Pharoah Sanders, Beyond Notes

Prior to becoming not the double, nor the alter ego, but the partner of John Coltrane, Farrell Sanders played blues and rock 'n roll before moving to NYC. Destitute and living rough, he was helped and encouraged by Sun Ra until he got a place in his Arkestra.

Perhaps Pharoah Sanders’ past designated him as an ideal companion for the one who wanted to attain the Universal Sound, understand the Cosmos and perhaps even the Inner Cosmos.

Coltrane and Sanders had met several times, Pharoah seizing every opportunity to come and listen to his elder (fourteen years separated them). It was in September 1965, at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco, that things were decided: "John Coltrane told me that he was rethinking changes in the group and asked me to play with him”, said Sanders, who will remain with Trane until his untimely death. Although capable of playing tonal and bebop as evidenced by many of his performances and albums, Sanders especially pleased Coltrane by his ability to free himself from any melodic concerns, which Trane was not able to really ever do. Coltrane increased his instruments’ range going ever higher in harmonics. Sanders, already with a powerful sound went "beyond notes".

Our vocabulary is poor for naming the sounds he gets from his tenor: screams, squeaks, strident sounds, growling, shouting, but, always in tone. Whatever it was, it increased tenfold what Coltrane expected from his group: strength. The last point, as Trane will admit to Frank Kofsky, Pharoah Sanders was able to support him physically, "because the pace I lead is very hard".

Reference : Jazz Magazine (France), Francois-Rene Simon.

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