Thursday, October 6, 2022

Pharoah & The Underground - 2014 - Primative Jupiter



Pharoah & The Underground
2014
Primative Jupiter




01. Spiral Mercury 9:00
02. Primative Jupiter 10:39
03. This Ones For All Mothers 12:49
04. Asasumamchn 4:10

Cavaquinho, Electronics, Percussion – Mauricio Takara
Cornet, Electronics, Flute, Voice – Rob Mazurek
Electric Bass – Matthew Lux
Mbira, Drums – Chad Taylor
Percussion, Sampler, Synth, Voice – Guilherme Granado
Tenor Saxophone, Voice – Pharoah Sanders



Cornet player, composer and conceptualist Rob Mazurek is a man of many projects. One of them is of simple design but has many wondering implications: it consists in inviting a historical figure of the free jazz field to develop some work with combined approaches, his own and – because it’s a tribute – the guest’s. After doing so with Bill Dixon, short before his death, he came to Lisbon with no less than Pharoah Sanders, John Coltrane’s companion and one of the leading spirits of the pan-African mysticism. For that purpose, Mazurek crossed two of his main bands, Chicago Undeground (including Chad Taylor) and São Paulo Underground (the Brazilian improvisers Mauricio Takara and Guilherme Granado), adding the bassist Matthew Lux to the mix.

The encounter happened as the final act of the 2013 edition of the most important jazz festival in Portugal, Jazz em Agosto, and this is the live recording of that unique event. It’s one more item in the Clean Feed series established in association with the festival organized by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and a special one. The music is an electrifying melting pot between jazz and free improvised music, with a tropical feeling and lots of electronics, something you never heard Pharoah do, but his tenor sax is all around, as it is his way of feeling and thinking. What a treat for our ears!

Still kicking it out as he approached his 75th year, in 2014 Sanders hooked up with cornet player Rob Mazurek and members of Mazurek’s Chicago Underground and Sao Paolo Underground bands to record the CD Spiral Mercury and a companion LP, Primative Jupiter. On Primative Jupiter, an exuberant meeting of free jazz and acoustic-electric Brazilian music, Sanders continues to defy the convention by which older players play it safe, coasting through their greatest hits. His hard-edged lyricism has never sounded better, even if his solos are no longer as extended as they were decades ago. To invoke a much overused, but in this instance wholly justified word, it’s awesome.

Wednesday, October 5, 2022

David Murray & The Gwo-Ka Masters - 2009 - The Devil Tried to Kill Me

David Murray & The Gwo-Ka Masters featuring Taj Mahal
2009
The Devil Tried to Kill Me



01. Kiama for Obama
02. Africa
03. Southern Skies
04. The Devil Tried to Kill Me
05. Congo
06. Canto Oneguine
07. Southern Skies (Radio Edit)
08. Africa (Radio Edit)

David Murray: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet
Taj Mahal: vocals (2, 3)
Sista Kee: vocals (3, 4)
Jaribu Shahid: electric bass
Renzel Merrit: drums
Klod Kiavue: ka drums, vocals
Francois Ladrezeau: ka drums, vocals
Rasul Siddik: trumpet
Christian Laviso: guitar
Herve Samb: guitar



This global block party, by saxophonist David Murray, blends ebullient African- rhythms with funk and jazz, brought by a fiery band that integrates two Gwo ka masters (Guadalupean drummers/vocalists), some sassy urban soul from pianist/vocalist Sista Kee, and the world renowned blues voice of Taj Mahal. The Devil Tried To Kill Me is Murray's third release with the Gwo ka Masters, following 2004's well received Gwotet (Justin Time), a recording that also featured avant-garde icon, saxophonist Pharoah Sanders.

Recorded in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadalupe's largest city, the recording is an emphatic celebration of the island's proud past and compelling present—reminding of its history of slavery, struggle, and independence before integration into France (circa 1794). The music is fueled by the indigenous beats of Gwo ka drums, stirring vocals and lyrics that speak life—as Murray states in the CD's liner notes, ..."music that is aimed towards the future."

