Pharoah is an album by the saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, recorded in 1976 and released on the India Navigation label.[1] The album was reissued in 2023, along with two live performances of "Harvest Time".
In a review for AllMusic, John Bush acknowledged that "the playing is excellent", but stated that Sanders was "beginning to drift into watery new agemuzak." He concluded: "Clearly, Pharoah Sanders was losing his way a full ten years after the death of John Coltrane."[2]
A writer for The Jazz Spot called the album "one of the most underrated records of the artist's career", and noted that the three tracks "denote an enormous originality and honesty". He commented: "Its diversity is complemented with a regular and uniform quality throughout the recording."[6]
A 2023 review of the reissue by Pitchfork was given the site's "Best New Reissue" distinction, with Mark Richardson writing that it "captures a feeling of unearthly magic" as "the modest recording is perfect for the music, framing a peculiar mood and atmosphere that's lusty and joyous one moment and haunting and meditative the next".[4]