Thembi
Encyclopedia
Thembi is a 1971 album by free-jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders
.
In this album, named after Sanders's wife, the saxophonist moved away from the intense, lengthy, percussion-heavy jams he'd been pursuing in his solo work up to that point, and produced a record made up of shorter tracks, often with a more light and breezy feel. During the six selections, he and the other musicians play a huge variety of instruments - he alone plays tenor, alto and soprano sax, alto flute, fifes, bailophone (African thumb piano), various small percussion instruments, and even a cow horn. This adds to the air of typical 1970s avant-garde jazz experimentation, which gives rather an eccentric, if intriguing effect (on one track Cecil McBee is credited with 'bird whistles'!) 'Thembi' could be described as an anomaly in his output from this period due to shorter, more concise tracks, and the fact that there is much less of the leader's trademark free jazz tenor sax screaming than previously (though, to be fair, his previous works did have long, lyrical sections). About the only track where he really seems to let rip is "Red, Black and Green", where the use of studio effects gives a fearsome effect, and the energetic, tribal "Bailophone Dance".
Vocalist Leon Thomas
, whose yodelling and crooning contributed so much to Sanders' best-known album, Karma
, is not present, but we do hear Sanders' other major collaborator, pianist and composer Lonnie Liston Smith
(though this would be the last time they recorded together). His presence is a major factor in tracks such as 'Astral Travelling' and 'Morning Prayer.' Also featured are violinist Michael White
, bassist Cecil McBee (he contributes a five-minute solo, 'Love'), and percussionists Chief Bey, Majid Shabbaz, and Nat Bettis. The album has yielded up a fair number of Sanders' most popular tracks: 'Thembi', 'Astral Travelling' and 'Morning Prayer' were all included on the recent two-disc Sanders career retrospective anthology, "You've Got to Have Freedom," on Soul Brother records.
'Thembi' has been criticised for its somewhat cut-and-paste feel (it was compiled from two sessions, recorded in 1970 and 1971); the Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, edited by Richard Cook and Brian Morton, offers a particularly harsh assessment. However, Ashley Khan, author of 'The House that Trane Built: The Story of Impusle Records', describes it as "a career high-point: [it was] co-produced by Michel and rock producer Bill Szymczyk, who together introduced Sanders’s music to advanced studio techniques of the day — close miking, overdubbing, and effects like reverb, echo, and phasing." [see http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/product.aspx?ob=m&src=art&pid=11534] Though very much of its time, the album is full of attractive playing and musical ideas, and is one of Sanders' most accessible.
Tracks 5-6 recorded at the Record Plant, New York City, January 12, 1971.
Pharoah Sanders
Pharoah Sanders is a Grammy Award–winning American jazz saxophonist.Saxophonist Ornette Coleman once described him as "probably the best tenor player in the world." Emerging from John Coltrane's groups of the mid-60s Sanders is known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on...
.
In this album, named after Sanders's wife, the saxophonist moved away from the intense, lengthy, percussion-heavy jams he'd been pursuing in his solo work up to that point, and produced a record made up of shorter tracks, often with a more light and breezy feel. During the six selections, he and the other musicians play a huge variety of instruments - he alone plays tenor, alto and soprano sax, alto flute, fifes, bailophone (African thumb piano), various small percussion instruments, and even a cow horn. This adds to the air of typical 1970s avant-garde jazz experimentation, which gives rather an eccentric, if intriguing effect (on one track Cecil McBee is credited with 'bird whistles'!) 'Thembi' could be described as an anomaly in his output from this period due to shorter, more concise tracks, and the fact that there is much less of the leader's trademark free jazz tenor sax screaming than previously (though, to be fair, his previous works did have long, lyrical sections). About the only track where he really seems to let rip is "Red, Black and Green", where the use of studio effects gives a fearsome effect, and the energetic, tribal "Bailophone Dance".
Vocalist Leon Thomas
Leon Thomas
Amos Leon Thomas Jr was an American avant garde jazz singer from East St. Louis, Illinois.Thomas studied music at Tennessee State University. In the 1960s he was a vocalist for Count Basie and others....
, whose yodelling and crooning contributed so much to Sanders' best-known album, Karma
Karma (Pharoah Sanders album)
Karma is a 1969 jazz recording by the American tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders.-Background:The social and political upheavals of the 1960s have been cited as a major factor in the emergence of a new stylistic trend in jazz, with a very different emphasis to previous sub-genres such as swing,...
, is not present, but we do hear Sanders' other major collaborator, pianist and composer Lonnie Liston Smith
Lonnie Liston Smith
Lonnie Liston Smith, Jr. is an American jazz, soul, and funk musician who played with important free jazz artists such as Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis before forming Lonnie Liston Smith And The Cosmic Echoes, recording a number of albums widely regarded as classics in the fusion / Quiet Storm /...
