Pharoah Sanders – Live (2LPs, Pure Pleasure)

The quartet around Pharoah Sanders with John Hicks on piano, Walter Booker on bass and Idris Muhammad on drums is in great form. The sets were recorded in April 1981 at various locations: The Maiden Voyage in Los Angeles, the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz and the Great American Music Hall, San Francisco. Connoisseurs praise the live album from Sander’s “gentle” phase not least because of Hicks’ breathtaking playing in the almost 22-minute “Doctor Pitt”, but also the “It’s Easy To Remember” stylistically reminiscent of John Coltrane of the early 60s and that impassioned “You’ve Got To Have Freedom” inspires across the board. The recordings were remastered for this release as a 180g double LP by Cicely Baston in London.