Pharoah Sanders

Fellow saxophonist Ornette Coleman once described him as "probably the best tenor player in the world". Sanders' take on spiritual jazz was rooted in his inspiration from religious concepts such as karma and tawhid, and his rich, meditative performance aesthetic. This style was seen as a continuation of Coltrane's work on albums such as A Love Supreme.

• Name — Pharoah Sanders • Birth Name — Ferrell Lee Sanders • Born — 13 October 1940 • Birthplace — Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. • Died — 24 September 2022 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Genre — * Jazz • spiritual jazz • free jazz • avant-garde jazz • world fusion • ethno jazz • post-bop • Occupation — * Musician • composer • bandleader • Instrument — * Tenor saxophone • soprano saxophone • Label — * ESP-Disk • Douglas • Theresa • Impulse! • Strata East • Luaka Bop • Years Active — 1964–2022

Pharoah Sanders was born on October 13, 1940, in Little Rock, Arkansas. 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, 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.

• Illustration — Pharoah Sanders in 1981 • Illustration — Sanders performing at The Jazz Cafe in London, England, 2008 • Illustration — Sanders with William Henderson in 2008

Pharoah Sanders began his professional career playing tenor saxophone 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 name him after the pharaohs in the Bible but chose "Ferrell" instead. Sanders chose "Pharoah" as an artist name upon joining the New York musicians' union. Initially it was sometimes misspelled as "pharaoh". By 1963, he was playing with musicians such as Billy Higgins and Don Cherry and had caught the attention of Eric Dolphy and John Coltrane. 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. Sanders first recorded with Coltrane on Ascension (recorded in June 1965), then on their dual-tenor album Meditations (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' musical 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 free jazz, modified from Coltrane's solo-centric conception. In 1968, he participated in Michael Mantler and Carla Bley's Jazz Composer's Orchestra Association album The Jazz Composer's Orchestra, featuring Cecil Taylor, Don Cherry, Larry Coryell, 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 their respective solos 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.

In the 1970s, Sanders continued to produce his own recordings and also continued to work with Alice Coltrane on Journey in Satchidananda. Most of Sanders' best-selling work was made in the late 1960s and early 1970s for Impulse!. Notably including the 30-minute, wave-on-wave "The Creator Has a Master Plan" from the spiritual free-jazz album Karma. 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, 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 in 1991.

A 1979 recording titled Ed Kelly and Friend, which Sanders completed for Theresa Records was reissued in 1992 under Evidence (Ed Kelly and Pharoah Sanders). The 1992 reissue contained extra tracks which featured Pharoah's pupil Robert Stewart. In 1994, Sanders traveled to Morocco to record the Bill Laswell-produced album The Trance Of Seven Colors with Gnawa musician Mahmoud Guinia. That same year, he appeared on the Red Hot Organization album Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool with the track "This is Madness" with Umar Bin Hassan and Abiodun Oyewole and with the bonus track "The Creator Has A Master Plan (Trip Hop Remix)." The album was named "Album of the Year" by Time. He also collaborated with drummer–composer Franklin Kiermyer on Kiermyer's album Solomon's Daughter, which was also released on the Evidence label (re-released with 3 previously unreleased tracks on the Dot Time label in 2019). Sanders' major-label return came in 1995 with Message from Home under Verve Records. This was followed by Save Our Children (1998). In both, Sanders worked with Laswell, Jah Wobble, and others. Again, however. Sanders' distaste with the recording business prompted him to leave the label. In 1997 he was featured on several Tisziji Muñoz albums which include Rashied Ali. In 1999, in an interview, he mentioned his trouble finding work, despite his artistic pedigree.

In the 2000s, a resurgence of interest in jazz kept Sanders playing concerts, releasing albums and playing festivals, including the 2004 Bluesfest Byron Bay, the 2007 Melbourne Jazz Festival, and the 2008 Big Chill Festival. In 2000, Sanders released Spirits. In 2003, he recorded with the Japanese band Sleep Walker (he has a strong following in Japan). That same year, he released a live album titled The Creator Has a Master Plan (not to be confused with the song). He was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship in 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 producer Floating Points and the London Symphony Orchestra. It was released in March 2021, the first major new album by Sanders in nearly two decades. It was widely acclaimed, with Pitchfork declaring it "a clear late-career masterpiece". Promises was the last album Sanders released before his death.

Sanders died on September 24, 2022, at his home in Los Angeles, at the age of 81. It was disclosed publicly by Luaka Bop. A cause of death was not specified.

Overview of Pharoah Sanders albums • Title — Year Recorded — Year Released — Label • Pharoah's First (also released as Pharoah and Pharoah Sanders Quintet) — 1964 — 1965 — ESP-Disk • Tauhid — 1966 — 1967 — Impulse! • Karma — 1969 — 1969 • Jewels of Thought • Deaf Dumb Blind (Summun Bukmun Umyun) — 1970 — 1970 • Thembi — 1970–1971 — 1971 • Black Unity — 1971 • Live at the East — 1972 • Wisdom Through Music — 1972 — 1973 • Izipho Zam (My Gifts) — 1969 — Strata-East • Village of the Pharoahs — 1971–1973 — Impulse! • Love in Us All — 1972-73 — 1974 • Elevation — 1973 • Pharoah — 1976 — 1977 — India Navigation • Love Will Find a Way — 1977 — Arista • Journey to the One — 1979 — 1980 — Theresa • Beyond a Dream — 1978 — 1981 — Arista • Rejoice — 1981 — 1981 — Theresa • Pharoah Sanders Live... — 1982 • Heart Is a Melody — 1982 — 1983 • Shukuru — 1981 — 1985 • Africa — 1987 — 1987 — Timeless • Oh Lord, Let Me Do No Wrong — Doctor Jazz • A Prayer Before Dawn — Theresa • Moon Child — 1989 — 1989 — Timeless • Welcome to Love — 1990 — 1991 • Crescent with Love — 1992 — 1993 — Venus; Evidence • Ballads with Love (compilation / reissue) — 1994 — Venus • Message from Home — 1996 — 1996 — Verve • Save Our Children — 1997 — 1998 • Spirits — 1998 — 2000 — Meta • The Creator Has a Master Plan — 2003 — 2003 — Venus Records|Venus • With a Heartbeat — Evolver Records • Promises — 2019-20 — 2021 — Luaka Bop • In the Beginning 1963-1964 (4 CD compilation) — 1963–1964 — 2012 — ESP-Disk • Live at Antibes Jazz Festival Juan-Les-Pins July 21, 1968 (Unofficial / bootleg) — 1968 — 2019 — Alternative Fox • Live in Paris (1975) (Lost ORTF Recordings) — 1975 — 2020 — Transversales Disques • Live At Fabrik Hamburg 1980 — 1980 — 2023 — Jazzline • Oyster Club, Nice, France Fm 18/07/1971 (Unofficial / bootleg) — 1971 — 2023 — WHP

• with John Coltrane • 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) • Meditations (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 (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 • 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 – Featuring Pharoah Sanders & Black Harold • 1965 – Ornette Coleman – 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 – Kabsha (Theresa) • 1984 – Benny Golson – This Is for You, John (Baystate) • 1985 – Art Davis – Life (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 – Jah Wobble – Heaven & Earth (Island) • 1997 – Wallace Roney – Village (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 - 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 London Symphony Orchestra – Promises

Pharoah Sanders is recorded as musician, saxophonist, singer and composer. Identity and origins. The authorities additionally record the headings Farrell Sanders and Ferrell Lee Sanders. His recorded language was English. His recorded confession was Islam.