Message From Home
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''Message from Home'' is an album by saxophonist
Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...
. It was recorded in New York City and Brooklyn, New York, and was released in 1996 by
Verve Records Verve Records is an active American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Ca ...
. On the album, which was produced by
Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, wo ...
, Sanders is joined by kora player Foday Musa Suso, guitarist Dominic Kanza, violinist Michael White, keyboardists William Henderson,
Jeff Bova Jeff Bova (born Jeffrey Bova in 1953) is an American musician. He has been active in the music industry since the mid-1970s, contributing to recordings by significant mainstream artists like Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, Blondie, Eric Clapton, ...
, and
Bernie Worrell George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016) was an American Keyboard instrument, keyboardist and record producer best known as a founding member of the Parliament-Funkadelic collective. In later years, he also worked with ...
, bassists Charnett Moffett and Steve Neil, and percussionists Aiyb Dieng and Hamid Drake.


Reception

In a review for
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
, Richard S. Ginell wrote: "The world music-minded producer Bill Laswell gets a hold of Pharoah Sanders here and lo, the sleeping volcano erupts with one of his most fulfilling albums in many a year... This resurrection will quicken the pulse of many an old Pharoah fan." The authors of ''
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled b ...
'' called the album "a disappointment after the high of ''Crescent With Love''," and stated: "Sanders sounds almost flabby and because he has surrounded himself with a mechanical, electronic sound, the weakness of the front line sinks in with every repeat hearing."
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
commented: "this putatively commercial move ventures into the unknown. With his fabulous sound, un-American activities, and grandly simple musical ideas, the man was made for Bill Laswell's world-jazz strategems." Writing for the ''
Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...
'', Neil Tesser remarked that, with the album, Laswell "for once got it right," and noted: "while he used a modicum of modern tech wizardry and a few new dance beats to dress up the music for today, he clearly intended to return Sanders to the long-limbed spirituality of his 70s dates, and he succeeded." ''
CMJ New Music Monthly CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...
s James Lien stated that the album features "a heady range of musical styles," and "some of Pharoah's best playing in decades."


Track listing

"Kumba" composed by Pharoah Sanders and Foday Musa Suso. Remaining tracks composed by Pharoah Sanders. # "Our Roots (Began in Africa)" – 10:21 # "Nozipho" – 9:43 # "Tomoki" – 6:26 # "Ocean Song" – 8:49 # "Kumba" – 7:50 # "Country Mile" – 6:03


Personnel

*
Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...
– tenor saxophone, flute, bells, vocals, singing bowl * Foday Musa Suso – kora, vocals * Dominic Kanza – guitar * Michael White – violin * William Henderson – electric piano, piano, vocals *
Jeff Bova Jeff Bova (born Jeffrey Bova in 1953) is an American musician. He has been active in the music industry since the mid-1970s, contributing to recordings by significant mainstream artists like Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, Blondie, Eric Clapton, ...
– keyboards *
Bernie Worrell George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016) was an American Keyboard instrument, keyboardist and record producer best known as a founding member of the Parliament-Funkadelic collective. In later years, he also worked with ...
– keyboards, vocals * Charnett Moffett – acoustic bass * Steve Neil – bass * Aiyb Dieng – percussion, congas, bells, gong, vocals * Hamid Drake – drums, tabla, percussion, vocals * Fanta Mangasuba – backing vocals * Fatumata Sako – backing vocals * Mariama Suso – backing vocals * Salie Suso – backing vocals


References

{{Pharoah Sanders 1996 albums Pharoah Sanders albums Verve Records albums Albums produced by Bill Laswell