Pharoah Sanders'
India Navigation album
Pharoah is among his most beloved, but he remained critical of it. Thanks to
Luaka Bop, the oft-pirated title gets its first official re-release with excellent remastering.
Sanders entered the studio in August 1976 with a band that he never hired again: Organist
Clifton "Jiggs" Chase (who co-wrote
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five's "The Message"), electric guitarist
Tisziji Munoz, drummer
Greg Bandy, upright bassist
Steve Neil, then-wife
Bedria Sanders (a classically trained pianist) on harmonium, and percussionist
Lawrence Killian. An impoverished
Sanders, released from his contract with
Impulse! two years earlier, was seeking to include rock in his evolving sound.
The first session produced two long jams: the celebratory, soul-tinged spiritual jazz tune "Love Will Find a Way" (recut as the title to his 1978
Arista debut), and "Memories for Edith Johnson" after an aunt.
Sanders was unhappy with the results. Producer/label owner
Bob Cummins convinced him to return in September. The latter session went much more smoothly and produced the incantatory spiritual anthem "Harvest Time." While
Sanders wasn't pleased with the completed record, he admired its compositions. He performed the raucous "Love Will Find a Way" and "Harvest Time" for the rest of his life, and, after four years of discussions with
Luaka Bop, fully cooperated with this release. In hindsight, it's easy to hear what threw
Sanders off in that first session: the sound is muddier, and despite the intensity, its approach differs aesthetically from his
Impulse! titles in that it experiments with a wider dynamic range of mantra-like repetition and lusher textures. He allowed
Munoz -- a truly unconventional and original stylist -- generous solo opportunities. Thankfully,
Luaka Bop understood
Pharoah's import.
The first disc offers a wonderfully remastered version of the studio album. The more "ambient" textures in the deeply spiritual, 20-minute "Harvest Time" emerge from
Munoz's
Santana-esque chordal vamp to invite bass, harmonium, and sax in. There are no drums. Following the saxophonist's blue modal solo, the tune travels across drones, transcendent guitar, and bass breaks, and near-instinctual interplay between the rhythm instruments. Both "Love Will Find a Way" and "Memories of Edith Johnson" offer resplendent and balanced sound, rendering their joyous melodies and vamps more dynamic and resonant than on the original pressing. The second disc includes two unissued live versions of "Harvest Time" from jazz festival stages at Middleheim and Wilisau in 1977 with a band that included pianist
Khalid Moss, bassist
Hayes Burnett, and drummer
Clifford Jarvis. The Middleheim version introduced by drums, percussion, and
Sanders' horn, delivers the tune in a more uptempo yet restrained version enhanced by drums. The Wilisau version isn't as long, but
Sanders' wildly experimental solo saxophone break shows up in the final three minutes. In addition to the music, the 64-page booklet is lavishly illustrated and offers liner essays and notes by
Harmony Holiday,
Eliza Grace Martin,
Pierre Crepon, and
Marcus J. Moore. For most
Sanders fans,
Pharoah remains a masterpiece, and as such, it finally gets the respect it deserves. ~ Thom Jurek