Pharoah Sanders

The photo of Sanders in lotus position, generously collared psychedelic shirt poking out from under his white robes, says it all. Having abandoned the Ayler-influenced sound of Pharoah's First, released almost a decade previously, by Village Of The Pharoahs the saxophonist had jumped with both feet into the soaring and the spiritual. The album is a slightly mixed bag, with material from the main San Francisco sessions bulked out with tracks recorded in New Jersey and New York. It's also unusual in that Sanders plays tenor on just one track, the rest of the time contributing a combination of soprano, bells, percussion and vocals.

Elevation, Pharoah Sanders' final album for Impulse!, is a mixed bag. Four of the five cuts were recorded live at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles in September of 1973, and the lone studio track, "Greeting to Saud (Brother McCoy Tyner)," was recorded in the same month at Wally Heider's studio. The live date is fairly cohesive, with beautiful modal piano work from Joe Bonner, Pharoah playing tenor and soprano as well as a myriad of percussion instruments and vocalizing in places, and a percussion and rhythm section that included Michael Carvin on drums, bassist Calvin Hill, and hand drummers John Blue and Lawrence Killian…

This release in a series of live recordings of concerts from the Fabrik in Hamburg-Altona, one of those hidden treasures from the archive of the NDR, was intended to bring back the memory of changes and revolutions in the world of jazz of more than four decades ago. It has now turned into an obituary - at the end of September 2022 the tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders passed away at the age of 81. This recording of the Sanders Quartet from 6 June 1980 is so far the oldest from the Fabrik, predating the great jazz-epoch of the venue. An era, which even today Thomas Engel, the first program planner of the Fabrik, describes as a very special period for popular and not-so-popular culture in Hamburg and far beyond. Furthermore, this concert formed part of the then fifth edition of what was still called the New Jazz Festival, a summit of German, European and US-American musicians.

Howard Johnson stays off the tuba, but remains down low on baritone sax and bass clarinet during his wonderful tribute to the great Pharoah Sanders. There are five interpretations of Pharoah's tunes, all faithful to the originals, but not imitations. And there are several new compositions in honor of the sax giant. If you love jazz or Pharoah Saunders do check this one out - it's a beautiful album to have in your collection.

This CD features tenor-saxophonist Pharoah Sanders accompanied by a supportive rhythm section (pianist William Henderson, bassist Charles Fambrough and drummer Sherman Ferguson). Although there are some passionate moments, this is actually one of his mellower sessions and he explores such songs as "Naima" and "After the Rain" in a ballad style not that different than John Coltrane's of the early '60s. There are some heated moments on some of the other selections (such as "Wise One" and "Crescent") but Sanders's trademark screeches are at a minimum this time around.

With Pharoah Sanders’ blessing, we present the definitive, remastered version of PHAROAH, his seminal record from 1977, in an embossed 2 LP box set. Alongside the original record, we’re including two previously unreleased live performances of his masterpiece, “Harvest Time".