"Fire music." Recorded at Englewood, NJ's Van Gelder Studios in 1966 while Pharoah Sanders was still working with John Coltrane, Tauhid is the saxophonist's debut album for Impulse! Records. Starting with "Upper Egypt & Lower Egypt," a deep 16-minute journey that's emotional, uplifting, and full of "layered mosaic rhythmic grooves" and "poly-melodic heart cries," the LP perhaps is Sanders' most astrally and spiritually inclined. "Japan," a melodic 4-minute chanter that almost acts as an interlude, follows, and the three-part suite, which consists of "Aum," the freest moment of the album; "Venus," a composition marked by the captivating interplay between fierce and gentle; and "Capricorn Rising," a return to the opening notes of the record that trigger feelings of entrancement and love, closes out the record. Without a doubt, Tauhid captures the finest jazz expressions from Sanders, and it explains why he is praised as "the greatest living link between John Coltrane, Kamasi Washington, and the next generation of this great lineage." Features Sonny sharrock on guitar; Dave Burrell on piano; Henry Grimes on bass; Roger Blank on drums; and Nat Bettis on percussion. Recommended.

• limited edition reissue
• music label: Anthology Recordings 1967 / 2017

reviewed by nakaveli 11/2017