Recordings As Supporting Artist
SUN RA FEATURING PHAROAH SANDERS AND BLACK HAROLD Saturn 1964. No producer listed. No CD. Track list Gods On A Safari The World Shadow The Voice Of Pan Dawn Over Israel Musicians Pharoah Sanders, tenor sax Sun Ra, keyboards Al Evans, trumpet Marshall Allen, alto sax Danny Davis, alto sax, flute Robert Cummings, bass clarinet Pat Patrick, baritone sax Black Harold, flute Alan Silva, bass, cello Clifford Jarvis, drums Art Jenkins, space voice others Capsule Info: Here's an album lost to the ages: thanks to Larry Nai for letting me listen to his. I used to think Pharoah and Sun Ra lived in parallel universes (from each other, not the rest of us!) but it turns out that when Pharoah was struggling to break into the ranks of recognized jazz artists he was living on NYC's lower east side and gigging with Sun Ra. Sun Ra in turn egged him on in the use of "Pharoah" instead of "Farrell" as a moniker. While I think both Sun Ra and Pharoah made albums more to my taste than this one, it is fascinating in its suggestion of where some great music was born. John Coltrane: KULU SE MAMA Impulse! Records 1965. Produced by Bob Thiele and John Coltrane. CD Japan*. Track list Kulu Se Mama Vigil Welcome Musicians John Coltrane, tenor sax Pharoah Sanders, tenor sax, perc McCoy Tyner, piano Jimmy Garrison, bass Elvin Jones, drums Donald Garrett, bass clarinet, bass, perc Frank Butler, drums, perc Juno Lewis, percussion, vocal Capsule Info: Very spiritually focused album from Coltrane featuring, on one song, Pharoah and singer/percussionist Juno Lewis sounding very much ahead of their time. Also featuring the serene "Welcome." (*In the US these tracks are scattered across different CDs; Japanese Impulse! released a brilliant sounding version of the whole album in 1998.) John Coltrane: SELFLESSNESS Impulse! Records 1965?. Produced by Bob Thiele and John Coltrane. CD Japan*. Track list Selflessness other tracks not featuring PS Musicians John Coltrane, tenor sax Pharoah Sanders, tenor sax McCoy Tyner, piano Jimmy Garrison, bass Elvin Jones, drums Donald Garrett, bass clarinet, bass, perc Frank Butler, drums, perc Juno Lewis, percussion Capsule Info: SELFLESSNESS is a patched-together album containing two brilliant live performances from the pre-Pharoah Coltrane group and one extended tune, the title track, recorded at the same time as KULU SE MAMA. It's a fiery but accessible work, with a larger, more percussion heavy group than John Coltrane--though not Pharoah--usually recorded with. (*In the US this tune appears on the oddly-titled two-CD set THE MAJOR WORKS OF JOHN COLTRANE.) Don Cherry: SYMPHONY FOR IMPROVISERS Blue Note 1966. Produced by Alfred Lion. CD. Track list Symphony for Improvisers Nu Creative Love What's Not Serious Infant Happiness Manhattan Cry Lunatic Sparkle Plenty Om Nu Musicians Don Cherry, cornet Leandro 'Gato' Barbieri, tenor sax Pharoah Sanders, tenor, flute Karl Berger, vibes, piano Henry Grimes, bass Jenny Clark, bass Edward Blackwell, drums Capsule Info: An avant-garde summit. Gato Barbieri is also featured. John Coltrane:MEDITATIONS Impulse! Records 1966. AS-9110. Produced by Bob Thiele. CD. Track list The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost Compassion Love Consequences Serenity Musicians John Coltrane, tenor sax, perc Pharoah Sanders, sax, perc McCoy Tyner, piano Jimmy Garrison, bass Rashied Ali, drums Elvin Jones, drums Capsule Info: November 1965 sessions. These meditations are soul-searching and fierce. John Coltrane:COLTRANE LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD AGAIN! Impulse! Records 1966. AS-9124. Produced by Bob Thiele. CD. Track list Naima Introduction My Favorite Things Musicians John Coltrane, sax, clarinet Pharoah Sanders, sax, flute Alice Coltrane, piano Jimmy Garrison, bass Rashied Ali, drums Emanual Rahim, percussion Capsule Info: Recorded live in May of 1966, this album shows how far John Coltrane travelled since his legendary 1961 sessions at the same venue, joined this time by Pharoah and Alice. Don Cherry: WHERE IS BROOKLYN? Blue Note 1966. Produced by Alfred Lion. CD*. Track list Awake Nu Taste Maker The Thing There Is The Bomb Unite Musicians Don Cherry, cornet Pharoah Sanders, tenor, piccolo Henry Grimes, bass Edward Blackwell, drums Capsule Info: Fiery avant garde from Ornette Coleman's group sans Ornette plus Pharoah. *On CD only as part of the now out of print Mosaic Set "The Compete Don Cherry On Blue Note." One track ("There Is The Bomb") is also anthologized on the UK Blue Note compilation BLUE SIXTIES. The Latin Jazz Quintet with Featured Guest Artist Pharoah Sanders: OH! PHAROAH SPEAK Trip Records, n.d. (mid to late 1960s?). Produced by Juan Amalbert (Emmanuel Abdul-Rahim). No CD. Track list The Dues Payer Daria Midnight Montuno Treasure of Sierra Madre (Gold Of The Mother Mountain) Shake A Lady Haarlem P's And Q's Oh! Pharoah Speak Musicians Virgil Jones, trumpet, fhorn Bill Ellington, double bass Jerry Patterson, el guitar Tommy Derrick, perc Juan Amalbert, perc Pharoah Sanders, tenor sax Harold Vick, tenor Kiawni Zawadi, trombone Ray Armando, perc Charles "Chuck" Rainey, el bass Cornell Dupree, el guitar Stanley Johnson, piano and many more Capsule info: The cover art looks to be about the same time as TAUHID, otherwise I'm clueless as to the vintage of this recording. Funky New York Afro-Cuban jazz recording with maddeningly incomplete and unspecific liner notes. The music is soulfull boogaloo, wih occasional lapses into protosalsa and bigband souljazz. Hard to tell in a horn-heavy album, but Pharoah seems to have one solo vehicle, where he sounds really out of place in front of a way-way in horn section and funky rhythm section. There's a story here, I wish I knew it! See also SPOTLIGHT ON PHAROAH SANDERS in the solo album listings. Leader Amalbert went on to record as Emmanuel Abdul-Rahim and the Kahlios. John Coltrane:EXPRESSION Impulse! Records 1967. AS-9120. Produced by John Coltrane and Bob Thiele. CD. Track list Ogunde To Be Offering Expression Number One Musicians John Coltrane, tenor sax, flute Pharoah Sanders, flutes, perc Alice Coltrane, piano Jimmy Garrison, bass Rashied Ali, drums Capsule Info: The last album John Coltrane worked on before his death in July of 1967, and the first of many to be released by his heirs posthumously. Having reached a free and frenetic plateau earlier, this album pulls back to earth and is full of haunting tranquility and introspection. Surprising and wonderful are Pharoah Sanders & John Coltrane on flutes in "To Be". Gary Bartz: ANOTHER EARTH Milestone 1968/1998. Produced by Orrin Keepnews. CD. Track list Another Earth other tracks not featuring Sanders Musicians Pharoah Sanders, tenor sax Gary Bartz, alto sax Charles Tolliver, trumpet Stanley Cowell, piano Reggie Workman, bass Freddie Waits, drums Capsule Info: Poised on the brink of finding their own voices, Gary Bartz and Pharoah Sanders join in an extended, side-long duet full of late-1960s edgy fire but not yet colored by the African sensibility that would soon dominate the music of both artists. Reissued by Milestone/Fantasy/OJC as a twofer CD with Bartz's LIBRA. John and Alice Coltrane: COSMIC MUSIC Impulse! Records 1968. AS-9148. Produced by Bob Thiele. CD Japan Only*. Track list Manifestation Lord Help Me To Be* Reverend King The Sun* Musicians Alice Coltrane, piano John Coltrane, sax, clarinet, invocation Pharoah Sanders, flute, sax, invocation Ben Riley, drums, perc Rashied Ali, drums, perc Jimmy Garrison, bass Ray Appleton, percussion Capsule Info: A posthumous tribute to John Coltrane and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Two tracks feature the late John, and two the Alice Coltrane/Pharoah Sanders grouping only. *Two tracks, with greatly improved sound, appear on the US CD reissue of Alice Coltrane's A MONASTIC TRIO. Alice Coltrane: A MONASTIC TRIO Impulse! Records 1968. AS-9156. Produced by Bob Thiele. CD (Japan & US* Versions different). Track list Lord Help Me To Be* The Sun* Ohnedaruth