Pharoah Sanders – Tauhid (1967)

"Tauhid" is a jazz album by saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. It was the second album released under his name, and his first album on the Impulse! label. It was recorded on November 15, 1966 at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, four days after the concert heard on the John Coltrane album "Offering: Live at Temple University", and was released in 1967, after the death of Coltrane, with whom Sanders had played since 1965. The album marks guitarist Sonny Sharrock's first appearance on a record, as well as one of pianist Dave Burrell's earliest recordings.

In the album liner notes, Sanders wrote: "I don't really see the horn anymore. I'm trying to see myself. And similarly, as to the sounds I get, it's not that I'm trying to scream on my horn, I'm just trying to put all my feelings into the horn. And when you do that, the notes go away... Why [do] I want clusters [of notes]? So that I [can] get more feeling, more of me, into every note I play. You see, everything you do has to mean something, has to be more than just notes. That's behind everything I do – trying to get more ways of getting feeling out."

Gary Giddins referred to Tauhid as "the first and best of Pharoah Sanders's Impulse albums." Chris May, writing for All About Jazz, called Tauhid "arguably the finest statement in [Sanders'] astral oeuvre," and states that "Of all Sanders' Impulse! albums... Tauhid has the best sound." In his review for AllMusic, Al Campbell notes that "Sanders' tenor appearance doesn't saturate the atmosphere on this session; far from it. Sanders is content to patiently let the moods of these three pieces develop..."

Tracklist:

"Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt" – 16:12
"Japan" – 3:22
"Medley: Aum/Venus/Capricorn Rising" – 14:46

Pharoah Sanders – Tauhid (1967)

(320 kbps, cover art included)