Wisdom Through Music cover

Wisdom Through Music

Released

This 1973 album is a surprisingly compact effort, with five tracks in just 31 minutes, and a focus on vocals. Sanders’ hoarse call-and-response with the rest of the band has a gospel-ish flair, and the grooves are somewhat churchy, but the African percussion and occasional ululations keep things international. He’s rarely heard on sax here; this is ensemble music, meditative (“Selflessness” begins with long chants) and droney, augmented by the presence of two percussionists — Mtume and Badal Roy — who were also working with Miles Davis at the time. It may seem like a lesser effort if you’re just after fiery sax solos, but if embraced as a genuine statement of belief, an attempt to really put the “spiritual” in spiritual jazz, it’s a rewarding listen.

Phil Freeman

Recommended by

Suggestions
Axiom cover

Axiom

Christian Scott
Bending Bridges cover

Bending Bridges

Mary Halvorson Quintet
Mutima cover

Mutima

Cecil McBee
Nomadic cover

Nomadic

Moksha Samnyasin, Sonny Simmons
Message From Home cover

Message From Home

Pharoah Sanders
Polyhymnia cover

Polyhymnia

Yazz Ahmed
Fase Liminal cover

Fase Liminal

Negra Chiway Band, Enrique Rodríguez
Touchin' on Trane cover

Touchin' on Trane

Rashied Ali, Charles Gayle, William Parker