Gatefold 180g Vinyl 2LP Reissue Remastered by Ray Staff at Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London

By 1980 when Journey To The One was originally released Pharoah Sanders was solidly entrenched with his own unique voice on tenor saxophone. However, the passing of John Coltrane and Sanders's fruitful years of playing with the prolific music genius resulted in an unmistakable influence. Beginning with "Greetings To Idris" the structure of the music here is one that follows tradition yet opens up for the musicians to improvise within the arrangements. The track references featured drummer Idris Muhammad who also played with Trane during his late period. Naturally Sanders is featured as the main instrument and his horn can be bold and demanding of your full attention.

Always interested in instruments from other cultures, Sanders incorporates Japan's koto, a beautifully harmonic stringed instrument to counter his soft rich blowing with only wind chimes and a harmonium for a delicious peaceful bit of music on the meditative "Kazuko (Peace Child)." The one Coltrane composition "After The Rain" finds Sanders offering a haunting impression almost spot on to the original version. Another song that Coltrane recorded, "Easy To Remember," has a gentle swing to it while Sanders incorporates the tabla and sitar on "Soledad." 

With his playing fluctuating between the tranquil sounds of his mellow horn to outer limit explorations, what truly separates this LP is that Sanders gives his musical support close to equal billing. The uptempo, "You've Got To Have Freedom" is one such song where Sanders gets out there on some of his solos but works within the group structure as the other musicians, most notably Eddie Henderson on flugelhorn, bring the music back home. There is a chorus sung throughout in Manhattan Transfer style but with much more soul while "Think About The One" also features vocalese specialist Bobby McFerrin.

Journey To The One displays many of the different sides of Pharoah Sanders, a man always willing to explore the music and his soul and share it with you. The closing track "Bedria" is a mellow exploration of the various ranges of the tenor. It's a ten minute song that displays all the grace of his being, a gentle giant who could manipulate the horn into doing extraordinary things, reverberating out and back in undulating waves of harmonic bliss. 

Musicians:
Pharoah Sanders, tenor saxophone
Joe Bonner/John Hicks, piano
Carl Lockett, guitar
Ray Drummond, bass
Idris Muhammad, drums
Eddie Henderson, flugelhorn
Yoko Ito Gates, koto
Paul Arsianian, harmonium & wind chimes
James Pomerantz, harmonium & sitar
Phil Ford, tabla