Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of " sheets of sound", Sanders played a prominent role in the development of

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

and spiritual jazz through his work as a member of

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

's groups in the mid-1960s, and later through his solo work. He released more than thirty albums as a leader and collaborated extensively with vocalist Leon Thomas and pianist Alice Coltrane, among many others. Fellow saxophonist

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, violinist, and composer. He is best known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Ja ...

once described him as "probably the best

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

player in the world". Sanders' take on spiritual jazz was rooted in his inspiration from religious concepts such as ''

karma Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...

'' and ''

tawhid ''Tawhid'' () is the concept of monotheism in Islam, it is the religion's central and single most important concept upon which a Muslim's entire religious adherence rests. It unequivocally holds that God is indivisibly one (''ahad'') and s ...

'', and his rich, meditative performance aesthetic. This style was seen as a continuation of Coltrane's work on albums such as '' A Love Supreme''. As a result, Sanders was considered to have been a disciple of Coltrane or, as Albert Ayler said, "Trane was the

Father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

, Pharoah was the Son, I am the Holy Ghost".

Early life

Pharoah Sanders was born on October 13, 1940, in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

. His mother worked as a cook in a school cafeteria, and his father worked for the City of Little Rock. An only child, Sanders began his musical career accompanying church hymns on clarinet. His initial artistic accomplishments were in the visual arts, but when he was at Scipio Jones High School in North Little Rock, Sanders began playing the tenor saxophone. After graduating from high school in 1959, Sanders moved to

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, where he lived with relatives. He briefly studied art and music at Oakland City College. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from an unknown art institution.

Career

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1960s

Pharoah Sanders began his professional career playing

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

in Oakland, then moved to New York City in 1962. Sun Ra's biographer wrote that Sanders was often homeless and Ra gave him a place to live, clothes, and encouraged him to use the name "Pharoah". According to Sanders himself his grandmother had wanted to call him after pharaohs in the Bible but chose Ferrell instead. Upon joining the New York musicians' union, Sanders chose "Pharoah" as an artist name. Initially it was sometimes misspelled as "pharaoh". By 1963, he was playing with musicians like Billy Higgins and Don Cherry and had caught the attention of Eric Dolphy and

. In 1965, he became a member of Coltrane's band, as the latter gravitated towards the avant-garde jazz of Albert Ayler, Sun Ra, and

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in comple ...

. Sanders first recorded with Coltrane on '' Ascension'' (recorded in June 1965), then on their dual-tenor album ''

Meditations ''Meditations'' () is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from 161–180 AD, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. Composition Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the ''Meditations'' i ...

'' (recorded in November 1965). After this, Sanders joined Coltrane's final quintet, usually playing long, dissonant solos. Coltrane's later style was influenced by Sanders. Although Sanders' voice developed differently from John Coltrane's, Sanders was influenced by their collaboration. 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

, modified from Coltrane's solo-centric conception. In 1968, he participated in Michael Mantler and

Carla Bley Carla Bley (born Lovella May Borg; May 11, 1936 – October 17, 2023) was an American jazz composer, pianist, organist, and bandleader. An important figure in the free jazz movement of the 1960s, she gained acclaim for her jazz opera ''Escalator ...

's Jazz Composer's Orchestra Association album '' The Jazz Composer's Orchestra'', featuring

, Don Cherry,

Larry Coryell Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist, widely considered the "godfather of fusion". Alongside Gábor Szabó, he was a pioneer in melding jazz, country and rock ...

, and Gato Barbieri. 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,'' released the following year. The years Sanders spent with the label were both a commercial and critical success.

1970s and 1980s

In the 1970s, Sanders continued to produce his own recordings and also continued to work with Alice Coltrane on her '' Journey in Satchidananda'' album. Most of Sanders' best-selling work was made in the late 1960s and early 1970s for Impulse Records, including the 30-minute wave-on-wave of free jazz "The Creator Has a Master Plan" from the album ''

Karma Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...

''. This composition featured vocalist Leon Thomas's unique, "umbo weti" yodeling, and Sanders' key musical partner, pianist Lonnie Liston Smith, who worked with Sanders from 1969 to 1971. Other members of his groups in this period include bassist

Cecil McBee Cecil McBee (born May 19, 1935) is an American jazz bassist. He has recorded as a leader only a handful of times since the 1970s, but has contributed as a sideman to a number of classic jazz albums. Biography Early life and career McBee was b ...

