@tyray, Yes, Lonnie Liston Smith is on the Karma album. I read a bit about Pharoah Sanders, and it said that after Coltrane died he had trouble finding a group of musicians who could play the type of sound he wanted. I guess he would refer to it as spiritual.
@stuartk, I think I share in all those musicians spiritual connection to the music, and I feel it when they play. But I don't share in any scripture or liturgy. If I were to rewrite "The Creator Has a Master Plan," I would substitute "She" for "He" in regards to the Creator. I think music at its essence is spirituality, and I think that's why I talk about being joyous when I listen to certain music.
There is music that appeals to my intellect, and that's a whole different matter. I enjoy it and often get lost in it, but it does not make me feel joyous.
@curiousjim I think that Esperanza Spalding is someone to watch on the bass. I saw her in a Herbie Hancock band, and although I was at the Hollywood Bowl and a fair distance from the stage and she was standing at the back of a lot of musicians, she was electric and I couldn't take my eyes off her hands. I felt like they were magical. The little I read about her, it sounds as if she were a savant, like many of the great musicians. Playing piano at three, performing at a very young age. If I could live my life over, I would want to have musical talent. Writing prose is not at all joyous. It's a lot of work. I was also a painter until my back gave out, and painting was totally joyous because I never knew what I was going to do next. I loved getting lost in a painting.