Pharoah Sanders - Still Contemporary in 2021

The recent release of the Sam Shepherd/Pharoah Sanders collaboration has taken many people by surprise, the biggest one being how good it is. When I listened to the download the morning it was released, I realised it would have an ambient vibe right through the entire piece. And that wasn't a disappointment, it just seemed to hit the right spot at the right time for me. This hitting the right spot feeling was echoed in many of the online comments and reviews. I'm not attempting to review the album here, just attempting to place Sanders in the contemporary context of this record.

When Sanders came to prominence in John Coltrane's band, Trane had been looking to move in a much more avant garde direction. During this period in 1965, Coltrane's musical development was stellar, (and fortunately much of it was recorded by Impulse). Trane wanted to expand his quartet format by adding some of the younger musicians breaking through onto the scene, in live settings, and also in the studio. Coltrane felt he needed to add Sanders as a permanent member when he was adding Rashied Ali as an additional drummer during live sessions. You could argue that at the time, Coltrane needed Sanders more than Sanders needed Coltrane. Sanders didn't need to join the 'classic' quartet, but could have forged his own path, but he had so much respect for Coltrane that it likely was an easy decision.

The energy Sanders brought to Trane was clearly a major factor in the late Trane period. He gave Trane what he was looking for in a collaborator. Post Trane, he gave Alice Coltrane what she needed on her (now) classic albums like Journey ... and Ptah the El Douad. Leading his own band at Impulse, the journey became more spiritual, and yes, with more groove, but still showed his improvising nous.

It was as a band leader on Impulse, his collaborations with Alice Coltrane, then some of his subsequent records, that Pharoah became contemporary in the 1990s and 2000s with DJs and producers. They brought his work back into prominence, albeit in a limited sense, but crucially, with young musicians and producers.

Moving to the now older Sanders; in his recent live performances, his energy was clearly and understandably less than it had been. But the expectation was still there with the back catalogue.

This context is what hit me the most with the new album. It's perfect for the older Pharoah Sanders, and very contemporary in 2021. He's collaborating as he always has, and is still delivering to the maximum within the context.

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John Coltrane's Only British Tour in 1961

Britain’s Musicians' Union found the 1950s difficult, with the rise of Rock ‘n’ Roll and the growth of outside musicians coming to play in Britain. By the early 60s an agreement had been reached with the US that an equivalent number of touring American and British musicians could play in each country. Most headline US Jazz artists up to that point had used local musicians, and the live exposure to ‘modern’ Jazz artists was limited. Through the 60s and beyond, Britain was still problematic for outside artists due to the (then) power of the MU. Having said that, the MU was sometimes a force for good. For example, in 1961 the MU boycotted the entire Mecca Circuit for the Bradford Mecca Locarno’s policy of refusing admission to single black males. Norman Granz had been running JATP European tours since 1952, featuring top US jazz artists. Earlier in 1960 Miles Davis had visited Britain, so it missed out on Miles' famous JATP tour of Europe with Trane later in 1960. Granz organised

Flying Dutchman Records

Bob Thiele was already an industry veteran when he joined Am-Par/Impulse in 1961. He was mainly an A&R man, but had also been a small record label owner and a jazz magazine publisher. Later on in his Impulse career, towards the end of the 1960s he saw major labels like his own ABC Paramount fundamentally change. Due to the growth of performers who wrote their own music and used independent producers, traditional A&R men like Bob Thiele were becoming obsolete. Oliver Nelson, Bob Thiele, Ron Carter and Thad Jones at an FD Recording Session (Photo: Chuck Stewart) Whilst at Impulse Thiele had created his own production company called Flying Dutchman, producing Impulse records such as 'Karma' by Pharoah Sanders. When a dispute surfaced with label boss Larry Newton during a recording session with Louis Armstrong, Thiele realised he would have to resign before being pushed from Impulse. He subsequently resigned and created Flying Dutchman Records, developing distribution arra

Pharoah Sanders' Philosophical Conversation - July 1967

In the July 1967 issue of Canada's Coda Magazine, Pharaoh Sanders held a long conversation with Elisabeth van der Mei. The feature starts out with the comment "You play so good you made me forget about Trane", and ends with Pharoah saying Coltrane wouldn't have got to where he is now without listening to others. The feature talks about playing in Trane's group and the dynamics between the musicians, how he (and Trane) had dropped playing over chord changes and the concept of time was now radically different. He preferred playing with just Rashied Ali for this very reason. Making 8 or 9 notes out of 2 by putting them through the horn in different ways; And to achieve what he could, you needed ability, control and emotion. Poignant given the issue date, the same month of Trane's death, this is a really insightful interview with Pharoah just as he was ending one phase in his career, before taking his deeply felt spirituality into a new phase. pharoah sanders

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