Gospel Trane I Want To See You Lovely Sky Boat Oceanic Beloved Atomic Peace Altruvista* Musicians Alice Coltrane, harp, piano Pharoah Sanders, bass clarinet, sax, flute Ben Riley, drums Rashied Ali, drums Jimmy Garrison, bass Capsule Info: Dorothy Ashby move over: Alice Coltrane brings the jazz harp to the avant garde. This is her tribute to her late husband and his spiritual vision. (*US CD version only) Leon Thomas: SPIRITS KNOWN AND UNKNOWN--NEW VOCAL FRONTIERS Flying Dutchman 1969. Produced by Bob Thiele. No CD. Track list The Creator Has A Master Plan (Peace) One Echoes Song For My Father Damn Nam (Ain't Goin To Vietnam) Malcolm's Gone Let The Rain Fall On Me Musicians Leon Thomas, vocal, percussion Little Rock (Pharoah Sanders), sax Lonnie Liston Smith, piano Richard Davis, bass Cecil McBee, bass James Spaulding, flute, sax Richard Landrum, perc Roy Haynes, drums Capsule info: The version of "The Creator Has A Masterplan" is more vocally and lyrically developed (and much shorter) than the version sung with Pharoah Sanders, and much more mellow. Pharoah, credited here as "Little Rock" is featured on several cuts. "The Creator" also appears on other albums sung by its co-author, Leon Thomas. (Two cuts from this album appear on the CD LEON THOMAS ANTHOLOGY, Soul Brother Records 1998). Alice Coltrane: PTAH THE EL-DAOUD Impulse! Records 1970. AS-9196. Produced by Ed Michel. CD. Track list Ptah, The El Daoud Turiya and Ramakrishna Blue Nile Mantra Musicians Alice Coltrane, harp, piano Pharoah Sanders, sax, flute, bells Joe Henderson, sax, flute Ben Riley, drums Ron Carter, bass Capsule Info: A fairly eclectic album, moving from Mingus-like marches to the spritually meditative to a Pharoah Sanders screechfest. Alice Coltrane: JOURNEY IN SATCHIDANANDA Impulse! Records 1971. AS-9203. Produced by Alice Coltrane with Ed Michel. CD. Track list Journey In Satchidananda Shiva-Loka Stopover Bombay Something About John Coltrane Isis And Osiris Musicians Alice Coltrane, harp, piano Pharoah Sanders, sax, percussion Charlie Haden, bass Rashied Ali, drums Cecil McBee, bass Vishnu Wood, oud Tulsi, tamboura Majid Shabazz, percussion Capsule Info: One of Alice's best albums. From her liner notes: "Direct inspiration for JOURNEY IN SATCHIDANANDA comes from my meeting and association with...my own beloved spiritual perceptor, Swami Satchidananda... Satchidananda means knowledge, existence, bliss....I hope that this album will be a form of meditation and a spiritual awakening for those who listen with their inner ear." John Coltrane: LIVE IN JAPAN Impulse! Records 1973/1991. AS-0000. Reissue produced by Michael Cuscuna. CD. Track list Afro Blue Peace On Earth (7/11) Crescent Peace On Earth (7/22) Leo My Favorite Things Musicians John Coltrane, sax, perc Pharoah Sanders, sax, clarinet, perc Alice Coltrane, piano Jimmy Garrison, bass Rashied Ali, drums Capsule Info: Recorded in July of 1966 in Tokyo for broadcast to Japanese radio. One disc's worth was originally released on vinyl in 1973, with further sessions released in Japan only in the 1980s. The CD brings all sessions to a four-CD set, though the monophonic sound leaves a bit to be desired. JC's later-day quintet featuring second wife Alice and Pharoah wasn't as heavily documented on record as his more classic quartet, so this is rare music: Alice Coltrane's solos on one of the two long versions of "Peace On Earth" are terrific. Larry Young: LAWRENCE OF NEWARK Perception, 1973. Produced by Larry Young. No CD. Track list Saudia Alive Hello Your Quietness Sunshine Fly Away Khalid Of Space, Part Two (Welcome) Musicians Abdul Shahid, drums Jumma Santos, perc Howard T. King, drums James Flores, drums Stacey Edwards, congas Don Pate, bass James (Blood) Ulmer, guitar Umar Abdul Muizz, congas Armen Halburian, congas, bells, perc Diedre Johnson, cello Juni Booth, bass Art Gore, drums, el piano Abdul Hakim, bongos Poppy La Boy, perc Cedric Lawson, el piano Mystery Guest (Pharoah Sanders), sax & vocals Dennis Mourouse, sax, el sax Charles Magee, el trumpet Larry Young, organ, bongos, vocals Capsule Info: Fiery organist Larry Young steps back from rock/fusion on a very cosmic set. Thanks to Karl Billerts for a taped copy of this long out of print gem. Norman Connors: ROMANTIC JOURNEY Buddah 1977/Right Stuff 1994. Produced by Skip Drinkwater. CD. Track list Thembi other cuts not featuring Pharoah Musicians Norman Connors, drums, percussion Alphonso Johnson, bass (on "Thembi") Reggie Lucas, guitars Hubert Eaves, keyboards Kenneth Nash, percussion Gary Bartz, alto saxophone Pharoah Sanders, soprano sax (on "Thembi") Ian Underwood, sythesizers Willie Weeks, bass Bobbye Hall, congas and others plus horns and strings Capsule Info: The remake of "Thembi" shows how Norman Connors tried to remold Pharoah Sanders' direction in tune with the general jazz-pop mood of the late-1970s. This album runs the gamut from disco to fusion lite to ballads to quiet storm. Not for purists, but fun. Norman Connors: THIS IS YOUR LIFE Buddah 1977/Sequel 1993. Produced by Skip Drinkwater. CD Europe. Track list The Creator other cuts not featuring Pharoah Musicians Norman Connors, drums, percussion Eleanore Mills, vocals others not listed on CD Pharoah Sanders on "The Creator" Gary Bartz on "The Creator" Jacques Burvick Capsule Info: Glossy but fun Norman Connors album includes a pleasant rewrite of Pharaoh Sanders' "The Creator Has A Masterplan" featuring solos by Pharoah himself but substituting new lyrics for Leon Thomas' original ones. Art Davis Quartet: LIFE Soul Note 1986. Produced by Giovanni Bonandrini. CD. Track list Life Duo Blues From Concertpiece For Bass Add Musicians Pharoah Sanders, tenor sax John Hicks, piano Art Davis, bass Idris Muhammed, drums Capsule Info: Recorded live in NYC in 1985. Fairly straight-forward jazz; all originals by Davis. The Davis/Sanders duet on "Duo" is nice, and Sanders shouts the blues in "Blues From Concertpiece for Bass." "Add" is extended and nicely Coltrane-esque. Sonny Sharrock: ASK THE AGES Axiom/Island 1991. Produced by Bill Laswell and Sonny Sharrock. CD. Track list Promises Kept Who Does She Hope To Be? Little Rock As We Used To Sing Many Mansions Once Upon A Time Musicians Pharoah Sanders, tenor and soprano sax Sonny Sharrock, el guitar Elvin Jones, drums Charnett Moffett, acoustic bass Capsule Info: The late Sonny Sharrock appeared on at least two of Pharoah's albums, TAUHID and IZIPHO ZAM. Here Pharoah returns the favor. Sharrock's playing is not unlike that of Carlos Santana, albeit jazzier and edgier and with an all acoustic backup. Pharoah sounds good, though Laswell's taste in production of course pushes him to odd places in the mix. John Coltrane: THE MAJOR WORKS OF JOHN COLTRANE Impulse! Records 1992. Produced by Bob Thiele and John Coltrane. CD. Track list Ascension, Edition 1# Om* Ascension, Edition 2# Kulu Se Mama** Selflessness@ Musicians John Coltrane, tenor sax Pharoah Sanders, tenor sax, perc McCoy Tyner, piano Jimmy Garrison, bass Elvin Jones, drums Art Davis, bass# Archie Shepp, sax# John Tchicai, alto sax# Marion Brown, alto sax# Freddie Hubbard, trumpet# Dewey Johnson, trumpet# Donald Garrett, bass clarinet, bass, perc* ** Joe Brazil, flute, perc* Frank Butler, drums, perc** Juno Lewis, percussion, vocal** Capsule Info: CD reconfiguration of several 1965 sessions: ASCENSION (#) in two takes, plus cuts from OM(*), SELFNESSNESS(@) and KULU SE MAMA(**). "Ascension" is a fiery larger ensemble workout that set the stage for much of the avant garde jazz orchestral music of the late 1960s. OM was allegedly recorded while the participants dropped acid: frankly hard to listen to, its stream of altered consciousness screaming still shocks and surprises. "Kulu Se Mama" with its percussion and chanting is a glimpse of Pharoah Sanders' path to come. (OM was released earlier on CD as a separate album but is now deleted; ASCENSION (edition 1), OM, SELFLESSNESS and KULU SE MAMA are all available on separate CDs as Japanese imports; see above for individual review). Elvin