Sanders was… Read Full Bio ↴Pharoah Sanders (1940-2022) was a U.S. jazz saxophonist.
Sanders was born on 13th October 1940 in Little Rock, Arkansas, under the name Farrell Sanders. He began his professional career playing tenor saxophone in Oakland, California.
Sanders moved to New York City in 1962. He received his nickname "Pharoah" from Sun Ra, with whom Sanders performed. He came to prominence playing with John Coltrane's band starting in 1965, as Coltrane began experimenting with the music which would soon become known as avant-garde jazz.
Although he developed a slightly different style from Coltrane, Sanders was strongly influenced by their collaboration together. Sanders was also greatly influenced by Coltrane's earlier works (in which Sanders did not collaborate), particularly A Love Supreme. Spiritual elements such as the chanting in A Love Supreme would later show up in many of Sanders' own works. Sanders would also go on to produce much free jazz, being influenced by his free jazz collaborations with Coltrane, particularly Coltrane's most notable free-jazz work, Ascension (1965), as well as their dual-tenor recording Meditations (1965).
In 1968 he participated in Mike Mantler & Carla Bley's JCOA: Jazz Composer's Orchestra Association album Communications featuring Cecil Taylor, Don Cherry, Larry Coryell and Gato Barbieri. This solo has been referred to by John Zorn and others as the most intense and inspiring free tenor solo ever put to tape.
In the 1970s, Sanders pursued his own recordings and continued to work with the likes of Alice Coltrane on her Journey in Satchidananda album.
In 1994 he travelled to Morocco to record with master Gnawa musician Maleem Mahmoud Ghania, resulting in the Bill Laswell-produced The Trance of Seven Colours. Sanders continued to work with Laswell, Jah Wobble, and others on the albums Message from Home (1996) and Save Our Children (1998).
Sanders is known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound".
My One and Only Love
Pharoah Sanders Lyrics
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Like an April breeze on the wings of spring,
And you appear in all your splendor,
My one and only love.
The shadows fall and spread their mystic charms
In the hush of night while you're in my arms.
I feel your lips, so warm and tender,
The touch of your hand is like heaven,
A heaven that I've never known.
The blush on your cheek whenever I speak
Tells me that you are my own.
You fill my eager heart with such desire.
Ev'ry kiss you give sets my soul on fire.
I give myself in sweet surrender,
My one and only love.
In Pharoah Sanders's song My One and Only Love, the singer expresses his deep affection towards his lover. The mere thought of her makes his heart sing and brings him joy and happiness like an April breeze on the wings of spring. The singer then goes on to describe his lover's beauty and splendor. She appears in all her majestic glory, which fills his heart with awe and wonder.
As the night falls, the singer finds himself in her loving arms, and the shadows spread their mystic charms. He treasures the moment and feels her lips, warm and tender, which signifies the depth of their bond. He describes her touch as heavenly and has probably never experienced that level of affection and care before. When he speaks, he can see the blush on her cheeks, which reaffirms his belief that she is his own.
The singer’s love for his partner fills his eager heart with such desire that every kiss from her sets his soul on fire. He surrenders himself in sweet surrender to her, indicating the depth of the love he feels for his beloved. These lyrics are an expression of the singer's romantic feelings and passion for his lover.
Line by Line Meaning
The very thought of you makes my heart sing
My heart flutters with joy at the mere thought of you, just like how the arrival of spring brings about pleasant weather
Like an April breeze on the wings of spring,
Just like the gentle and refreshing breeze of spring that fills the air, your presence brings me comfort and joy
And you appear in all your splendor,
When I am graced with your presence, I am in awe of your beauty and magnificence
My one and only love.
There is no other person in my life who fills me with such strong feelings of love and adoration like you do
The shadows fall and spread their mystic charms
As the shadows fall and mystical darkness envelops us, it adds to the magical atmosphere that surrounds us
In the hush of the night while you're in my arms.
The peaceful tranquility of the night provides the perfect setting for us to embrace each other and feel a sense of security
I feel your lips, so warm and tender,
The softness and warmth of your lips against mine is truly a blissful experience
My one and only love.
You are the only person in this world who will always hold a special place in my heart
The touch of your hand is like heaven,
Your touch is blissful and heavenly, and something that I always yearn for
A heaven that I've never known.
Being with you feels like a whole new world of ecstasy that I have never experienced before
The blush on your cheek whenever I speak
The adorable blush on your cheeks whenever I speak to you tells me how much you cherish me and my words
Tells me that you are my own.
This blush reassures me that you are mine and no one else's
You fill my eager heart with such desire.
My heart yearns for your love so much that I find it hard to contain my desire for you
Ev'ry kiss you give sets my soul on fire.
With every touch of your lips against mine, my soul ignites with an intense flame of passion
I give myself in sweet surrender,
I completely surrender myself to you, entrusting my love to the safety of your arms
My one and only love.
You are the only person who can make me feel like this, the only one who holds the key to my heart
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Guy B. Wood, Robert Mellin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind