Pharoah Sanders

About

Grammy Award-winning free jazz pioneer who was considered one of the greatest tenor saxophonists to ever live. Amiri Baraka supposedly gave him the name Pharaoh. Throughout his long career, he released over 30 albums as band leader. 

Before Fame

He performed with Sun Ra, but gained more popularity when he later worked with John Coltrane. He appeared on Ascension, Coltrane's influential 1965 release.

Trivia

He performed internationally and had a huge following in Japan. In 2021, he worked with Sam Shepherd on an electronic album. 

Family Life

He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Associated With

He was born Farrell Sanders, but Sun Ra gave him the nickname Pharoah, which stuck.