Recorded with two different ensembles, Thembi was a departure from the
slowly developing, side-long, mantra-like grooves Pharoah Sanders had
been pursuing for most of his solo career. It's musically all over the
map but, even if it lacks the same consistency of mood as many of Sanders'
previous albums, it does offer an intriguingly wide range of relatively
concise ideas, making it something of an anomaly in Sanders' prime period.
Over the six selections, Sanders romps through a tremendous variety of
instruments, including tenor, soprano, alto flute, fifes, the African
bailophone, assorted small percussion, and even a cow horn. Perhaps because
he's preoccupied elsewhere, there's relatively little of his trademark
tenor screaming, limited mostly to the thunderous cacophony of "Red,
Black & Green" and portions of "Morning Prayer." The
compositions, too, try all sorts of different things. Keyboardist/pianist
Lonnie Liston Smith's "Astral Traveling" is a shimmering, pastoral
piece centered around his electric piano textures; "Love" is
an intense, five-minute bass solo by Cecil McBee; and "Morning Prayer"
and "Bailophone Dance" (which are segued together) add an expanded
percussion section devoted exclusively to African instruments. If there's
a unifying factor, it's the classic title track, which combines the softer
lyricism of Sanders' soprano and Michael White's violin with the polyrhythmic
grooves of the most Africanized material (not to mention a catchy bass
riff). Some fans may gripe that Thembi isn't conceptually unified or intense
enough, but it's rare to have this many different sides of Sanders coexisting
in one place, and that's what makes the album such an interesting listen.
(by Steve Huey, All
Music Guide)
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