Pharoah Sanders came to fame as a member of the John Coltrane Quintet of 1965-67, often engaging in ferocious playing that expanded the sonic potential of the tenor.

In the years since, while often duplicating the intensity, he has also developed into a masterful interpreter of ballads and a fine post bop improviser with his own John Coltrane-inspired style.

This performance with pianist John Hicks from a Frankfurt, Germany concert in 1982 features him playing lyrically on Hicks’ “After The Morning,” digging into the song and creating fresh ideas; the two make for a perfectly complementary team.

-Scott Yanow