1969 saw the release of his best-known album, Karma, which included the 33-minute track The Creator Has a Master Plan.
Pharoah Sanders, the legendary tenor saxophonist who played with John Coltrane in the mid-1960s, has died. He was 81.
Saunders’ death was announced on September 24 by his record label Luaka Bop, which released the 2021 album ‘Promises’, a collaboration with Floating Points and the London Symphony Orchestra.
“We are devastated to announce that Farrow Sanders has passed away,” Luaka Bop said in a post on Twitter. “He passed away peacefully surrounded by loving family and friends in Los Angeles earlier this morning. Always the most beautiful human being, may he rest in peace.”
Sanders belonged to a group of musicians who, in the mid-20th century, opened the doors of jazz to allow for bold disharmonies, expansive instrumental techniques and a new style of improvisation geared toward free-form collective expression rather than individual solos, Pitchfork reports .
Born in 1940 in Little Rock, Arkansas, Sanders, as his real name was, was at least a decade younger than the musicians who ushered in the first wave of free jazz, a generation that included John Coltrane.
He moved to San Francisco in the late 1950s and then to New York, where he met fellow jazz artist Sun Ra, who encouraged him to adopt the name Farrow.
Sanders initially struggled while trying to settle in New York. “Unable to make a living from his music, he pawned his horn, worked odd jobs and sometimes slept on the subway,” says the late saxophonist’s website.
He eventually rose to prominence playing alongside fellow jazzmen such as Don Cherry and Billy Higgins. In 1965, Sanderes joined Coltrane’s band on tenor saxophone. During this period, Coltrane released several avant-garde masterpieces, including his 1966 album, ‘Ascension’. Sanders played with Coltrane until the jazz icon’s death in 1967.
In 1969, Sanders released his best-known album, ‘Karma’, which included the 33-minute track ‘The Creator Has a Master Plan’. The album, which peaked at No. 188 on the Billboard 200 in August 1969, incorporated influences from traditional African and South Asian music.
Over the next two decades, Sanders continued to release music as both a conductor and musician, collaborating with McCoy Tyner, Sonny Sharrock, Leon Thomas.
His discography includes 30 albums.
Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
