Pharoah Sanders - 1987 - Africa

Pharoah Sanders

1987

Africa

01. You've Got To Have Freedom 10:01
02. Naima 5:26
03. Origin 6:50
04. Speak Low 8:04
05. After The Morning 6:29
06. Africa 8:20

Bass – Curtis Lundy
Drums – Idris Muhammed
Piano – John Hicks
Tenor Saxophone – Pharoah Sanders

Recorded 11th March 1987 at Studio 44, Monster, Holland.

Pharoah Sanders delivers some of his usual avant-garde sound on saxophone, coaxing everything he can out of it, especially on the opening track 'You've Got to Have Freedom'. Africa is a mix of post-bop and avant-garde jazz. It's a tribute to Sanders mentor John Coltrane, and Sanders sounds a bit like Coltrane sometimes, Sanders playing mostly his own compositions though, others are Coltrane compositions. If you like drummer Idris Muhammad he's on Africa as well, I seem to be drawn to lots of his stuff, including a few solo albums. Pianist John Hicks is good, not McCoy Tyner good, but you notice him a lot. Some of the tracks on this album suit a late-night cocktail lounge, with only you drinking at the bar, you and your memories. The album title Africa is the title of a Pharoah Sanders written piece on this album, a very typical avant-garde Sanders with chanting as an intro, then some smooth groove in the middle, a pretty cool over eight minute track. A real smoky slower number 'Heart To Heart' shows Sanders can be subdued and romantic and John Hicks plays some beautiful jazz piano. The last track 'Duo' has one of my favourite drummers Idris Muhammad and Sanders jamming hot and heavy, just them, guess that's why this avant-garde track is called "Duo". So, there you have it, a real split sound on this album but I enjoyed it quite a bit. Pharoah Sanders is a great explorer, and his creative powers are quite apparent on Africa.

John Hicks and Idris Muhammad are heard again on Africa, Sanders’ first post-Theresa album. ‘You’ve Got to Have Freedom’ is revisited and given an extended 10-minute playing time, alongside another live staple, ‘Africa’ itself. The Coltrane original is another lovely ballad, ‘Naima,’ from Coltrane’s 1959 Atlantic album, Giant Steps. Recorded in Holland during a European tour, the line-up on Africa is typical of Sanders’ touring bands of the 1980s and early 1990s, using a quartet format. The music is, consequently, less ornamented than on most of Sanders’ studio recordings, where sextets, septets or larger lineups have been the norm, but remains every bit as compelling.