Pharoah Sanders has died

Pharoah Sanders has died. His big breakthrough was with John Coltrane.

Saxophonist Pharoah Sanders has died at 81 years of age. According to record label Luaka Bop Sanders died peaceful Saturday morning in Los Angeles surrounded by family and friends.

Sanders was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, in October 1940. He moved to New York in 1961 where he played with Sun Ra before joining John Coltrane’s band in 1965. Sanders recorded classics albums like Ascension (1965) and Meditations (1966) with Coltrane where Sanders’ harsher tone became a contrast to Coltrane’s own expressive style of playing.

After Coltrane’s death in 1967 Sanders began playing and recording his own albums often in a psychedelic world music style. Among his own most famous albums is Karma (1969).

Sanders live and in the studio

Sanders remained active as a musician the following decades playing many different styles of music. He often returned to the music of John Coltrane. Sanders was able to produce a sound which was very close to Coltrane’s own.

I was lucky enough to hear Sanders live on several occasions the last decades at several major jazz festival. He was always audibly appreciated by the audience and he often played songs by John Coltrane, and his own popular The Creator Has A Master Plan from Karma.

Sanders’ last album Promises (2021) was recorded with electronic musician Floating Points and the London Symphony Orchestra. Although the music is more meditative than Sanders’ earlier albums it shares some of their characteristics like a kind of minimalistic rhythmic effect.

Sanders also recorded with many other important musicians during his career, including Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, and Alice Coltrane which in itself says something about his ability as a saxophonist.