, on albums such as '' Jewels of Thought'', '' Izipho Zam'', '' Deaf Dumb Blind'', and '' Thembi''. Although supported by African-American radio, Sanders' brand of brave free jazz became less popular. From the experiments with African rhythms on the 1971 album '' Black Unity'' (with bassist Stanley Clarke) onwards he began to diversify his sound. In the late 1970s and 1980s, Sanders explored different musical modes including R&B ('' Love Will Find a Way''), modal jazz, and hard bop. Sanders left Impulse! in 1973 and explored various other labels, such as Theresa in 1980, which was sold to

Evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...

in 1991.

1990s

In 1992, Sanders appeared on a reissue (''Ed Kelly and Pharoah Sanders'') for the Evidence label of a recording that he completed for Theresa Records in 1979 entitled ''Ed Kelly and Friend.'' The 1992 version contains extra tracks which feature Pharoah's pupil Robert Stewart. In 1994, Sanders traveled to

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

to record the

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 ...

-produced album '' The Trance Of Seven Colors'' with Gnawa musician Mahmoud Guinia. The same year, he appeared on the Red Hot Organization album '' Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool'' on the track "This is Madness" with Umar Bin Hassan and Abiodun Oyewole and on the bonus track "The Creator Has A Master Plan (Trip Hop Remix)." The album was named "Album of the Year" by ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''. He also collaborated with drummer–composer Franklin Kiermyer on Kiermyer's album ''Solomon's Daughter'', also released on the Evidence label (re-released with 3 previously unreleased tracks on the Dot Time label in 2019). Sanders's major-label return came in 1995 when Verve Records released '' Message from Home'', followed by '' Save Our Children'' (1998). But again, Sanders's disgust with the recording business prompted him to leave the label. Sanders worked with Laswell,

Jah Wobble John Joseph Wardle (born 11 August 1958), known by the stage name Jah Wobble, is an English bass guitarist and singer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd (PiL) in the late 1970s and early 1980s; ...

, and others on the albums ''Message From Home'' (1996) and ''Save Our Children'' (1999). In 1999, he complained in an interview that despite his pedigree, he had trouble finding work. In 1997 he was featured on several Tisziji Muñoz albums which include Rashied Ali.

2000s and 2020s

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. In 2020, Sanders recorded an album titled '' Promises'', with the English

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

producer Floating Points and the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

. It was released in March 2021, the first major new album by Sanders in nearly two decades. It was widely acclaimed, with ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' declaring it "a clear late-career masterpiece".

Death

Sanders died on September 24, 2022, at his home in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

at the age of 81.

Discography

As leader

As sideman

;with

:'' Ascension'' (Impulse!, 1965) :'' Live In Seattle'' (Impulse!, 1965) :'' Om'' (Impulse!, 1965) :'' A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle'' (Impulse!, 1965) :'' Kulu Sé Mama'' (Impulse!, 1965) :'' Selflessness: Featuring My Favorite Things'' (Impulse!, 1965) :''

'' (Impulse!, 1965) :'' Live at the Village Vanguard Again!'' (Impulse!, 1966) :'' Live In Japan'' (Impulse!, 1966) :'' Offering: Live at Temple University'' (Impulse!, 1966) :'' Expression'' (Impulse!, 1967) :'' The Olatunji Concert: The Last Live Recording'' (Impulse!, 1967) :''

Infinity Infinity is something which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is denoted by \infty, called the infinity symbol. From the time of the Ancient Greek mathematics, ancient Greeks, the Infinity (philosophy), philosophic ...

'' (Impulse!, 1972) ;with Don Cherry :'' Symphony for Improvisers'' (Blue Note, 1966) :'' Where Is Brooklyn?'' (Blue Note, 1967) ;with Alice Coltrane :'' Cosmic Music'' (Impulse!, 1968) :'' A Monastic Trio'' (Impulse!, 1968) :'' Ptah, the El Daoud'' (Impulse!, 1970) :'' Journey in Satchidananda'' (Impulse!, 1970) :'' Carnegie Hall '71'' (Hi Hat, 2018) :'' The Carnegie Hall Concert'' (Impulse!, 2024) ;with Kenny Garrett :'' Beyond the Wall'' ( Nonesuch, 2006) :'' Sketches of MD: Live at the Iridium'' ( Mack Avenue, 2008) ;with Norman Connors :'' Romantic Journey'' (Buddah 1977) :'' This Is Your Life'' (Buddah 1978) :''Remember Who You Are'' (MoJazz 1993) ;with Tisziji Muñoz :''Visiting This Planet'' (Anami Music, 1980's) :''River of Blood'' (Anami Music, 1997) :''Present Without a Trace'' (Anami Music, 1980's) :''Spirit World'' (Anami Music, 1997) :'' Divine Radiance'' (Dreyfus/Anami Music, 2003) :''Divine Radiance Live!'' (Anami Music, 2013) :''Mountain Peak'' (Anami Music, 2014) ;with

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet from 1960 to 1965, and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Masters, NEA J ...

