will offer up a far better listen, with the 1996 German CD pressing being about the best. That said, it’s always been my desire to find a great pressing, though the dollars and the fact that I can’t ‘listen first’ have always held me back.

*** The Fun Facts: As to the alum’s title Ptah, the El Daoud, meaning ‘the beloved’ is dedicated to the Egyptian god Ptah, and is the first track on the album. Track two “Turiy and Ramakrishna” ‘Turiya’ defined by Coltrane as bing a state of high Nirvana consciousness, while ‘Ramakrisha’ is the 19th century Bengali religious figure.

Review by Jenell Kesler

Unofficial, but it sounds nice and its good pressing either, if you dont want to spend hundreds of dollars on this fantastic album but still want to have it on LP in NM condition without clicks and pops this is the way to go. This album is so rare to find! I think that the oryginal master was some older LP here (LP rip files maybe). 100% sure it was not a CD. This was a home studio recording of Alice Coltrane and it kinda gives this vibe too. Happy to have it.

Who in the hootenanny is in charge of vinyl reissues at Impulse / the Alice Coltrane estate? Repress already, you dullards! It's absurd!

If I could only own one jazz record this would be it. We'll probably never see a re-issue on vinyl or remaster because her masters were likely destroyed in the 2008 Universal Studios fire.

Is there any version of the CD that is not remastered oder does this version differ from the 2002 version in terms of dynamic range (DR)? However the "Journey In Satchidananda" from 1997 has better mastering in terms of dynamic range (DR), which differs + 20%.

Maybe someone can post the DR value from fooBar or any other tool.

Turiya & Ramakrishna is a spiritual odyssey, its difficult to explain the compassion and feeling being projected into words, just listen to this track alone and you may understand why this is my favorite Alice Coltrane track WOW what amazing music.