The heartbeat of the Gwo ka is undeniable, starting with "Kiama For Obama," its pulse growing feverishly by the drumming and voices of Klod Kiavue and Francois Ladrezeau as the other band members improvise over the contagious theme. The cadence slows on "Africa" as Taj Mahal sings poignant lyrics of love and healing to the beautiful continent and its people, with Murray echoing the sentiment via a warm baritone solo.

The funk comes hard in the super-bad "Southern Skies," treated with a double-dose of bluesy lyrics by Taj Mahal and sassy spoken word from the multi-talented San Franciscan, Sista Kee. The band burns white hot; Murray's tenor flying free, followed by Christian Laviso and Herve Samb's super-heated guitars. The title track is another free funk jazz killer, with Sista Kee spinning a humorous tale (lyrics by Ishmael Reed) of an escape from American cyberspace.

"Congo" and "Canto Oneguine" are Afropop-influenced tracks that continue the recording's upbeat spirit, as the Gwo ka masters provide fervent call and response verses to the band's incessant playing. Radio-edits of "Southern Skies" and "Africa" are thrown in for those who want shortened versions but are otherwise redundant. It would have been better to have more tunes, especially with Sista Kee and Taj Mahal. Regardless, David Murray and the Gwo ka masters have created another stupendous release that makes the trip to Guadalupe an extraordinary journey. ~ Mark F. Turner, AAJ

David Murray & The Gwo-Ka Masters - 2004 - Gwotet

David Murray & The Gwo-Ka Masters featuring Pharoah Sanders
2004
Gwotet


01. Gwotet
02. O’léonso
03. Ouagadougou
04. La Jwa
05. Djolla Feeling
06. Go to Jazz
07. Ovwa
08. Gwotet (Radio Edit)

Mixed by Bill Szawlowski at Studio Victor, Montreal, Canada (Oct. 2003).
Mastered by Bill Szawlowski and David Murray at Ventura Digital Audio, Brossard, Canada (Nov. 2003).

David Murray – Tenor Sax
Pharoah Sanders – Tenor Sax
Klod Kiavue – Ka Drums, Vocal
Christian Laviso – Guitar, Vocal
Hervé Sambe – Guitar
François Ladrezeau – Boula Drum, Lead Vocal
Jaribu Shahid – Bass
Hamid Drake – Drums
Alexander Brown – Trumpet
Carlos Sonduy Dimet – Trumpet
Leonardo Alarcon – Trombone
Angel Ballester Veliz – Alto Sax, Flute
Moises Marquez Leya – Baritone Sax
Elpidio Chappotin Delgado – Trumpet



A passionate prolific player with lots to say and the vocabulary to preach, David Murray finds an aggregation capable of burning through the music with him in the Gwo-Ka Masters. Anchored by the ambi-rhythmic drummer Hamid Drake and Gwo-Ka drummer Klod Klavue, this thirteen piece ensemble rolls like an 18 wheeler downhill. Using hyper funk rhythms of Afro-Cuban music, Murray keeps his big, rough sound light on its feet for the fast dance through hurtling beats. Herve Samba and Christian Lavlso slice and dice those beats with clear percolating chords, rubberizing the rhythm. Tightly layered horn sections call and respond, exercising their own take on tweaking the beat. Add Pharoah Sanders on several tracks and you have a second tenor player as ferocious as Murray blasting the groove.

The title track starts at a run with a brief vocal trio, followed by the horns in a cascading arrangement that blows itself out for Murray's entrance. Drake keeps it neat as Murray provides all the ornamentation needed. He unfurls a spiraling ribbon of melody that even veers outside. After a restatement of theme, Pharoah says hello. His solo rides the rhythm, his textured tone easily moving through an expanded saxophone range. A beautiful guitar solo lovingly explores the melody of "O'Leonso," then the ensemble adopts a driving rhythm foundation for Murray's statement.

