Search - Pharoah Sanders :: Rejoice

Who can deny that Pharoah Sanders is the greatest pure sax p

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 04/05/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"No one, I'm quite confident to declare.



Let's break it down. We'll start with control. Has there ever been a saxophonist with his absolute mastery of the entire range of tenor sax? That's easy. No.



On to tone. Sanders is well known to have practiced playing long tones for hours on end. The result: a purity of tonal expression that somehow goes beyond absolutely centered tones throughout the entire range of his horn into inexpressible territory, which reaches the heart of our listening capability.



Next, diversity of expression. Sanders has the capability to wrest perhaps the widest possible range of emotional content from his horn in the history of jazz--everything from garden variety exuberence to ecstatic religious utterance to goofy blats to heart-renching pathos--often in the same number.



Finally, what we might call "architecture of solo expression." His soloing is nothing if not brilliantly structured, yet absolutely free, all at once. It takes a master of musical intuition and accomplishment to even begin to approach Sanders' majesterial concept and execution.



For me, this disc is, perhaps, the apex in his career. Following on the heels of the glorious Journey to the One, this disc just tops that one by virtue of "Rejoice," the two Highlife numbers (featuring the mysterioso e-bassist, Jorge Pomar), "Ntjilo, Ntjilo/Bird Song," and "Farah," perhaps the finest numbers he has ever recorded in his long and storied career. Add to that the contributions of Joe Bonner, the way underrecorded pianist; vibest extraordinare Bobby Hutcherson; Billy Higgins, the best drummer of his generation; bassist Art Davis; and drum monster Elvin Jones, and you have one of the finest jazz ensembles ever assembled.



The only misstep is the vocal rendition of Coltrane's "Moment's Notice," which, even though I would prefer not to have to listen to it, still has a certain cache that is not entirely unpleasant and even, in a way, sums up a certain vibe floating in the air at the time. Besides, the vocal part constitutes a miniscule portion of the whole, so just deal with it, what?



I feel fortunate to own the original Theresa recording, but I imagine there's little if any difference between this disc and the reissued Evidence disc, and the joy of original-issue ownership is pure nostalgia. Whatever.



Just do it."

More excellent Sanders

Stephen | Virginia Beach, VA USA | 11/02/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This follow up to Journey to the One follows many of the same patterns. Varied instrumentation, good and bad vocal tracks. The set start off with a bang. The title cut and the two highlife pieces are alive with soaring energy. Unlike the reviewer below, I find Moments Notice to be a huge bump in the road. The lyrics are cheesey open mike night poetry stuff to me. I can't fault Pharoah for his consistantly positive messages, but this track misses the mark for me. The album finishes with more excellent cuts."