Pharoah Sanders

Black Unity

His previous albums have some outstanding music but also some almost insufferable passages. This is as trippy and deranged as "The Creator has a Master Plan" and as groovy as "Hum-Allah". I think musicians with this level of ambition need a long process to achieve their vision, even if they show flashes of genius along the way. This is challenging and accessible, brilliant avant-garde jazz. or not, but I like it.