Murray plays a jocular bass clarinet solo on the slower "Ouagadougou." But after the languid intro, the gears change and the tempo quickens. A quicksilver guitar solo shimmers over the gathering momentum. Sanders and Murray take individual turns before several measures of ecstatic duo improv. As the rhythm section smolders, Sanders takes an unpredictable break on "La Jwa." After a palette cleansing guitar interlude, Murray returns roaming with the reed, a second guitar solo brings the coda.

Slightly offbeat and heavily counted, "Djolla Feeling" features blistering guitar followed by Murray low and seductive, quickly segueing to rampant. The vocalists turn rappers for "Go to Jazz," the results vaguely recalling M-Base. Soloists on trumpet and soprano sax. Again on bass clarinet, Murray navigates the dense riff that is "Ovwa," vocalists and percussionists weaving the beat.

From the opening beat to the climaxing ultra funk of the "Gwotet Radio Edit," Murray and company keep their attention on intensity with this scalding entry to his crowded catalogue.

Tenor saxophonist David Murray & the Gwo-Ka Masters mix together aspects of jazz with African rhythms (propelled by both Klod Kiavue and Hamid Drake on drums), occasional group vocals, a flexible horn section, and Christian Laviso's distinctive guitar. Most intriguing is the opportunity to hear both Murray and Pharoah Sanders taking raging solos over catchy but unpredictable grooves. Freed from playing jazz standards or very free improvisations, Murray really thrives in this exotic setting, which was inspired by his move to France. "Gwotet," "Ouagadougou," and "Djolla Feeling" are high points, but there are no slow moments during the infectious set of danceable but somewhat unclassifiable music.

In 2000, David Murray, in the late 1970s a founder member of the World Saxophone Quartet, began exploring Guadeloupe’s traditional gwo-ka music, a relative of Haitian voudoun. After a couple of so-so albums, by 2003 Murray had the idiom down and released Gwotet with the French-based 14-piece the Gwo-Ka Masters featuring Sanders. The album has so far only been available on CD, but Murray released 33⅓ rpm 12” remix packages of the title track in 2004 and 2005. Both discs are winners, with 2005’s ‘Yoruba Soul Remix’ ahead by a margin. Sanders is in fierce form, his playing, as on Message from Home, sometimes reminiscent of his mid-1960s outings.

David Murray & The Gwo-Ka Masters - 2001 - Yonn-Dé

David Murray & The Gwo-Ka Masters featuring Guy Konket & Klod Kiavué
2001
Yonn-Dé




01. Twa Jou San Manjé 11:22
02. Youyou 11:03
03. On Jou Maten 10:05
04. Onomatopée (Boula Djèl) 4:48
05. Nwèl’o! 4:41
06. Yonn-Dé 9:56
07. La Pli La 9:28
08. Moman Colombo 9:01

All selections by Guy Konket.
Recorded and mixed at Sound on Sound, New York City, January 10 & 11, 2000 and February 14 & 15, 2000.

David Murray – Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet
Guy Konket – Vocal
Klod Kiavué – Gwo Ka Drums, Vocal
François Ladrezeau – Gwo Ka Drums, Vocal
Hugh Ragin – Trumpet
Craig Harris – Trombone
Santi Debriano – Bass
Pheeroan akLaff – Drums


Saxophonist David Murray revisits his Creole project and this time sucessfully negotiating the music of Guadeloupe on Yonn-De. His prior outing, the 1998 Creole, adapted the Caribbean Island’s French, Spanish, African, and South American musical culture to a very recognisable American jazz and blues. This outing, he adapts his sound to the percussion-heavy music of the Gwo-Ka Masters. Gone is the flute, guitar and piano and most traces of our North American sound.