Jones/McCoy Tyner Quintet :LOVE & PEACE Storyville Records, 1992. Produced by Taizo Fujii. CD. Track list Little Rock's Blues Hip Jones Korinna For Tomorrow Sweet And Lovely Origin Musicians McCoy Tyner, piano Richard Davis, bass Elvin Jones, drums Jean-Paul Bourelly, electic-guitar Pharoah Sanders, tenor sax Capsule Info: Quintet sessions reuniting Coltrane vets McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones and others; recorded in April 1982. Emphasis on straight-ahead material. Randy Weston: THE SPIRITS OF OUR ANCESTORS Antilles/Polygram 1992. Produced by Randy Weston, etc. CD; 2-disc set. Track list African Village Bedford-Stuyvesant 1 The Healers African Cookbook La Elaha-Ella Allah/Morad Allah The Call African Village Bedford-Stuyvesant 2 The Seventh Queen Blue Moses African Sunrise A Prayer For Us All Musicians Randy Weston, piano Melba Liston, arrangements Pharoah Sanders, sax, gaita Dizzy Gillespie, trumpet Idrees Sulieman, trumpet Billy Harper, sax Dewey Redman, sax Jamil Nasser, bass Big Black, percussion Yassir Chadly, perc, vocals Idris Muhammad, drums others Capsule Info: Afro-Centric bigband music; much of it influenced by the Gnawa musicians of Morocco. Pharoah appears on several cuts. ED KELLY & PHAROAH SANDERS Evidence 1993. Produced by Allen Pittman & Al Evers. CD. Track list Rainbow Song Newborn You Send Me Pippin Answer Me My Love You've Got To Have Freedom plus more cuts sans Pharoah Musicians Pharoah Sanders, tenor sax Eddie Marshall, drums Ed Kelly, piano Peter Barshay, bass Babatunde, congas Junius Simmons, guitar plus strings, horns & voices Capsule Info: A 1978 session released originally without credit to Pharoah, this recording sits squarely between his glossy commercial Arista work and his Theresa period. John Coltrane: THE LAST GIANT: THE JOHN COLTRANE ANTHOLOGY Rhino/Atlantic Jazz 1993. Compilation produced by Joel Dorn. 2-CD set. Track list many tracks, 1946-1964 plus Ogunde (1967)+ Musicians John Coltrane, tenor sax+ Pharoah Sanders, tenor sax+ Alice Coltrane, piano+ Jimmy Garrison, bass+ Rashied Ali, drums+ Algie Dewitt, bata drum+ Juma (Santos?), perc+ Dr. Billy Taylor, announcer+ many others on other tracks Capsule Info: A year or two before Atlantic and Rhino reissued all of Coltrane's Atlantic sides on a massive boxed set entitled HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION, it released this overview of Coltrane's non-Impulse recordings from the late 1940s on. Tantalizing, included nowhere else, and relevant here is the brief, under two-minute snippet "Ogunde" from Coltrane's last live performance, at the opening of Babatunde Olatunji's Center For African Culture, in New York City's Harlem, May 23, 1967. Maddeningly the collection offers no clue as to the rest of this recording: how long it is, will it ever be fully released, etcetera. Coltrane playing a tune titled in Yoruba with multiple percussionists and Alice and Pharoah? Damn what's the rest of the song like! Norman Connors: REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE MoJAzz 1993. Produced by Norman Connors. CD. Track list Naima other cuts not featuring Pharoah Musicians Norman Connors, drums, percussion Bobby Lyle, keyboards Pharoah Sanders, sax (on "Naima") Marion Meadows, sax Jerry Peters, keyboards Patrice Rushen, keyboards Marcus Belgrave, trumpet Nat Bettis, percussion Stanley Clarke, bass and many others plus strings Capsule Info: After a long absence Norman Connors returned with an album very much after his late '70s formula: good vocalists, jazz covers, glossy production. Some of this is great, some overproduced dreck. The cut featuring Pharoah, Coltrane's "Naima," is quite nice and actually jazz. Maleem Mahmoud Ghania with Pharoah Sanders: THE TRANCE OF SEVEN COLORS Axiom/Island 1994. Produced by Bill Laswell. CD. Track list La Allah Dayim Moulenah Bala Moussaka Hamdouchi Peace In Essaouira (for Sonny Sharrock) Boulandi Samawi Moussa Berkiyo/Koubaliy Beriah La'Foh Salat Anbi Casa Casa Atougra Mahraba Musicians Pharoah Sanders, tenor sax Maleem Mahmoud Ghania, vocals, guimbri, tbei The Gnawa Musicians of Morocco Capsule Info: Originally brought north to Morocco as slaves, the Gnawa are black Africans who perform musical trance and healing ceremonies; there is something wonderfully full circle about Pharoah's interaction with their centuries-old traditions. Idris Muhammad: KABSHA Evidence 1994. Produced by Idris Muhammad. CD. Track list Soulful Drums I Want To Talk About You others Musicians Pharoah Sanders, tenor sax Idris Muhammad, drums George Coleman, sax Ray Drummond, bass Capsule Info: Solo recording from 1980 features Pharoah on sax. I haven't heard this. According to correspondent Joachim Prinz: "Pharoah and Coleman play alternately and only on two takes of the same piece together, proving that Coleman also possesses remarkable gifts on tenor but never reaching the depth and warmth and roundness of Pharoah's tone. Very nice is a hoarse version of 'I Want To Talk About You' and the piece 'Soulful Drums' . Franklin Kiermyer featuring Pharoah Sanders: SOLOMON'S DAUGHTER Evidence 1994. Produced by Franklin Kiermyer. CD. Track list If I Die Before I Wake Three Jewels Akdemus Peace On Earth Solomon's Daughter Birds Of The Nile Musicians Pharoah Sanders, tenor sax Franklin Kiermyer, drums John Esposito, piano Drew Gress, double bass Capsule Info: Its liner-notes call this "Ecstatic American Music....still practiced here with the original spiritual intent." And this fiery album harkens back to late period Coltrane; it brings Pharoah back to where he started before he began to explore the forms of the Third World. This is a great record. Various Artists: STOLEN MOMENTS: RED HOT + COOL Red Hot Org/GRP Impulse! 1994. Produced by Earle Sebastian. 2-CD set. Track list Pharoah Sanders: The Creator Has A Master Plan (Trip Hop Remix)* Umar Bin Hassan & Abiodun Oyewole with Pharoah Sanders: This Is Madness# other tracks not featuring PS Musicians Pharoah Sanders, tenor sax Leon Thomas, vocal and percussion* Lonnie Liston Smith, piano* Richard Davis, bass* Julius Watkins, french horn* Billy Hart, drums* Reggie Workman, bass* Nate Bettis, percussion* Marc Starr, addl drums* Richard Scott, addl sax* Martin Fisher, addl guitar* Umar Bin Hassan, vocals# Don Babatunde, vocals# Abiodun Oyewole, perc# Genji Shiraisi, drums# Jonathan Maron, bass# Itaal Shur, keys# Capsule Info: The Red Hot Organization produces annual creative musical anthologies to raise funds and consciousness for AIDS treatment, prevention and research. Each compilation has focused on a different genre of music and is created in cooperation with a specific record label renowned for work in that genre. Other compilations have focused on pop, dance, latin rock, country and Brazilian music. Its 1994 compilation focused on jazz, marrying an older generation of established jazz musicians with a younger generation of up-and-coming singers and instrumentalists, many in the "acid jazz" and hip-hop traditions. Pharoah is featured prominently in the anthology, indeed his trademark white billy-goat beard adorns the CD cover. "The Creator..." is given a trip-hop remix with mixed success; Pharoah's sax gives depth to the emotional "This Is Madness" by former members of the pioneering pre-rap ensemble The Last Poets; and samples from TAUHID's "Upper Egypt And Lower Egypt" are used in "The Scream" by rappers/remixers Us3 with Joshua Redman and Tony Remy. A companion anthology cd RED HOT ON IMPULSE! featured edited versions of the two remixed Sanders tracks plus such rarities as Alice Coltrane's reinterpretation of "A Love Supreme". New York Unit: NAIMA Evidence 1995. Produced by New York Unit and Yoichi Nakao. CD. Track list Naima Greensleeves Summertime Over The Rainbow Mara Skylark Musicians Pharoah Sanders, tenor sax John Hicks, piano Richard Davis, bass Tatsuya Nakamura, drums Capsule Info: 1992 recording from Japan's King Records licenses in the US by Evidence, features Pharoah on sax. I haven't heard this. According to