Pharoah Sanders

Pharoah Sanders, originally uploaded by Eddy Westveer.

Pharoah Sanders Quartet
@ Jazz Middelheim 2008
Park den Brandt / Antwerp
Belgium

Pharoah Sanders - saxophone and vocals
William Henderson - piano
Joe Farnsworth - drums
Nat Reeves - bass

Born Farrell Sanders in Little Rock, Arkansas, he began his professional career playing tenor saxophone in Oakland, California.

He moved to New York City in 1961 after playing with rhythm and blues bands. He received his nickname "Pharoah" from Sun Ra, with whom he was performing. He came to prominence playing with John Coltrane's band, starting in 1965, as Coltrane began adopting the avant-garde jazz of Albert Ayler, Ra and Cecil Taylor. Sanders first performed on Coltrane's Ascension (recorded in June 1965), then famously on their dual-tenor recording Meditations (recorded in November 1965). After this Sanders joined Coltrane's final quintet, usually performing very lengthy, dissonant solos. Coltrane's later style was strongly influenced by Sanders. Amiri Baraka lays claim naming him Pharoah in an early sixties Downbeat review upon hearing him introduce himself as Farrell Sanders and thinking he said "Pharaoh Sanders."