Murray’s horn shares equal spotlight here with the music of songwriter and vocalist Guy Konket. This recording centers on the African percussion music of this former French Antilles possesion. Vocalist and political activist Konket supplies the emotion, as Murray and company take on the unfamiliar role as sideman. His rhythms are straight out of Guadeloupe as the band ventures only once into a truly American R&B groove on “La Pli La.” But Murray is game for this drum-fest. So too are the jazz guests Pheroan Aklaff, Hugh Ragin, Criag Harris, and Santi DeBriano. Murray’s big slurring tenor melts with the groove-centric beats and powerful combo of Hugh Ragin’s trumpet and Craig Harris’ Trombone accent the pulse nicely.

Avant-garde tenor icon David Murray continues to explore the music of the African diaspora on Yonn-Dé, focusing on percussion and vocal traditions from Guadeloupe. Three masters of gwo ka music -- vocalist Guy Konket and percussionist/vocalists Klod Kiavué and François Ladrezeau -- appear alongside Murray, trumpeter Hugh Ragin, trombonist Craig Harris, bassist Santi Debriano, and drummer Pheeroan akLaff. Guy Konket composed all the music and it is remarkable. Based on extended vamps that are repetitive but by no means stagnant, these tracks draw upon the ecstatic dance vibe of Afro-beat and the majestic cry of the blues in equal measure. Sometimes the vocal parts become the percussion, as on "Onomatopée," a striking dialogue between the voices and Murray's bass clarinet. "Nwél'o" and "La Pli La" are irrepressibly funky and fast; "On Jou Maten" and "Youyou" are mellower and more hypnotic, but every bit as grooving. It is Santi Debriano who proves to be the beating heart of the entire project, lending harmonic shape and direction and making every track a unique journey.

Sunday, October 2, 2022

Pharoah Sanders - 1996 - Message From Home

Pharoah Sanders
1996
Message From Home



01. Our Roots (Began In Africa) 10:21
02. Nozipho 9:43
03. Tomoki 6:26
04. Ocean Song 8:49
05. Kumba 7:50
06. Country Mile 6:03

Acoustic Bass – Charnett Moffett
Backing Vocals – Fanta Mangasuba, Fatumata Sako, Mariama Suso, Salie Suso
Bass – Steve Neil
Drums, Tabla, Vocals – Hamid Drake
Electric Piano, Piano, Vocals – William Henderson
Guitar – Dominic Kanza
Keyboards – Jeff Bova
Keyboards, Vocals – Bernie Worrell
Kora, Vocals – Foday Musa Suso
Percussion, Congas, Bells, Gong, Vocals – Aiyb Dieng
Saxophone, Flute, Bells, Vocals, Singing Bowls – Pharoah Sanders
Violin – Michael White

Producer – Bill Laswell



Out of the number of collaborations between Pharoah Sanders and Bill Laswell, this 1996 release is the most satisfying. The roots of the rhythms, instruments and vocals are strongly based on African traditions, with Sanders as the wise storyteller who refuses to allow history to be rewritten through the pens and keyboards of the manipulators in the political game, the conquerors in the resource wars and the slave traders who left trails soaked in tears.
Though the bolstered sound is through a variety of musicians and vocalists, the nucleus surrounding Sanders (tenor and soprano sax, flutes, bells, bowls, vocals) is Bernie Worrell (keyboards, vocals), Michael White (violin), William Henderson (acoustic/electric piano, vocals), Foday Musa Suso (vocals, kora, doussn'gouni) and Dominic Kanza (guitar). The programming is by Jeff Bova, who also performs on keyboards.
The central track is Ocean Song (8:49), which emits such sadness due to the soft waves and cool winds being used to destroy societies for unbridled greed; Sanders is calling back to the spirits and allowing them the space to journey through the false chronicles to calmly explain the reality. The song fades into the optimistic Kumba (7:50) and joyous closer Country Mile (6:03). A Sun Ra-flavored opener - Our Roots (Began in Africa) - has a powerful hip-hop groove over the solid 10:21, which propels the opening half of the musical sojourn - Nozipho (9:43) and Tomoki (6:26) - as Laswell is at his studio best; his "Wall of the World Sound" does not overpower the mix.
In the mid 1990s, Sanders hooked up with producer and electric bassist Bill Laswell and his Material posse, live and in the studio. The best of the studio projects were the albums Message from Home, an often-overlooked masterpiece, and Save Our Children (Verve US, 1998). Recorded with an 11-piece band including Gambian kora player Foday Musa Suso, Senegalese percussionist Aiyb Dieng and Parliament/Funkadelic keyboardist Bernie Worrell, Message from Home focuses on African rhythms laced with hip hop. Sanders makes several returns to the ferocity of 1964’s Pharoah. Save Our Children, featuring percussionists Trilok Gurtu and Zakir Hussain, also burns brightly.