correspondent Joachim Prinz: "It has got a very nice split-tone-ing version of 'Naima' and (unfortunately) rather conventional versions of 'Greensleeves', 'Summertime' and 'Over the Rainbow' (!). As a surprise comes the piece 'Mara' from Richard Davis that shows Pharoah as fierce as he hasn't been for decades. He isn't part of three other pieces (in order to keep him from being too dominantly, I presume) from which 'Skylark' displays the remarkable gifts of Richard Davis on bass." James Blood Ulmer's Music Revelation Ensemble CROSS FIRE DIW 1996. Produced by ?. CD (Japan?). Track list Law Suspect Devotion Sweet Proof My Prayer Evidence Backbeat Musicians James Blood Ulmer, Guitar Calvin 'Hassen Truth' Jones, Bass Cornell W. Rochester, Drums Pharoah Sanders, Tenor Sax John Zorn, Alto Sax Capsule Info: I haven't heard this but Hugh Blair says: "Lots of whacky harmolodics with the two saxes playing on alternate tracks. So only four of the tracks have Sanders playing, the other four have Zorn on alto." Sounds intriguing though Zorn doesn't do much for me anyway. Wallace Roney VILLAGE Warner Bros. Records 1997. Produced by Matt Pierson and Lenny White. CD. Track list The Pharoah EBO other tracks don't feature PS Musicians Wallace Roney, trumpet Pharoah Sanders, tenor sax Lenny White, drums Clarence Seay, bass Geri Allen, piano Antoine Roney, bass clarinet Chick Corea, el piano Robert "Baabe" Irving III, synths others Capsule Info: Pharoah makes a guest spot on two tracks of this album which mostly sounds like nothing so much as 1965-vintage Miles Davis. Pharoah sounds great too. Terry Callier TIMEPEACE Verve Forecast 1998. Produced by Brian Bacchus. CD. Track list TimePeace/No One Has To Tell You/Build A World Of Love other tracks don't feature PS Musicians Terry Callier, vocals, ac guitar Pharoah Sanders, tenor sax on one track Dave Onderdonk, guitar Pennington McGee, perc Alfredo Alias, drums other musicians on other tracks Capsule Info: A really terrific comeback from "jazz/folk" singer Terry Callier who really captures the peace-love-and-revolution vibe even in 1998. Pharoah's solo is very mellow and warm, and adds color to an already hugely recommended album. Phyllis Hyman: ONE ON ONE Hip-O/Universal 1998. Various producers. CD. Track list Love Is Here As You Are other tracks not featuring PS Musicians Pharoah Sanders, tenor & soprano sax Norman Connors, drums, percussion Phyllis Hyman, vocals Bobby Lyle, keyboards Khalid Moss, keyboards Hubert Eaves, keyboards Kenneth Nash, percussion Lenny White, drums Raymond Pounds, drums Wah Wah Watson, elec guitar David T. Walker, elec guitar Alex Blake, bass Donny Beck, bass The Waters Family, vocals plus horns and strings Capsule Info: This uneven collection of rare tracks and collaborations by the late Phyllis Hyman includes two songs from Pharoah's 1978 Arista album LOVE WILL FIND A WAY. Phyllis Hyman was possesed of an extroardinary voice with precious few opportunities to exercise it properly. Her two songs here with Pharoah (and two with Norman Connors) stand out against a number of attempts to ride the cheesy commercial wave of the moment. Randy Weston: KHEPERA Verve 1998. Produced by Brian Bacchus & Randy WestonCD. Track list Creation Anu Anu The Shrine The Shang Prayer Blues Boram Xam Xam Portrait of Cheikh Anta Diop Niger Mambo Mystery Of Love A Prayer For Us All Musicians Randy Weston, piano Melba Liston, arrangements Pharoah Sanders, tenor and sop sax Alex Blake, bass Chief Bey, vocals, ashiko drum Neil Clark, congas, perc, congs Talib Kibwe, alto sax, flute Benny Powell, trombone Min Xiao Fen, pipa, gong Capsule Info: Pharoah along for the ride as Weston deepens his Afro-centric spiritual vision. Also Weston makes forays into Asian sounds and sensibilities. Norman Connors: MELANCHOLY FIRE: THE BEST OF NORMAN CONNORS Arista/Razor&Tie 1999. Various producers. CD. Track list Everything I Have Is Good other tracks not featuring PS Musicians Pharoah Sanders, tenor & soprano sax Norman Connors, drums, percussion, vocal Phyllis Hyman, vocals Bobby Lyle, keyboards Khalid Moss, keyboards Hubert Eaves, keyboards Kenneth Nash, percussion Lenny White, drums Raymond Pounds, drums Wah Wah Watson, elec guitar David T. Walker, elec guitar Alex Blake, bass Donny Beck, bass The Waters Family, vocals plus horns and strings Capsule Info: This collection of mainly vocal songs from Norman Connors' varied career from the 1970s through the 1990s includes one song from Pharoah's 1978 Arista album LOVE WILL FIND A WAY, which he produced. Phyllis Hyman shares the vocal with Norman himself. This collection is not overly reflective of Connors' jazzy side, but it does include this one Sanders rarity, which was enough, well, to make me buy it. Tisziji Munoz: VISITING THIS PLANET Anami 19??. Produced by ?CD. Track list Unknown Musicians Tisziji Muñoz, guitar, synth guitar, keyboard, synth keyboard, shenai, congas, flutes and percussion Paul Shaffer, piano and synth keyboard John Hicks, Bernie Senensky, Michael Cochrane and Jon Weiss on piano Pharoah Sanders, tenor saxophone Dave Liebman, soprano saxophone Art Davis, Dennis Irwin, Cecil McBee, Don Pate and Ratso Harris on bass Bob Moses, Idris Muhammed, Adam Nussbaum and Guillermo Cantu on drums Guillerme Franco, perc Capsule Info: I haven't seen or heard these, but here is a description from Munoz' website: "Visiting this Planet is a celestial work that propels us through and beyond the limits of musical space with Tisziji's original recordings from the 1980's plus two rearranged interpretations of John Coltrane's compositions." Tisziji Munoz: RIVER OF BLOOD Anami 1997. Produced by ?CD. Track list Track listing unknown Other tracks not featuring PS? Musicians Tisziji Muñoz, guitar, keyboard, shenai Bernie Senensky, piano Pharoah Sanders, tenor saxophone Dave Liebman, tenor saxophone Don Pate, bass Rashied Ali, drums, perc Capsule Info: I haven't seen or heard these, but here is a description from Munoz' website: "River Of Blood offers Tisziji's intense and soulful original compositions, and is the first in a series of 1997 recordings with Rashied Ali on drums and percussion. In addition to the guitar, Tisziji plays the shenai and synth keyboard, and is accompanied by John Hicks on piano and Don Pate on bass. A bonus cut on this CD includes a rare and ferociously creative saxophone duet between the legendary Pharoah Sanders and Dave Liebman from the 1981 Anami archives." Tisziji Munoz: PRESENT WITHOUT A TRACE Anami 1997. Produced by ?CD. Track list The Dance Of The Visionaries Other tracks not featuring PS? Musicians Tisziji Muñoz, guitar, synth guitar, keyboard, synth keyboard, shenai, congas, flutes and percussion Bernie Senensky, piano Pharoah Sanders, tenor saxophone Don Pate, bass Rashied Ali, drums, perc Capsule Info: I haven't seen or heard these, but here is a description from Munoz' website: "Present Without A Trace is another classic example of Tisziji's spontaneous 'on the spot' composing and intense improvisation. It is a marked progression from the hauntingly beautiful River of Blood CD, and demonstrates Tisziji's ability to take negative, emotional conflict and transform it into powerful, beautiful and peaceful musical resolutions. It is for the few." Tisziji Munoz: SPIRIT WORLD Anami 1997. Produced by ?2CD. Track list Unknown Musicians Tisziji Muñoz, guitar, synth guitar, keyboard, synth keyboard, shenai, congas, flutes and percussion Bernie Senensky, piano Pharoah Sanders, tenor saxophone Don Pate, bass Rashied Ali, drums, perc Capsule Info: I haven't seen or heard these, but here is a description from Munoz' website: "The Spirit World double CD is a masterpiece, offering the listener an unusual series of meditations featuring the often volcanic, majestic and always creative Pharoah Sanders on various saxophones. These original 'on-the-spot' creations further demonstrate Tisziji's creative mastery of the music medium to include surprising ventures into yogic and Eastern sound effects. This is the third in the historic 1997 trilogy." Arcana, Arc of Testimony, Axiom 1997. I haven't heard this: According to fan A.Venditti: "Pharoah plays on two tracks with Tony Williams. I think it is the first time they work together. The result is very interesting." Dave Burrell, High Won-High Two, Black Lion 1968. (No tenor workout here: Pharoah is on tambourine!) John Coltrane, Infinity, Impulse!