Pharoah Sanders Quartet – live in Zurich – October 25, 1984 – DRS Radio – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
Pharoah Sanders Quartet this weekend, along with Kirk Lightsy, piano – Santi DeBrianno, bass and Idiris Muhammad, drums. Recorded in Zurich by DRS Radio on October 25, 1984.
A member of John Coltrane’s groups of the mid-1960s, Sanders is known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of “sheets of sound”. He has released over 30 albums as a leader and has collaborated extensively with Leon Thomas, Alice Coltrane and Rinai Maurice, among others. Saxophonist Ornette Coleman described him as “probably the best tenor player in the world”.
Sanders’ music has been called “spiritual jazz” due to his inspiration in religious concepts such as Karma and Tawhid, and his rich, meditative aesthetic. This style is seen as a continuation of Coltrane’s work on albums such as A Love Supreme. As a result, Sanders is considered a disciple of Coltrane or, as Albert Ayler said, “Trane was the Father, Pharoah was the Son, I am the Holy Ghost”.
Pharoah’s first album, Pharoah’s First, was not what he expected. The musicians playing with him were much more straightforward than Sanders, which made the solos played by the other musicians a bit out of place. Starting in 1966 Sanders signed with Impulse! and recorded Tauhid that same year. His years with Impulse! caught the attention of jazz fans, critics, and musicians alike, including John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, and Albert Ayler.
In the 2000s, a resurgence of interest in jazz kept Sanders playing festivals including the 2004 Bluesfest Byron Bay, the 2007 Melbourne Jazz Festival and the 2008 Big Chill Festival, concerts, and releasing albums. He has a strong following in Japan, and in 2003 recorded with the band Sleep Walker. In 2000, Sanders released Spirits and, in 2003, a live album titled The Creator Has a Master Plan. He was awarded an NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship for 2016 and was honored at a tribute concert in Washington DC on April 4, 2016.
Dive into this one and relax. Holidays are coming.
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