PHAROAH SANDERS”Message From Home”Verve* * 1/2In the...

PHAROAH SANDERS

“Message From Home”

Verve

* * 1/2

In the liner notes to Miles Davis’ 1970 recording “At Fillmore,” the great trombonist J.J. Johnson is quoted as saying that what Davis was playing in front of his newly formed electric band was no different than what the trumpeter played with his previous, acoustic groups. Only the frame of reference had changed.

The same can be said of Pharoah Sanders on this recording. Sanders’ saxophone sound, robust and assertively revealing, could have been lifted from any of his previous albums dating back some 25 years. Only the framework, with its distinct beats and occasional hip-hop feel, has changed.

The major difference on this Bill Laswell-produced album is the big, direct bass beat, most apparent on the opening number “Our Roots (Began in Africa).” There’s also a strong Afro-pop feel on some of the tunes, heightened by the inclusion of Foday Musa Sosa’s kora (the 20-plus string, gourd-based, guitar-like instrument).

Fans of Sanders’ early, spiritually influenced work or those with a taste for West African rhythms will find much to like here. But those looking for a maturing of the saxophonist’s style, especially after his more considered work in the last several years for the Timeless and Evidence labels, may be disappointed.

*

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