/ABC 1972. 1965-1966 performances overdubbed with string arrangements by Alice Coltrane in 1972. John Coltrane, Meditations, Impulse! 1966. (John Coltrane Discography) Ayib Dieng, Rhythmagic Axiom, 1997. Haven't heard it: Pharoah plays tenor on two tracks. Jali Kunda, Griots of West Africa 1997, a kind of box with one cd. I haven't heard this. According to fan A.Venditti: "Pharoah plays on one track which is a duo with the African musician who sings on a track in MESSAGE FROM HOME (I can't remember his name!!). The music is more interesting than the track on the last Pharoah album. Michael Mantler, The Jazz Composer's Orchestra, JCOA Records/ECM 1968. Avant garde bigband also featuring Gato Barbieri, Don Cherry, Larry Coryell, and others. Pharoah on one cut. Bheki Mseleku, Timelessness, Verve 1994. Featured on one song, though when South African Bheki Mseleku plays tenor (and he is a multi-instrumentalist) he turns out to be a Pharoah imitator (that's a compliment)! Steve Turre, Rhythm Within, Antilles/Verve 1995. Trombone/conch shell player Turre invites Pharoah in to solo on two cuts. Very nice album with a mellow third-worldish vibe. Jah Wobble, Heaven and Earth Island, 1995. Haven't heard it: according to fan Alain Venditti: "Pharoah plays tenor, soprano and flute on two tracks. The music has something to do with rap but it's nice to hear Pharoah!" Also Of Interest: Several of Pharoah's songs have been reinterpreted by other artists. Above all "The Creator Has A Master Plan" has become something of a standard, and appears on many albums by many artists. Following is a listing of some of his other works as covered by a variety of musicians. Count Basie & His Orchestra: AFRIQUE, arranged & conducted by Oliver Nelson Flying Dutchman 1971/BMG France 1996. Produced by Bob Thiele. CD Europe. Track list Gypsy Queen (Szabo) Love Flower (Ayler) Japan (Sanders) more Musicians Count Basie, piano Oliver Nelson, alto sax, arr, cond Hubert Laws, flute Freddy Green, guitar John R. Williams, el bass Harold Jones, drums Richard Pablo Landrum, congas Sonny Morgan, bongos Warren Smith, marimba plus full horn section Capsule Info: This has to be heard to be believed. Courtesy of Oliver Nelson and the Flying Dutchman stable of artists, Count Basie tackles swinging arrangements of a number of then-current avant garde tunes,Pharoah's "Japan" among them. Oliver Nelson's touch is most evident, and his light orientesque melody from TAUHID is transformed into a dramatic fanfare. Galliano: WHAT COLOUR OUR FLAG Talkin' Loud/Polygram 1994. Produced by Mick Talbot. CD . Track list Leg In The Sea Of History (aka The Creator Has A Masterplan) Prince Of Peace lots more Musicians Rob Gallagher, vocal Valerie Etienne, vocal Mick Talbot, keyboards Roy Ayers, vibes, vocals Phillip Bent, flute many others Capsule Info: When Polygram tried to market England's Acid Jazz/Rap/Jazz poetry group Galliano to US audiences (quite unsuccessfully I suspect) they put together this compilation of material from their English albums. God bless these multi-racial English hipsters, who manage to cover not one but two Pharoah Sanders tunes in between some great grooves and righteous preaching. Hey, it's the 1990s: how come Pharoah is cool over there and not here? Galliano: UNTIL SUCH TIME Talkin' Loud/Nippon Phonogram 1993. No producer listed. CD Japan . Track list Prince Of Peace lots more Musicians Rob Gallagher, vocal Valerie Etienne, vocal Mick Talbot, keyboards many others Capsule Info: Galliano recorded live on tour in Europe in 1992. They perform a great version of "Prince Of Peace" and explicitly praise the song's creators Leon Thomas and Pharoah Sanders. Howard Johnson's Nubia: ARRIVAL---A Pharoah Sanders Tribute Verve 1995. Produced by Brian Bacchus. CD (Europe only). Track list Arrival You Gotta Have Freedom The Creator Has A Masterplan Gasheia Lower Egypt Venus Think About The One Such Is Love/Little Rock Prophet Come Along Musicians Howard Johnson, baritone sax, voice Sarah Seidel, voice, flute Johannes Georg Bahlmann, piano Sabine Worthmann, bass Wolff Reichert, drums Kojo Samuels, congas, perc Dumisani Mabaso, perc Capsule Info: Pharoah doesn't appear here but his songs do, in a European tribute. Is there irony here? Santana: SACRED FIRE--Live In South America Polygram 1993. Produced by Carlos Santana and Chester Thompson. CD . Track list Angels All Around Us (Introduction) others Musicians Carlos Santana, guitar, vocals, perc Chester Thompson, keyboards, vocals Myron Dove, bass, bg vocals Walfredo Reyes, drums, perc Raul Rekow, congas, perc vocals Alex Ligertwood, vocals Jorge Santana, guitar others Capsule Info: Several of Pharoah Sanders' and Leon Thomas' songs are rumored to be staples of modern Santana concerts, and the short opening track of this live album is actually an arrangement of Pharoah's "Kazuko (Peace Child)" from one of his Theresa-era lps. A version of Pharoah Sanders' "Astral Traveling" appears on an album by collaborator Lonnie Liston Smith. Versions of Pharoah Sanders' "Japan" appear on albums by Linda Sharrock and was frequently performed by the New Santana Band in the early 1970s, with lyrics added by Leon Thomas. Many artists have covered "The Creator Has A Master Plan". Pharoah Sanders | Creator | Discography 1 | Discography 2 Ian's Guide | Artists | Links | Sitemap | About Us
Capsule Info: Here's an album lost to the ages: thanks to Larry Nai for letting me listen to his. I used to think Pharoah and Sun Ra lived in parallel universes (from each other, not the rest of us!) but it turns out that when Pharoah was struggling to break into the ranks of recognized jazz artists he was living on NYC's lower east side and gigging with Sun Ra. Sun Ra in turn egged him on in the use of "Pharoah" instead of "Farrell" as a moniker. While I think both Sun Ra and Pharoah made albums more to my taste than this one, it is fascinating in its suggestion of where some great music was born.
John Coltrane: KULU SE MAMA Impulse! Records 1965. Produced by Bob Thiele and John Coltrane. CD Japan*.
Capsule Info: Very spiritually focused album from Coltrane featuring, on one song, Pharoah and singer/percussionist Juno Lewis sounding very much ahead of their time. Also featuring the serene "Welcome." (*In the US these tracks are scattered across different CDs; Japanese Impulse! released a brilliant sounding version of the whole album in 1998.)
John Coltrane: SELFLESSNESS Impulse! Records 1965?. Produced by Bob Thiele and John Coltrane. CD Japan*.
Capsule Info: SELFLESSNESS is a patched-together album containing two brilliant live performances from the pre-Pharoah Coltrane group and one extended tune, the title track, recorded at the same time as KULU SE MAMA. It's a fiery but accessible work, with a larger, more percussion heavy group than John Coltrane--though not Pharoah--usually recorded with. (*In the US this tune appears on the oddly-titled two-CD set THE MAJOR WORKS OF JOHN COLTRANE.)
Don Cherry: SYMPHONY FOR IMPROVISERS Blue Note 1966. Produced by Alfred Lion. CD.
Capsule Info: An avant-garde summit. Gato Barbieri is also featured.
John Coltrane:MEDITATIONS Impulse! Records 1966. AS-9110. Produced by Bob Thiele. CD.
Capsule Info: November 1965 sessions. These meditations are soul-searching and fierce.
John Coltrane:COLTRANE LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD AGAIN! Impulse! Records 1966. AS-9124. Produced by Bob Thiele. CD.
Capsule Info: Recorded live in May of 1966, this album shows how far John Coltrane travelled since his legendary 1961 sessions at the same venue, joined this time by Pharoah and Alice.
Don Cherry: WHERE IS BROOKLYN? Blue Note 1966. Produced by Alfred Lion. CD*.
