"The message is Black Unity Now," said Pharoah Sanders in 1971. Pharoah's pan-African instrumentation and compositions culminate in the single, multi-part, 37-minute piece on this CD. The dynamics are trance-inducing, the groove is solid and the atmosphere is positive. A driving polyrhythmic ballophone and percussion join McCoy Tyner-esque piano voicings and Sander's sax exults knowledge and love.
Hannibal Marvin Peters trumpet and Pharoah's sax together scream the melody in a frenzied reciprocity. Like much of Pharoah's work, Black Unity is based on a repeating bass line. This provides a much-needed constant for the reflective and fierce improvisations. Although the music is quite simple harmonically, there is still a continuous movement. Add to that the exciting cymbal work of Billy Hart and Norman Connors and the mix is complete. Black Unity is a highlight in Sanders' avant-garde expositions of the Black Movement.more