:'' Love & Peace'' (Trio 1982) :'' Blues for Coltrane: A Tribute to John Coltrane'' (Impulse!, 1987) ;with Randy Weston :'' The Spirits of Our Ancestors'' (Verve 1992) :'' Khepera'' (Verve 1998) ;with others :1964 –

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

– '' Featuring Pharoah Sanders & Black Harold'' :1965 –

– '' Chappaqua Suite'' (Columbia) :1968 – Michael Mantler – Jazz Composer's Orchestra – '' The Jazz Composer's Orchestra'' (JCOA) :1968 – Gary Bartz – '' Another Earth'' (Milestone) :1969 – Leon Thomas – '' Spirits Known and Unknown'' (Flying Dutchman) :1971 – The Latin Jazz Quintet – ''Oh! Pharoah Speak'' (Trip) reissued in 1973 as ''Spotlight on Pharoah Sanders with the Latin Jazz Quintet'' :1973 – Larry Young – '' Lawrence of Newark'' (Perception) :1979 – Ed Kelly – ''Ed Kelly & Friend'' (Theresa Records) :1979 – Hilton Ruiz – ''Fantasia'' (Denon) :1980 –

Idris Muhammad Idris Muhammad (; born Leo Morris; November 13, 1939 – July 29, 2014) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He had an extensive career performing jazz, funk, Rhythm and blues, R&B, and Soul music, soul music and recorded with musicians s ...

– '' Kabsha'' (Theresa) :1984 –

Benny Golson Benny Golson (January 25, 1929 – September 21, 2024) was an American bebop and hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a p ...

– '' This Is for You, John'' (Baystate) :1985 – Art Davis – ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' (Soul Note) :1991 – Sonny Sharrock – '' Ask the Ages'' (Axiom) :1992 – Ed Kelly – ''Ed Kelly and Pharoah Sanders'' (Evidence Records) with Robert Stewart (saxophonist) :1992 – New York Unit – '' Over the Rainbow'' (Paddle Wheel) :1994 – Franklin Kiermyer – ''Solomon's Daughter'' :1994 – Bheki Mseleku – ''Timelessness'' (Verve) :1994 – Maleem Mahmoud Ghania – '' The Trance of Seven Colors'' (Axiom) :1995 – Aïyb Dieng – '' Rhythmagick'' :1996 –

– ''Heaven & Earth'' (Island) :1997 – Wallace Roney – ''

Village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

'' (Warner Bros.) :1997 – Music Revelation Ensemble – '' Cross Fire'' (DIW) :1998 – Terry Callier – ''Time Peace'' (Verve) :2000 – Alex Blake – '' Now Is the Time: Live at the Knitting Factory'' :2000 – Kahil El'Zabar's Ritual Trio – '' Africa N'Da Blues'' (Delmark) :2001 – Gigi (singer) - ''Gigi (Guramayle)'' :2004 – David Murray – '' Gwotet'' (Justin Time) :2005 – Will Calhoun – ''Native Lands'' :2008 – Sleep Walker – ''Into the Sun'' (in ''The Voyage'') :2014 – Chicago Underground/São Paulo Underground – '' Spiral Mercury'' :2019 – Joey DeFrancesco – '' In the Key of the Universe'' :2021 – Floating Points and the

– '' Promises''

References

External links

*
Pharoah Sanders's Page at Wide Hive Records
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Pharoah 1940 births 2022 deaths 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American saxophonists African-American jazz musicians African-American Muslims American jazz saxophonists American male jazz musicians American male saxophonists Arista Records artists Atomic Bomb! Band members Avant-garde jazz saxophonists Capitol Records artists Converts to Islam ESP-Disk artists Grammy Award winners Hard bop saxophonists Impulse! Records artists India Navigation artists Jazz musicians from Arkansas Jazz musicians from California Musicians from Little Rock, Arkansas Musicians from Oakland, California Muslims from Arkansas Muslims from California Post-bop saxophonists Spiritual jazz musicians Strata-East Records artists Timeless Records artists Verve Records artists Jazz Composer's Orchestra members DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame members NEA Jazz Masters