Capsule Info: Fiery avant garde from Ornette Coleman's group sans Ornette plus Pharoah. *On CD only as part of the now out of print Mosaic Set "The Compete Don Cherry On Blue Note." One track ("There Is The Bomb") is also anthologized on the UK Blue Note compilation BLUE SIXTIES.
The Latin Jazz Quintet with Featured Guest Artist Pharoah Sanders: OH! PHAROAH SPEAK Trip Records, n.d. (mid to late 1960s?). Produced by Juan Amalbert (Emmanuel Abdul-Rahim). No CD.
Capsule info: The cover art looks to be about the same time as TAUHID, otherwise I'm clueless as to the vintage of this recording. Funky New York Afro-Cuban jazz recording with maddeningly incomplete and unspecific liner notes. The music is soulfull boogaloo, wih occasional lapses into protosalsa and bigband souljazz. Hard to tell in a horn-heavy album, but Pharoah seems to have one solo vehicle, where he sounds really out of place in front of a way-way in horn section and funky rhythm section. There's a story here, I wish I knew it! See also SPOTLIGHT ON PHAROAH SANDERS in the solo album listings. Leader Amalbert went on to record as Emmanuel Abdul-Rahim and the Kahlios.
John Coltrane:EXPRESSION Impulse! Records 1967. AS-9120. Produced by John Coltrane and Bob Thiele. CD.
Capsule Info: The last album John Coltrane worked on before his death in July of 1967, and the first of many to be released by his heirs posthumously. Having reached a free and frenetic plateau earlier, this album pulls back to earth and is full of haunting tranquility and introspection. Surprising and wonderful are Pharoah Sanders & John Coltrane on flutes in "To Be".
Gary Bartz: ANOTHER EARTH Milestone 1968/1998. Produced by Orrin Keepnews. CD.
Capsule Info: Poised on the brink of finding their own voices, Gary Bartz and Pharoah Sanders join in an extended, side-long duet full of late-1960s edgy fire but not yet colored by the African sensibility that would soon dominate the music of both artists. Reissued by Milestone/Fantasy/OJC as a twofer CD with Bartz's LIBRA.
John and Alice Coltrane: COSMIC MUSIC Impulse! Records 1968. AS-9148. Produced by Bob Thiele. CD Japan Only*.
Capsule Info: A posthumous tribute to John Coltrane and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Two tracks feature the late John, and two the Alice Coltrane/Pharoah Sanders grouping only. *Two tracks, with greatly improved sound, appear on the US CD reissue of Alice Coltrane's A MONASTIC TRIO.
Alice Coltrane: A MONASTIC TRIO Impulse! Records 1968. AS-9156. Produced by Bob Thiele. CD (Japan & US* Versions different).
Capsule Info: Dorothy Ashby move over: Alice Coltrane brings the jazz harp to the avant garde. This is her tribute to her late husband and his spiritual vision. (*US CD version only)
Leon Thomas: SPIRITS KNOWN AND UNKNOWN--NEW VOCAL FRONTIERS Flying Dutchman 1969. Produced by Bob Thiele. No CD.
Capsule info: The version of "The Creator Has A Masterplan" is more vocally and lyrically developed (and much shorter) than the version sung with Pharoah Sanders, and much more mellow. Pharoah, credited here as "Little Rock" is featured on several cuts. "The Creator" also appears on other albums sung by its co-author, Leon Thomas. (Two cuts from this album appear on the CD LEON THOMAS ANTHOLOGY, Soul Brother Records 1998).
Alice Coltrane: PTAH THE EL-DAOUD Impulse! Records 1970. AS-9196. Produced by Ed Michel. CD.
Capsule Info: A fairly eclectic album, moving from Mingus-like marches to the spritually meditative to a Pharoah Sanders screechfest.
Alice Coltrane: JOURNEY IN SATCHIDANANDA Impulse! Records 1971. AS-9203. Produced by Alice Coltrane with Ed Michel. CD.
Capsule Info: One of Alice's best albums. From her liner notes: "Direct inspiration for JOURNEY IN SATCHIDANANDA comes from my meeting and association with...my own beloved spiritual perceptor, Swami Satchidananda... Satchidananda means knowledge, existence, bliss....I hope that this album will be a form of meditation and a spiritual awakening for those who listen with their inner ear."
John Coltrane: LIVE IN JAPAN Impulse! Records 1973/1991. AS-0000. Reissue produced by Michael Cuscuna. CD.
Capsule Info: Recorded in July of 1966 in Tokyo for broadcast to Japanese radio. One disc's worth was originally released on vinyl in 1973, with further sessions released in Japan only in the 1980s. The CD brings all sessions to a four-CD set, though the monophonic sound leaves a bit to be desired. JC's later-day quintet featuring second wife Alice and Pharoah wasn't as heavily documented on record as his more classic quartet, so this is rare music: Alice Coltrane's solos on one of the two long versions of "Peace On Earth" are terrific.
Larry Young: LAWRENCE OF NEWARK Perception, 1973. Produced by Larry Young. No CD.
Capsule Info: Fiery organist Larry Young steps back from rock/fusion on a very cosmic set. Thanks to Karl Billerts for a taped copy of this long out of print gem.
Norman Connors: ROMANTIC JOURNEY Buddah 1977/Right Stuff 1994. Produced by Skip Drinkwater. CD.
Capsule Info: The remake of "Thembi" shows how Norman Connors tried to remold Pharoah Sanders' direction in tune with the general jazz-pop mood of the late-1970s. This album runs the gamut from disco to fusion lite to ballads to quiet storm. Not for purists, but fun.
Norman Connors: THIS IS YOUR LIFE Buddah 1977/Sequel 1993. Produced by Skip Drinkwater. CD Europe.
Capsule Info: Glossy but fun Norman Connors album includes a pleasant rewrite of Pharaoh Sanders' "The Creator Has A Masterplan" featuring solos by Pharoah himself but substituting new lyrics for Leon Thomas' original ones.
Art Davis Quartet: LIFE Soul Note 1986. Produced by Giovanni Bonandrini. CD.
Capsule Info: Recorded live in NYC in 1985. Fairly straight-forward jazz; all originals by Davis. The Davis/Sanders duet on "Duo" is nice, and Sanders shouts the blues in "Blues From Concertpiece for Bass." "Add" is extended and nicely Coltrane-esque.
Sonny Sharrock: ASK THE AGES Axiom/Island 1991. Produced by Bill Laswell and Sonny Sharrock. CD.
Capsule Info: The late Sonny Sharrock appeared on at least two of Pharoah's albums, TAUHID and IZIPHO ZAM. Here Pharoah returns the favor. Sharrock's playing is not unlike that of Carlos Santana, albeit jazzier and edgier and with an all acoustic backup. Pharoah sounds good, though Laswell's taste in production of course pushes him to odd places in the mix.
John Coltrane: THE MAJOR WORKS OF JOHN COLTRANE Impulse! Records 1992. Produced by Bob Thiele and John Coltrane. CD.
Capsule Info: CD reconfiguration of several 1965 sessions: ASCENSION (#) in two takes, plus cuts from OM(*), SELFNESSNESS(@) and KULU SE MAMA(**). "Ascension" is a fiery larger ensemble workout that set the stage for much of the avant garde jazz orchestral music of the late 1960s. OM was allegedly recorded while the participants dropped acid: frankly hard to listen to, its stream of altered consciousness screaming still shocks and surprises. "Kulu Se Mama" with its percussion and chanting is a glimpse of Pharoah Sanders' path to come. (OM was released earlier on CD as a separate album but is now deleted; ASCENSION (edition 1), OM, SELFLESSNESS and KULU SE MAMA are all available on separate CDs as Japanese imports; see above for individual review).
Elvin Jones/McCoy Tyner Quintet :LOVE & PEACE Storyville Records, 1992. Produced by Taizo Fujii. CD.
Capsule Info: Quintet sessions reuniting Coltrane vets McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones and others; recorded in April 1982. Emphasis on straight-ahead material.
Randy Weston: THE SPIRITS OF OUR ANCESTORS Antilles/Polygram 1992. Produced by Randy Weston, etc. CD; 2-disc set.
Capsule Info: Afro-Centric bigband music; much of it influenced by the Gnawa musicians of Morocco. Pharoah appears on several cuts.
ED KELLY & PHAROAH SANDERS Evidence 1993. Produced by Allen Pittman & Al Evers. CD.
Capsule Info: A 1978 session released originally without credit to Pharoah, this recording sits squarely between his glossy commercial Arista work and his Theresa period.