(though this would be the last time they recorded together). His presence is a major factor in tracks such as 'Astral Travelling' and 'Morning Prayer.' Also featured are violinist Michael White
Michael White (violinist)
Michael Walter White is an American jazz violinist.White was born in Houston, Texas, and grew up in Oakland, California, taking up the violin when he was nine years old. He first became known in 1965 when he played with the John Handy Quintet at the Monterey Jazz Festival, and recorded three...
, bassist Cecil McBee (he contributes a five-minute solo, 'Love'), and percussionists Chief Bey, Majid Shabbaz, and Nat Bettis. The album has yielded up a fair number of Sanders' most popular tracks: 'Thembi', 'Astral Travelling' and 'Morning Prayer' were all included on the recent two-disc Sanders career retrospective anthology, "You've Got to Have Freedom," on Soul Brother records.
'Thembi' has been criticised for its somewhat cut-and-paste feel (it was compiled from two sessions, recorded in 1970 and 1971); the Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, edited by Richard Cook and Brian Morton, offers a particularly harsh assessment. However, Ashley Khan, author of 'The House that Trane Built: The Story of Impusle Records', describes it as "a career high-point: [it was] co-produced by Michel and rock producer Bill Szymczyk, who together introduced Sanders’s music to advanced studio techniques of the day — close miking, overdubbing, and effects like reverb, echo, and phasing." [see http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/product.aspx?ob=m&src=art&pid=11534] Though very much of its time, the album is full of attractive playing and musical ideas, and is one of Sanders' most accessible.
Track listing
- Astral Travelling (5:48)
- Red, Black & Green (8:56)
- Thembi (7:02)
- Love (5:12)
- Morning Prayer (9:11)
- Bailophone Dance (5:43)
Personnel and Recording Details
Tracks 1-4 recorded at The Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA, November 25, 1970. Track 4 is an unaccompanied bass solo.- Pharoah SandersPharoah SandersPharoah Sanders is a Grammy Award–winning American jazz saxophonist.Saxophonist Ornette Coleman once described him as "probably the best tenor player in the world." Emerging from John Coltrane's groups of the mid-60s Sanders is known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on...
- tenor sax, soprano sax, bells, percussion - Michael White - violin, percussion
- Lonnie Liston SmithLonnie Liston SmithLonnie Liston Smith, Jr. is an American jazz, soul, and funk musician who played with important free jazz artists such as Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis before forming Lonnie Liston Smith And The Cosmic Echoes, recording a number of albums widely regarded as classics in the fusion / Quiet Storm /...
- piano, electric piano, clavesClavesClaves are a percussion instrument , consisting of a pair of short Claves (Anglicized pronunciation: clah-vays, IPA:[ˈklαves]) are a percussion instrument (idiophone), consisting of a pair of short Claves (Anglicized pronunciation: clah-vays, IPA:[ˈklαves]) are a percussion instrument (idiophone),...
, percussion - Cecil McBee - bass, finger cymbal, percussion
- Clifford JarvisClifford JarvisClifford Jarvis was an American hard bop and free jazz drummer.After studying at Berklee in the 1950s he established himself in jazz between 1959 and 1966 by recording with Chet Baker, Randy Weston, Yusef Lateef, Freddie Hubbard, Barry Harris, Jackie McLean, and Elmo Hope, and playing with Grant...
- drums, maracasMaracásMaracás is a town and municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of Brazil.-References:...
, bells, percussion - James Jordan - ring cymbal -3
Tracks 5-6 recorded at the Record Plant, New York City, January 12, 1971.
- Pharoah SandersPharoah SandersPharoah Sanders is a Grammy Award–winning American jazz saxophonist.Saxophonist Ornette Coleman once described him as "probably the best tenor player in the world." Emerging from John Coltrane's groups of the mid-60s Sanders is known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on...
- tenor sax, alto flute, kotoKoto (musical instrument)The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument, similar to the Chinese guzheng, the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum and the Vietnamese đàn tranh. The koto is the national instrument of Japan. Koto are about length, and made from kiri wood...
, brass bells, balaphone, maracas, cow horn, fifes - Lonnie Liston SmithLonnie Liston SmithLonnie Liston Smith, Jr. is an American jazz, soul, and funk musician who played with important free jazz artists such as Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis before forming Lonnie Liston Smith And The Cosmic Echoes, recording a number of albums widely regarded as classics in the fusion / Quiet Storm /...
- piano, ring cymbal, shouts, balaphone - Cecil McBee - bass, bird effects
- Roy HaynesRoy HaynesRoy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is among the most recorded drummers in jazz, and in a career lasting more than 60 years has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz...
- drums - Nat Bettis, Chief Bey, Majid Shabazz, Anthony Wiles - African percussion
- Lillian Davis Douma - Assistant Engineer