The message from Sanders is clear...when the eyes are open and ears are prepared to handle the truth.

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.

Pharoah Sanders - 1980 - Journey To The One

Pharoah Sanders
1980
Journey To The One


01. Greetings To Idris 7:25
02. Doktor Pitt 12:03
03. Kazuko (Peace Child) 8:05
04. After The Rain 5:32
05. Soledad 4:53
06. You've Got To Have Freedom 8:03
07. Yemenja 5:32
08. Easy To Remember 6:22
09. Think About The One 4:11
10. Bedria 10:23

Pharoah Sanders: tenor saxophone, producer, sleigh bells
Eddie Henderson: flugelhorn
John Hicks: piano
Joe Bonner: piano, electric piano
Bedria Sanders: harmonium
Paul Arslanian: harmonium, wind chimes
Mark Isham: synthesizer
James Pomerantz: sitar
Yoko Ito Gates: koto
Chris Hayes: guitar
Carl Lockett: guitar
Ray Drummond: bass
Joy Julks: bass
Idris Muhammad: drums
Randy Merritt: drums
Phil Ford: tabla
Babatunde: shekere, congas
Dee Dee Dickerson: vocals
Bobby McFerrin: vocals
Vicki Randle: vocals
Ngoh Spencer: vocals
Claudette Allen: lead vocals


Pharoah Sanders possesses one of the most distinctive tenor saxophone sounds in jazz. Harmonically rich and heavy with overtones, Sanders' sound can be as raw and abrasive as it is possible for a saxophonist to produce. Yet, Sanders is highly regarded to the point of reverence by a great many jazz fans. Although he made his name with expressionistic, nearly anarchic free jazz in John Coltrane's late ensembles of the mid-'60s, Sanders' later music is guided by more graceful concerns. In the free-time, ultra-dense cauldron that was Coltrane's last artistic stand, Sanders relied heavily on the non-specific pitches and timbral distortions pioneered by Albert Ayler and further developed by Coltrane himself. The hallmarks of Sanders' playing at that time were naked aggression and unrestrained passion. In the years after Coltrane's death, however, Sanders explored other, somewhat gentler and perhaps more cerebral avenues -- without, it should be added, sacrificing any of the intensity that defined his work as an apprentice to Coltrane.