John Coltrane: THE LAST GIANT: THE JOHN COLTRANE ANTHOLOGY Rhino/Atlantic Jazz 1993. Compilation produced by Joel Dorn. 2-CD set.
Capsule Info: A year or two before Atlantic and Rhino reissued all of Coltrane's Atlantic sides on a massive boxed set entitled HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION, it released this overview of Coltrane's non-Impulse recordings from the late 1940s on. Tantalizing, included nowhere else, and relevant here is the brief, under two-minute snippet "Ogunde" from Coltrane's last live performance, at the opening of Babatunde Olatunji's Center For African Culture, in New York City's Harlem, May 23, 1967. Maddeningly the collection offers no clue as to the rest of this recording: how long it is, will it ever be fully released, etcetera. Coltrane playing a tune titled in Yoruba with multiple percussionists and Alice and Pharoah? Damn what's the rest of the song like!
Norman Connors: REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE MoJAzz 1993. Produced by Norman Connors. CD.
Capsule Info: After a long absence Norman Connors returned with an album very much after his late '70s formula: good vocalists, jazz covers, glossy production. Some of this is great, some overproduced dreck. The cut featuring Pharoah, Coltrane's "Naima," is quite nice and actually jazz.
Maleem Mahmoud Ghania with Pharoah Sanders: THE TRANCE OF SEVEN COLORS Axiom/Island 1994. Produced by Bill Laswell. CD.
Capsule Info: Originally brought north to Morocco as slaves, the Gnawa are black Africans who perform musical trance and healing ceremonies; there is something wonderfully full circle about Pharoah's interaction with their centuries-old traditions.
Idris Muhammad: KABSHA Evidence 1994. Produced by Idris Muhammad. CD.
Capsule Info: Solo recording from 1980 features Pharoah on sax. I haven't heard this. According to correspondent Joachim Prinz: "Pharoah and Coleman play alternately and only on two takes of the same piece together, proving that Coleman also possesses remarkable gifts on tenor but never reaching the depth and warmth and roundness of Pharoah's tone. Very nice is a hoarse version of 'I Want To Talk About You' and the piece 'Soulful Drums' .
Franklin Kiermyer featuring Pharoah Sanders: SOLOMON'S DAUGHTER Evidence 1994. Produced by Franklin Kiermyer. CD.
Capsule Info: Its liner-notes call this "Ecstatic American Music....still practiced here with the original spiritual intent." And this fiery album harkens back to late period Coltrane; it brings Pharoah back to where he started before he began to explore the forms of the Third World. This is a great record.
Various Artists: STOLEN MOMENTS: RED HOT + COOL Red Hot Org/GRP Impulse! 1994. Produced by Earle Sebastian. 2-CD set.
Capsule Info: The Red Hot Organization produces annual creative musical anthologies to raise funds and consciousness for AIDS treatment, prevention and research. Each compilation has focused on a different genre of music and is created in cooperation with a specific record label renowned for work in that genre. Other compilations have focused on pop, dance, latin rock, country and Brazilian music. Its 1994 compilation focused on jazz, marrying an older generation of established jazz musicians with a younger generation of up-and-coming singers and instrumentalists, many in the "acid jazz" and hip-hop traditions. Pharoah is featured prominently in the anthology, indeed his trademark white billy-goat beard adorns the CD cover. "The Creator..." is given a trip-hop remix with mixed success; Pharoah's sax gives depth to the emotional "This Is Madness" by former members of the pioneering pre-rap ensemble The Last Poets; and samples from TAUHID's "Upper Egypt And Lower Egypt" are used in "The Scream" by rappers/remixers Us3 with Joshua Redman and Tony Remy. A companion anthology cd RED HOT ON IMPULSE! featured edited versions of the two remixed Sanders tracks plus such rarities as Alice Coltrane's reinterpretation of "A Love Supreme".
New York Unit: NAIMA Evidence 1995. Produced by New York Unit and Yoichi Nakao. CD.
Capsule Info: 1992 recording from Japan's King Records licenses in the US by Evidence, features Pharoah on sax. I haven't heard this. According to correspondent Joachim Prinz: "It has got a very nice split-tone-ing version of 'Naima' and (unfortunately) rather conventional versions of 'Greensleeves', 'Summertime' and 'Over the Rainbow' (!). As a surprise comes the piece 'Mara' from Richard Davis that shows Pharoah as fierce as he hasn't been for decades. He isn't part of three other pieces (in order to keep him from being too dominantly, I presume) from which 'Skylark' displays the remarkable gifts of Richard Davis on bass."
James Blood Ulmer's Music Revelation Ensemble CROSS FIRE DIW 1996. Produced by ?. CD (Japan?).
Capsule Info: I haven't heard this but Hugh Blair says: "Lots of whacky harmolodics with the two saxes playing on alternate tracks. So only four of the tracks have Sanders playing, the other four have Zorn on alto." Sounds intriguing though Zorn doesn't do much for me anyway.
Wallace Roney VILLAGE Warner Bros. Records 1997. Produced by Matt Pierson and Lenny White. CD.
Capsule Info: Pharoah makes a guest spot on two tracks of this album which mostly sounds like nothing so much as 1965-vintage Miles Davis. Pharoah sounds great too.
Terry Callier TIMEPEACE Verve Forecast 1998. Produced by Brian Bacchus. CD.
Capsule Info: A really terrific comeback from "jazz/folk" singer Terry Callier who really captures the peace-love-and-revolution vibe even in 1998. Pharoah's solo is very mellow and warm, and adds color to an already hugely recommended album.
Phyllis Hyman: ONE ON ONE Hip-O/Universal 1998. Various producers. CD.
Capsule Info: This uneven collection of rare tracks and collaborations by the late Phyllis Hyman includes two songs from Pharoah's 1978 Arista album LOVE WILL FIND A WAY. Phyllis Hyman was possesed of an extroardinary voice with precious few opportunities to exercise it properly. Her two songs here with Pharoah (and two with Norman Connors) stand out against a number of attempts to ride the cheesy commercial wave of the moment.
Randy Weston: KHEPERA Verve 1998. Produced by Brian Bacchus & Randy WestonCD.
Capsule Info: Pharoah along for the ride as Weston deepens his Afro-centric spiritual vision. Also Weston makes forays into Asian sounds and sensibilities.
Norman Connors: MELANCHOLY FIRE: THE BEST OF NORMAN CONNORS Arista/Razor&Tie 1999. Various producers. CD.
Capsule Info: This collection of mainly vocal songs from Norman Connors' varied career from the 1970s through the 1990s includes one song from Pharoah's 1978 Arista album LOVE WILL FIND A WAY, which he produced. Phyllis Hyman shares the vocal with Norman himself. This collection is not overly reflective of Connors' jazzy side, but it does include this one Sanders rarity, which was enough, well, to make me buy it.
Tisziji Munoz: VISITING THIS PLANET Anami 19??. Produced by ?CD.
Capsule Info: I haven't seen or heard these, but here is a description from Munoz' website: "Visiting this Planet is a celestial work that propels us through and beyond the limits of musical space with Tisziji's original recordings from the 1980's plus two rearranged interpretations of John Coltrane's compositions."
Tisziji Munoz: RIVER OF BLOOD Anami 1997. Produced by ?CD.
Capsule Info: I haven't seen or heard these, but here is a description from Munoz' website: "River Of Blood offers Tisziji's intense and soulful original compositions, and is the first in a series of 1997 recordings with Rashied Ali on drums and percussion. In addition to the guitar, Tisziji plays the shenai and synth keyboard, and is accompanied by John Hicks on piano and Don Pate on bass. A bonus cut on this CD includes a rare and ferociously creative saxophone duet between the legendary Pharoah Sanders and Dave Liebman from the 1981 Anami archives."
Tisziji Munoz: PRESENT WITHOUT A TRACE Anami 1997. Produced by ?CD.
Capsule Info: I haven't seen or heard these, but here is a description from Munoz' website: "Present Without A Trace is another classic example of Tisziji's spontaneous 'on the spot' composing and intense improvisation. It is a marked progression from the hauntingly beautiful River of Blood CD, and demonstrates Tisziji's ability to take negative, emotional conflict and transform it into powerful, beautiful and peaceful musical resolutions. It is for the few."
Tisziji Munoz: SPIRIT WORLD Anami 1997. Produced by ?2CD.
Capsule Info: I haven't seen or heard these, but here is a description from Munoz' website: "The Spirit World double CD is a masterpiece, offering the listener an unusual series of meditations featuring the often volcanic, majestic and always creative Pharoah Sanders on various saxophones. These original 'on-the-spot' creations further demonstrate Tisziji's creative mastery of the music medium to include surprising ventures into yogic and Eastern sound effects. This is the third in the historic 1997 trilogy."
