Published
Sat, Sep 24, 2022, 16:05
- The American saxophonist passed away peacefully in Los Angeles earlier this morning.
American jazz great Pharoah Sanders has died aged 81.
The news was confirmed earlier today, September 24th, by David Byrne's Luaka Bop label, which released Sanders' collaborative album with Floating Points and The London Symphony Orchestra in 2020.
"We are devastated to share that Pharoah Sanders has passed away," the label wrote. "He died peacefully surrounded by loving family and friends in Los Angeles earlier this morning. Always and forever the most beautiful human being, may he rest in peace."
Born Farrell Sanders in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1940, he began his career as a tenor saxophonist in Oakland before moving to New York in 1961. Broke and often homeless, he befriended another jazz musician, Sun Ra, who housed and clothed him and gave him the name "Pharoah."
In 1965, Sanders joined John Coltrane's band, touring and playing on numerous albums until Coltrane died of cancer in 1967. According to a 2021 piece in The New Yorker, "the two rarely spoke, and communicated primarily through playing."
Coltrane's influence led Sanders to spiritual and free jazz, two experimental styles that would come to define his career. His debut album, Pharoah's First, landed in 1965 and was followed by dozens of LPs on labels like Impulse!, India Navigation and Theresa Records. He also collaborated with Alice Coltrane, Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman and more.
Sanders' most recent album was Promises with Floating Points and The London Symphony Orchestra. Sanders reached out to the British DJ and producer after being blown away by his 2015 album, Elaenia. Recorded in Los Angeles in 2019, the resulting collaboration was the saxophonist's first album in nearly two decades. It was met with wide acclaim.
"My beautiful friend passed away this morning," Floating Points tweeted earlier today. "I am so lucky to have known this man, and we are all blessed to have his art stay with us forever. Thank you Pharoah."
Listen to Promises, and read some more tributes from the electronic music community.
Photo: Eric Welles-Nyström