Pharoah Sanders

When it was released in 1977, Pharoah Sanders' "Pharoah" album was panned by critics, yet these days is rightly considered a spiritual jazz classic. While the vocal number that opens the second side, "Love Will Find A Way", doesn't quite land, the two other lengthy compositions are Sanders at his mercurial, spiritual best. This is best exemplified by the outstanding A-side track "Harvest Time", a 20 minute exploration of spiritual jazz's outer reaches that gradually builds in waves and includes brilliant use of the droning tones of the little-used Harmonium. It feels exotic, hypnotic and deeply spiritual, just like the contemporaneous work of his friend Alice Coltrane. The album is worth picking up for this side-long track alone.