Pharoah's First
The debut as a leader, made with bebop-minded sidemen a year before he joined Coltrane.
Pharoah Sanders, 1965
- Released
- 1965
- Recorded
- 10 September 1964
- Studio
- Jerry Newman's loft, New York
- Label
- ESP-Disk
Sanders made his first record as a leader on 10 September 1964 in the New York loft of the engineer Jerry Newman. ESP-Disk issued it in 1965 as its third catalogue item, under the title Pharaoh. It holds two long pieces, Seven by Seven and Bethera, played with the trumpeter Stan Foster, the pianist Jane Getz, the bassist William Bennett and the drummer Marvin Pattillo. ESP founder Bernard Stollman remembered Sanders at the session as extremely shy.
Reviews were mixed. Several writers were puzzled by the match between Sanders and a conservative rhythm section. Clifford Allen of All About Jazz called it a crucial workshop puzzle-piece for historians of improvised music. Sanders joined Coltrane's group in September 1965.
Track listing
- Seven by Seven26:25
- Bethera23:44
Personnel
- Pharoah Sanders tenor saxophone
- Stan Foster trumpet
- Jane Getz piano
- William Bennett bass
- Marvin Pattillo drums
More from Pharoah Sanders
Tauhid (1967), Karma (1969), Deaf Dumb Blind (Summun Bukmun Umyun) (1970), Thembi (1971), Live at the East (1972), Pharoah (1977), The Trance of Seven Colors (1994), Promises (2021), Jewels of Thought, Black Unity
Sources
- Pharoah's First, Wikipedia