After this Sanders joined Coltrane's final quintet, usually playing long, dissonant solos. Sanders first recorded with Coltrane on Ascension (recorded in June 1965), then on their dual-tenor album Meditations (recorded in November 1965). In 1965, he become a member of John Coltrane's band, as Coltrane began adopting the avant-garde jazz of Albert Ayler, Sun Ra, and Cecil Taylor. Sun Ra's biographer wrote that Sanders was often homeless and Ra gave him a place to live, clothes, and encouraged him to use the name 'Pharoah'. He moved to New York City in 1961 after playing with rhythm and blues bands. Pharoah Sanders began his professional career playing tenor saxophone in Oakland, California. His Arkansas connection stuck with him in the Bay Area with the nickname of 'Little Rock.' It was also during this time that he met and befriended John Coltrane. Once outside the Jim Crow South, Sanders could play in both black and white clubs. He briefly attended Oakland Junior College and studied art and music.

Sanders found himself limited by the state's segregation and the R&B and jazz standards that dominated the Little Rock music scene.Īfter finishing high school in 1959, Sanders moved to Oakland, California, and lived with relatives. At the time, Little Rock was part of the touring route through Memphis, Tennessee, and Hot Springs for R&B and jazz musicians. When Cannon left, Sanders, although still a student, took over as the band director until a permanent director could be found.ĭuring the late 1950s, Sanders would often sneak into African-American clubs in downtown Little Rock to play with acts that were passing through. The band director, Jimmy Cannon, was also a saxophone player and introduced Sanders to jazz. His initial artistic accomplishments were in the visual arts, but when he was at Scipio Jones High School in North Little Rock, Sanders began playing the tenor saxophone. An only child, Sanders began his musical career accompanying church hymns on clarinet. His mother worked as a cook in a school cafeteria, and his father worked for the City of Little Rock. Pharoah Sanders was born on October 13, 1940, in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States.

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