Arcana, Arc of Testimony, Axiom 1997. I haven't heard this: According to fan A.Venditti: "Pharoah plays on two tracks with Tony Williams. I think it is the first time they work together. The result is very interesting."
Dave Burrell, High Won-High Two, Black Lion 1968. (No tenor workout here: Pharoah is on tambourine!)
John Coltrane, Infinity, Impulse!/ABC 1972. 1965-1966 performances overdubbed with string arrangements by Alice Coltrane in 1972.
John Coltrane, Meditations, Impulse! 1966.
(John Coltrane Discography)
Ayib Dieng, Rhythmagic Axiom, 1997. Haven't heard it: Pharoah plays tenor on two tracks.
Jali Kunda, Griots of West Africa 1997, a kind of box with one cd. I haven't heard this. According to fan A.Venditti: "Pharoah plays on one track which is a duo with the African musician who sings on a track in MESSAGE FROM HOME (I can't remember his name!!). The music is more interesting than the track on the last Pharoah album.
Michael Mantler, The Jazz Composer's Orchestra, JCOA Records/ECM 1968. Avant garde bigband also featuring Gato Barbieri, Don Cherry, Larry Coryell, and others. Pharoah on one cut.
Bheki Mseleku, Timelessness, Verve 1994. Featured on one song, though when South African Bheki Mseleku plays tenor (and he is a multi-instrumentalist) he turns out to be a Pharoah imitator (that's a compliment)!
Steve Turre, Rhythm Within, Antilles/Verve 1995. Trombone/conch shell player Turre invites Pharoah in to solo on two cuts. Very nice album with a mellow third-worldish vibe.
Jah Wobble, Heaven and Earth Island, 1995. Haven't heard it: according to fan Alain Venditti: "Pharoah plays tenor, soprano and flute on two tracks. The music has something to do with rap but it's nice to hear Pharoah!"
Also Of Interest:
Several of Pharoah's songs have been reinterpreted by other artists. Above all "The Creator Has A Master Plan" has become something of a standard, and appears on many albums by many artists. Following is a listing of some of his other works as covered by a variety of musicians. Count Basie & His Orchestra: AFRIQUE, arranged & conducted by Oliver Nelson Flying Dutchman 1971/BMG France 1996. Produced by Bob Thiele. CD Europe. Track list Gypsy Queen (Szabo) Love Flower (Ayler) Japan (Sanders) more Musicians Count Basie, piano Oliver Nelson, alto sax, arr, cond Hubert Laws, flute Freddy Green, guitar John R. Williams, el bass Harold Jones, drums Richard Pablo Landrum, congas Sonny Morgan, bongos Warren Smith, marimba plus full horn section Capsule Info: This has to be heard to be believed. Courtesy of Oliver Nelson and the Flying Dutchman stable of artists, Count Basie tackles swinging arrangements of a number of then-current avant garde tunes,Pharoah's "Japan" among them. Oliver Nelson's touch is most evident, and his light orientesque melody from TAUHID is transformed into a dramatic fanfare. Galliano: WHAT COLOUR OUR FLAG Talkin' Loud/Polygram 1994. Produced by Mick Talbot. CD . Track list Leg In The Sea Of History (aka The Creator Has A Masterplan) Prince Of Peace lots more Musicians Rob Gallagher, vocal Valerie Etienne, vocal Mick Talbot, keyboards Roy Ayers, vibes, vocals Phillip Bent, flute many others Capsule Info: When Polygram tried to market England's Acid Jazz/Rap/Jazz poetry group Galliano to US audiences (quite unsuccessfully I suspect) they put together this compilation of material from their English albums. God bless these multi-racial English hipsters, who manage to cover not one but two Pharoah Sanders tunes in between some great grooves and righteous preaching. Hey, it's the 1990s: how come Pharoah is cool over there and not here? Galliano: UNTIL SUCH TIME Talkin' Loud/Nippon Phonogram 1993. No producer listed. CD Japan . Track list Prince Of Peace lots more Musicians Rob Gallagher, vocal Valerie Etienne, vocal Mick Talbot, keyboards many others Capsule Info: Galliano recorded live on tour in Europe in 1992. They perform a great version of "Prince Of Peace" and explicitly praise the song's creators Leon Thomas and Pharoah Sanders. Howard Johnson's Nubia: ARRIVAL---A Pharoah Sanders Tribute Verve 1995. Produced by Brian Bacchus. CD (Europe only). Track list Arrival You Gotta Have Freedom The Creator Has A Masterplan Gasheia Lower Egypt Venus Think About The One Such Is Love/Little Rock Prophet Come Along Musicians Howard Johnson, baritone sax, voice Sarah Seidel, voice, flute Johannes Georg Bahlmann, piano Sabine Worthmann, bass Wolff Reichert, drums Kojo Samuels, congas, perc Dumisani Mabaso, perc Capsule Info: Pharoah doesn't appear here but his songs do, in a European tribute. Is there irony here? Santana: SACRED FIRE--Live In South America Polygram 1993. Produced by Carlos Santana and Chester Thompson. CD . Track list Angels All Around Us (Introduction) others Musicians Carlos Santana, guitar, vocals, perc Chester Thompson, keyboards, vocals Myron Dove, bass, bg vocals Walfredo Reyes, drums, perc Raul Rekow, congas, perc vocals Alex Ligertwood, vocals Jorge Santana, guitar others Capsule Info: Several of Pharoah Sanders' and Leon Thomas' songs are rumored to be staples of modern Santana concerts, and the short opening track of this live album is actually an arrangement of Pharoah's "Kazuko (Peace Child)" from one of his Theresa-era lps. A version of Pharoah Sanders' "Astral Traveling" appears on an album by collaborator Lonnie Liston Smith. Versions of Pharoah Sanders' "Japan" appear on albums by Linda Sharrock and was frequently performed by the New Santana Band in the early 1970s, with lyrics added by Leon Thomas. Many artists have covered "The Creator Has A Master Plan". Pharoah Sanders | Creator | Discography 1 | Discography 2 Ian's Guide | Artists | Links | Sitemap | About Us
Count Basie & His Orchestra: AFRIQUE, arranged & conducted by Oliver Nelson Flying Dutchman 1971/BMG France 1996. Produced by Bob Thiele. CD Europe.
Capsule Info: This has to be heard to be believed. Courtesy of Oliver Nelson and the Flying Dutchman stable of artists, Count Basie tackles swinging arrangements of a number of then-current avant garde tunes,Pharoah's "Japan" among them. Oliver Nelson's touch is most evident, and his light orientesque melody from TAUHID is transformed into a dramatic fanfare.
Galliano: WHAT COLOUR OUR FLAG Talkin' Loud/Polygram 1994. Produced by Mick Talbot. CD .
Capsule Info: When Polygram tried to market England's Acid Jazz/Rap/Jazz poetry group Galliano to US audiences (quite unsuccessfully I suspect) they put together this compilation of material from their English albums. God bless these multi-racial English hipsters, who manage to cover not one but two Pharoah Sanders tunes in between some great grooves and righteous preaching. Hey, it's the 1990s: how come Pharoah is cool over there and not here?
Galliano: UNTIL SUCH TIME Talkin' Loud/Nippon Phonogram 1993. No producer listed. CD Japan .
Capsule Info: Galliano recorded live on tour in Europe in 1992. They perform a great version of "Prince Of Peace" and explicitly praise the song's creators Leon Thomas and Pharoah Sanders.
Howard Johnson's Nubia: ARRIVAL---A Pharoah Sanders Tribute Verve 1995. Produced by Brian Bacchus. CD (Europe only).
Capsule Info: Pharoah doesn't appear here but his songs do, in a European tribute. Is there irony here?
Santana: SACRED FIRE--Live In South America Polygram 1993. Produced by Carlos Santana and Chester Thompson. CD .
Capsule Info: Several of Pharoah Sanders' and Leon Thomas' songs are rumored to be staples of modern Santana concerts, and the short opening track of this live album is actually an arrangement of Pharoah's "Kazuko (Peace Child)" from one of his Theresa-era lps.
A version of Pharoah Sanders' "Astral Traveling" appears on an album by collaborator Lonnie Liston Smith.
Versions of Pharoah Sanders' "Japan" appear on albums by Linda Sharrock and was frequently performed by the New Santana Band in the early 1970s, with lyrics added by Leon Thomas. Many artists have covered "The Creator Has A Master Plan".
Pharoah Sanders | Creator | Discography 1 | Discography 2
Ian's Guide | Artists | Links | Sitemap | About Us
SUN RA FEATURING PHAROAH SANDERS AND BLACK HAROLD