Vocalist
Leon Thomas was a close partner to saxophonist
Pharoah Sanders in the late '60s and early '70s, having sung "The Creator Has a Master Plan" on 1969's
Karma and "Prince of Peace" on
Izipho Zam the same year. In so doing (and in his later work as a solo artist, particularly the 1973 album
Blues and the Soulful Truth), he blended blues, R&B, gospel, soul, jazz, and yodeling (!) into a cohesive and utterly recognizable style that meshed quite well with jazz's turn toward ecstatic spiritualism in the wake of
John Coltrane's and
Albert Ayler's premature deaths. He also worked with
Carlos Santana and many others. On this double live disc, Bay Area drummer and percussionist
Babatunde Lea, who backed
Thomas in the early '70s, is joined by saxophonist
Ernie Watts (of
Charlie Haden's Quartet West), keyboardist/vocalist
Patrice Rushen, and vocalist
Dwight Trible to pay tribute to his former boss. The arrangements have the same churning, R&B-meets-jazz groove that the best of
Thomas' and
Sanders' work from the late '60s had,
Watts' saxophone in particular attaining ecstatic heights without devolving into raucous shrieks.
Rushen's piano solos demonstrate a fluidity that those only familiar with her R&B hits like "Forget Me Nots" might find surprising.
Trible's vocals are
Thomas-esque in the best way -- his voice is deep and rich, and even if some songs, like
Coltrane's "Cousin Mary," didn't need the excessively literal and cheesy lyrics he lays down, the versions of "Prince of Peace," "The Creator Has a Master Plan," and "Let the Rain Fall on Me" are beautiful and soulful. The deep love
Babatunde Lea felt, and obviously still feels, for
Leon Thomas and the music they made together comes through on every note of this disc.