There is no way his parents could have known that when their son was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on October 13, 1940 that little Farrell Sanders would grow up to be one of the most highly-acclaimed jazz saxophonists of all-time. He would change his first name to Pharoah and the rest is history. On Tuesday, October 13th, his 80th birthday will be celebrated in a concert called Celebrating the Legendary Pharoah Sanders on His 80th Birthday. The event is streaming and available through Dice.fm.
The concert, which will come from Zebulon in Los Angeles, is scheduled for 7:00 PM – regardless of your time zone. That would imply this is a filmed event rather than a live one. Joining Sanders for this concert are Azar Lawrence on saxophone, John Beasley on keys, Tony Austin on drums, Sekou Bunch on bass, Tiffany Austin on vocals and Munyungo Jackson on percussion.
Who is Pharoah Sanders? if you listen to John Coltrane’s records, you’ll hear Sanders on eleven of his albums including 1965’s Ascension. He’s also recorded with Don Cherry, Alice Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Wallace Rooney and just last year with Joey De Francesco. (That’s just a small percentage of his collaborations.)
As a bandleader he has, so far, recorded 36 records. His first album, appropriately named Pharoah’s First, was released in 1964. Amongst his best known recordings are Karma, Elevation, Love in Us All and Message From Home.
Sanders was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 2016.
In 2003, Sanders told All About Jazz how he approaches music these days, “I just want a band and keep them working, people that I like and who I think a lot of. Once my band is happy, then I am happy.”
Since he’ll be surrounded by musicians that are happy to be with him at this concert, it should definitely be a happy 80th birthday for Pharoah Sanders.
Tickets to watch this concert/birthday celebration are $25.
The link to purchase tickets in Western Europe for the concert can be found here.
The link to purchase tickets in Sydney for the concert can be found here.
The link to purchase tickets in New York for the concert can be found here.
The link to purchase tickets in Los Angeles for the concert can be found here.
Photo of Pharoah Sanders courtesy his website.