Pharoah Sanders

• GATEFOLD VINYL EDITION

• 4 STARS ALL MUSI GUIDE

Recorded with two different ensembles, Thembi was a departure from the slowly developing, side-long, mantra-like grooves Pharoah Sanders had been pursuing for most of his solo career. It's musically all over the map but, even if it lacks the same consistency of mood as many of Sanders' previous albums, it does offer an intriguingly wide range of relatively concise ideas, making it something of an anomaly in Sanders' prime period. Over the six selections, Sanders romps through a tremendous variety of instruments, including tenor, soprano, alto flute, fifes, the African bailophone, assorted small percussion, and even a cow horn. Perhaps because he's preoccupied elsewhere, there's relatively little of his trademark tenor screaming, limited mostly to the thunderous cacophony of "Red, Black & Green" and portions of "Morning Prayer."

PERSONNEL:

• Pharoah Sanders - tenor & soprano sax, bells, percussion, alto flute, cow horn
• Michael White - violin (1-3)
• Lonnie Liston Smith - piano, electric piano, percussion
• Cecil McBee - bass, bird effects
• Clifford Jarvis - drums (1-3)
• Roy Haynes - drums (5, 6)
• James Jordan - ring cymbals (1-3)
• Chief Bey - African drums and percussion (5, 6)
• Majid Shabazz - African drums and percussion (5, 6)
• Anthony Wiles - African drums and percussion (5, 6)
• Nat Bettis - African drums and percussion (5, 6)

The Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA, November 25, 1970 (Tracks A1 to A3)

The Record Plant, NYC, January 12, 1971 (Tracks B1 to B3)

TRACKS:

• SIDE A
• A1. Astral Traveling
• A2. Red, Black & Green
• A3. Thembi

• SIDE B
• B1. Love
• B2. Morning Prayer
• B3. Bailophone Dance