Pharoah Sanders Live at Jazz Cafe London

2011

In the rousing finale of this spirited performance, Pharoah Sanders puts down his tenor saxophone and sings over a bubbly calypso beat. His ocean-deep baritone voice is not dissimilar to that of the great Joe Williams, but he uses it sparingly, delivering just a few choruses before starting to dance in a manner that recalls Nelson Mandela's trademark two-step. He then eases his 67-year-old frame into a hearty slow-mo twist. This is possibly not what was expected of an artist commonly perceived as an avant-garde firestarter in the mould of Albert Ayler, and a committed disciple of the final phase of John Coltrane's career in the mid-60s.