Legendary jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders has died at the age of 81, according to music label Luaka Bop. The label confirmed that he had “died peacefully surrounded by loving family and friends†in Los Angeles on Saturday morning. Sanders, a leader in the spiritual jazz movement, released over 30 albums during his life, more recently the 2021 comeback album Promises with Floating Points and the London Symphony Orchestra. “My beautiful friend passed away this morning. I am so lucky to have known this man, and we are blessed to have his art stay with us forever,†Floating Points tweeted on the news. “Thank you Pharoah.â€
Born in 1940, Sanders began his musical career accompanying church hymns on clarinet as a child. When he got to high school, his band teacher introduced him to playing jazz and the saxophone. Once out of high school, he began his professional music career in Oakland, California, in the 1960s, where he became a member of John Coltrane’s band. They recorded several records together, and Sanders accompanied Coltrane on his final quintet before his death in 1967. Sanders signed with Impulse! Records, where he began producing his own records, including the best-selling album Karma featuring the song “The Creator Has a Master Plan.†He eventually left Impulse! and went from record label to record label, ultimately unhappy with the music-industry structure. However, he eventually returned to music almost two decades later with Promises to critical acclaim, ending up on ten “Best of†lists for 2021.