Pharoah Sanders (a corruption of his given name, Ferrell Sanders) was born into a musical family. Both his mother and father taught music, his mother privately and his father in public schools. Sanders' first instrument was the clarinet, but he switched to tenor sax as a high school student, under the influence of his band director, Jimmy Cannon. Cannon also exposed Sanders to jazz for the first time. Sanders' early favorites included Harold Land, James Moody, Sonny Rollins, Charlie Parker, and John Coltrane. As a teenager, he played blues gigs for ten and 15 dollars a night around Little Rock, backing such blues greats as Bobby "Blue" Bland and Junior Parker. After high school, Sanders moved to Oakland, CA, where he lived with relatives. He attended Oakland Junior College, studying art and music. Known in the San Francisco Bay Area as "Little Rock," Sanders soon began playing bebop, rhythm & blues, and free jazz with many of the region's finest musicians, including fellow saxophonists Dewey Redman and Sonny Simmons, as well as pianist Ed Kelly and drummer Smiley Winters. In 1961, Sanders moved to New York, where he struggled. Unable to make a living with his music, Sanders took to pawning his horn, working non-musical jobs, and sometimes sleeping on the subway. During this period he played with a number of free jazz luminaries, including Sun Ra, Don Cherry, and Billy Higgins. Sanders formed his first group in 1963, with pianist John Hicks (with whom he would continue to play off-and-on into the '90s), bassist Wilbur Ware, and drummer Higgins. The group played an engagement at New York's Village Gate. A member of the audience was John Coltrane, who apparently liked what he heard. In late 1964, Coltrane asked Sanders to sit in with his band. By the next year, Sanders was playing regularly with the Coltrane group, although he was never made an official member of the band. Coltrane's ensembles with Sanders were some of the most controversial in the history of jazz. Their music, as represented by the group's recordings -- Om, Live at the Village Vanguard Again, and Live in Seattle among them -- represents a near total desertion of traditional jazz concepts, like swing and functional harmony, in favor of a teeming, irregularly structured, organic mixture of sound for sound's sake. Strength was a necessity in that band, and as Coltrane realized, Sanders had it in abundance.

Sanders made his first record as a leader in 1964 for the ESP label. After John Coltrane's death in 1967, Sanders worked briefly with his widow, Alice Coltrane. From the late '60s, he worked primarily as a leader of his own ensembles. From 1966-1971, Sanders released several albums on Impulse, including Tauhid (1966), Karma (1969), Black Unity (1971), and Thembi (1971). In the mid-'70s, Sanders recorded his most commercial effort, Love Will Find a Way (Arista, 1977); it turned out to be a brief detour. From the late '70s until 1987, he recorded for the small independent label Theresa. From 1987, Sanders recorded for the Evidence and Timeless labels. The former bought Theresa records in 1991 and subsequently re-released Sanders' output for that company. In 1995, Sanders made his first major-label album in many years, Message From Home (produced by Bill Laswell for Verve). The two followed that one up in 1999 with Save Our Children. In 2000, Sanders released Spirits -- a multi-ethnic live suite with Hamid Drake and Adam Rudolph. In the decades after his first recordings with Coltrane, Sanders developed into a more well-rounded artist, capable of playing convincingly in a variety of contexts, from free to mainstream. Some of his best work is his most accessible. As a mature artist, Sanders discovered a hard-edged lyricism that has served him well.

Formerly a Theresa double LP, this single CD contains all ten of Pharoah Sanders's performances from the sessions. As usual, Sanders shifts between spiritual peace and violent outbursts in his tenor solos. The backup group changes from track to track but often includes pianist John Hicks, bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Idris Muhammad. Sanders really recalls his former boss John Coltrane on "After the Rain" (taken as a duet with pianist Joe Bonner) and a romantic "Easy to Remember"; other highpoints include "You've Got to Have Freedom" (which has Bobby McFerrin as one of the background singers) and the exotic "Kazuko" on which Sanders is accompanied by kato, harmonium and wind chimes.

After he left Impulse!, Sanders’ recorded output slowed for a few years as he label-hopped between Strata-East, India Navigation, Arista and Nova, to relatively-underwhelming effect. From 1980, however, things looked up again, after Sanders found a congenial home at Theresa, for which he recorded exclusively until 1987. The double album Journey To The One featured two band members who would regularly be heard on Sanders’ recordings through the 1980s, pianist John Hicks and drummer Idris Muhammad (who first recorded with Sanders on 1970’s Jewels of Thought). It also introduced a feature of practically all Sanders’ future albums, a John Coltrane original. On Journey To The One it’s the gorgeous ballad ‘After the Rain,’ from Coltrane’s 1963 Impulse! album Impressions. Another highlight is Sanders’ own ‘You’ve Got to Have Freedom,’ which continues to be a staple of his live appearances.