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Pharoah Sanders's tenor saxophone solo on this 1966 live version of "My Favorite Things" is the second of two solos, following John Coltrane's soprano saxophone. Playing in a waltz feel, Sanders's contributions are marked by extreme extended techniques including screams, multiphonics, and sustained high-register wailing that adds layers of textural intensity to the performance. At 25 to 26 years old, his approach represents the furthest evolution of the saxophone's timbral possibilities within the Coltrane group. The waltz feel surfaces intermittently as a structural memory rather than a steady pulse, and the performance captures the final transformation of what had been Coltrane's most popular piece into a vehicle for the most adventurous improvisation of his late period.
Pharoah Sanders was 25 to 26 years old at the time.
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