Pharoah Sanders Music

I was anticipating this release for a long time given the fact that I have been a fan of Mr Blake's work for many years as he performed with one musical giant after another, including but not limited to; Nancy Wilson, Lee Morgan, Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, Betty Carter, Sun Ra, McCoy Tyner, Randy Weston, Billy Cobham, Stan Getz, etc.... I was not disappointed.

Alex Blake has a revolutionary playing style and technique second to none. His innovative combination of strumming, rapid lyrical notations and percussive slaps on the Acoustic Bass are on a level par excellence and distinctly Alex Blake. His Electric Bass Solo on the Beatles classic "With A Little Help From My Friends" exemplifies Alex's mastery of that instrument while giving the listener shades of Jimi Hendrix.

His compositional skills reveal a composer with a unique third eye for melodic originality. Mr Blake has chosen an incredible supporting cast for his date at the Knitting Factory and I recommended this CD highly for all those interested in listening to a Artist/Musician whose talent transcends the boundaries of his chosen instrument.

This mid-70s effort finds Pharoah Sanders drifting a bit. The first track (Harvest Time) features a contemplative Sanders on Saxophone and the subtle guitar work of Tisziji Munoz. The second track (Love Will Find a Way) features Sanders with a bit more that old Sanders fire, but I could have done without the vocals. The final track is basically a keyboard dominated vamp that never quite gets anywhere. I usually end up playing the first track and skipping the remaining tunes. Worth picking up -- if you can find it -- for dedicated fans, but new listeners would be better off starting with his superior efforts of the 1960s/1970s, such as "Thembi", "Karma", or "Summun, Bukmun, Umyun", or the more recent "Spirits".

This CD, Pharoah's first, shows him saddled with mediocre backing musicians and still very much overshadowed by his influences. Only occasionally do you hear the full throated cosmic-chaotic roar or the floating Zen melodicism found in his later work. It isn't surprising that this release didn't generate much critical interest; there's frankly not much here to hold one's attention. It is pleasant and occasionally interesting, but not anything more than that. It's probably best that this is out of print; it is of marginal interest only to dedicated Sanders fans who want to hear what his sound was like in embryonic form. He showed great promise here, but it was only promise.

Pharoah Sanders: Live in San Francisco
Although this is a dated performance, the energy is there. Mister Sanders puts out 200% in this performance and his sidemen are simply incredible. It is really ashame that there aren't any more of his live performances available, whether they are in the past or fairly current.He is truly an unbelievable performer.

The excitement of Sanders in concert and the extraordinary ensemble he always assembles have been finally captured on video. This is long overdue. In an ideal world, one DVD would be released annually to chart his range and explorations. I plan to share this with my classes as an ideal way of understanding and experiencing jazz at its height. The solos by all are exemplary and at white heat. An interview finds him describing his way of interacting with musicians, ideas, and building on his experience with Coltrane. One hopes that more will follow.

While this video isn't for the "special-effects-MTV-generation," for jazz fans and musicians it will provide a straight-forward and mesmerizing demonstration of Sanders' musical genius and intensity. The American Music Hall performances give a glimpse of the passion of Pharoah's live performances--and what a fabulous quartet! (Sadly, Booker and Hicks have been taken from us, but this video preserves a hint of their fire and gifts.) The haunting performance of Kazuko in the Marin tunnel shows off Sanders' phenomenal tonality and technique. And finally, the interview with Herb Wong provides some rare insight into the mind of a performer whose live performances are musically expressive, but laconic. This video is a joy to watch: may I have some more, please!