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Sanders was born in Little Rock, Arkansas,
under the name Farrell Sanders. He began his
professional career playing tenor saxophone
in Oakland, California. Ornette Coleman once
described him as "probably the best tenor
player in the world." Emerging from John
Coltrane's groups of the mid-60s Sanders is
known for his overblowing, harmonic, and
multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as
well as his use of "sheets of sound." Albert
Ayler famously said "Trane was the Father,
Pharoah was the Son, I was the Holy Ghost."
Sanders moved to New York City in 1961 after
playing with rhythm and blues bands. He
received his nickname "Pharoah" from Sun Ra,
with whom Sanders performed. He came to
prominence playing with John Coltrane's band
starting in 1965, as Coltrane began adopting
the avant-garde jazz of Albert Ayler, Ra and
Cecil Taylor. Sanders first performed on
Coltrane's Ascension (recorded in June 1965),
then famously on their dual-tenor recording
Meditations (recorded in November 1965).
After this Sanders joined Coltrane's final
quintet, usually performing very lengthy,
dissonant solos. Coltrane's later style was
strongly influenced by Sanders.
After Coltrane..
Although Sanders' voice developed differently
from Coltrane, Sanders was strongly
influenced by their collaboration together.
Spiritual elements such as the chanting in Om
would later show up in many of Sanders' own
works. Sanders would also go on to produce
much free jazz, modified from Coltrane's
solo-centric conception. In 1968 he
participated in Michael Mantler and Carla
Bley's JCOA: Jazz Composer's Orchestra
Association album Communications, featuring
Cecil Taylor, Don Cherry, Larry Coryell and
Gato Barbieri. This solo has been referenced
by John Zorn and others, as the most intense
and inspiring free tenor solo ever put to
tape.
In the 1970s, Sanders pursued his own
recordings and continued to work with the
likes of Alice Coltrane on her Journey In
Satchidananda album. Most of Sanders'
best-selling work was made in the late 60's
and early 70s for Impulse Records, including
the 30-minute wave-on-wave of free jazz "The
Creator has a Master Plan" from the album
Karma. This featured Sanders key musical
partner, pianist Lonnie Liston Smith, who
worked with Sanders from 1969-1971. Other
members of his groups in this period include
bassist Cecil McBee and vocalist Leon Thomas,
on albums such as Jewels of Thought, Izipho
Zam, Deaf Dumb Blind and Thembi.
Tags : Pharoh Sanders "You Got To Have Freedom" Jazz Coltrane Sax |
