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Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra: Floating Points
by Ian Patterson
The meeting of electronics artist/DJ Sam Shepherd—aka Floating Points—with free-jazz icon Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra is a welcome surprise. Sanders has seldom troubled his discographers since the dawn of the new millennium. A couple of archival radio recordings, Live at Antibes Jazz Festival Juan Les Pins July 21 1968 (Alternative Fox, 2019) and Live in Paris (1975) (Transversales Disques, 2020), were potent reminders of his primacy in the crowded arena of the post-John Coltrane legacy. Yet these, ...
read morePharoah Sanders: An Alternative Top Ten Albums To Feed Your Head
by Chris May
Fellow tenor-wielding sonic adventurer Albert Ayler famously described his own and Pharoah Sanders' relationships with their mentor John Coltrane thus: “Trane was the Father, Pharoah was the Son, I am the Holy Ghost." The epigram goes some way to capturing the scorched-earth ferocity of much, though not all, of Sanders' music in the 1960s. But Ayler passed in 1970, and so was not around to witness Sanders' maturation into a full-spectrum stylist equally at home with voluptuous balladeering.
read moreRevenge of the Cosmic Panda
by Patrick Burnette
Does harp music fill you with images of celestial angels, or a (relatively) tamed Pharoah Sanders? Either way, there's something for you here in this brief overview of “cosmic" jazz. We start with a good, long look at the early career of Pharaoh Sanders and his brief gig with displaced resident of Saturn, Sun Ra, then move on to Alice Coltrane's contribution to the formation of cosmic/spiritual music. Finally, two exemplars of the genre, including one who's active and trending ...
read morePharoah Sanders: Live In Paris (1975)
by Chris May
Pharoah Sanders' catalogue of newly-discovered album releases is expanding as fast as those of his fellow travellers Alice Coltrane and John Coltrane. Which is great, but... most of the albums were recorded live, sometimes with poor audio capture, and do not always find the musicians at their best. You have to pick and choose between them. A further consideration is the legitimacy or otherwise of the releases and whether it is acceptable to support pirates and bootleggers. This is particularly ...
read moreThe 9th Annual John Coltrane International Jazz and Blues Festival
by La-Faithia White
Jazz and Blues lovers enjoyed a breathtaking view on Oak Hollow Lake in High Point, North Carolina for the ninth annual John Coltrane International Jazz and Blues Festival. The two day event happens every Labor Day weekend. Saturday's lineup consisted of the John Coltrane Youth Workshop, Laurin Talese with the North Carolina Coltrane All-Star Band under the direction of trumpeter and educator Mondre Moffett, five-time Grammy nominee Nnenna Freelon who was joined by living legend Benny Golson, three-time ...
read morePharoah Sanders: Live At Antibes Jazz Festival Juan-Les-Pins
by Chris May
The first official (allegedly) release of this album for over 30 years, Live At Antibes Jazz Festival Juan-Les-Pins July 21, 1968 captures Pharoah Sanders on the cusp of stylistic change. It is a disc hardcore Sanders fans will treasure. From 1965-1967, with his own bands and in those led by John Coltrane, Sanders' paint-stripping sonics matched those of Albert Ayler. But in 1967, on his second album as leader, Tauhid (Impulse!), Sanders signalled a new direction. The disc ...
read morePharoah Sanders at SFJAZZ
by Harry S. Pariser
Pharoah Sanders SFJAZZ San Francisco, CA September 22, 2017 As a senior statesmen of the saxophone, Pharoah Sanders requires no introduction to jazz afficianados. Nor is he a stranger to San Francisco's jazz scene: He has lived just across the bay, having resided in jny: Oakland after high school. Chances these days to see this Bay Area legend on his home turf are few and far between, so his appearance at SFJAZZ, where he headlined ...
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