Alice Coltrane “Ptah The El Daoud” (1970)

You can tell from the album cover that this isn’t going to be your average jazz album. In fact, it’s an essential avant-garde album to own. It’s proof that John Coltrane’s wife, Alice, was very talented. Ptah, The El Daoud is a unique opportunity to hear tenor saxophone legends Joe Henderson and Pharoah Sanders together. The first thing that strikes you when the record starts is that Ron Carter has so much power on bass. You can almost picture the damage that his playing is doing to your speakers. He’s incredible. My only complaint is that you can’t hear Alice Coltrane play piano and harp at the same time. She’s great on both instruments. If only she had two more arms! –Rob