PHAROAH SANDERS — Deaf, Dumb, Blind: Summun, Bukmun, Umyun (review)

PHAROAH SANDERS — Deaf, Dumb, Blind: Summun, Bukmun, Umyun album cover Album · 1970 · Avant-Garde Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Sean Trane
Pursuing his African roots quest started with Thauhid, Pharoah soldiered on with Summum Bukmum Umyum (deaf, dumb, blind in terms of faith) into the “black continent’s” cultural spectrum and coming with the excellent present album. Apparently the band took a trip across the pond (if you base yourself on the front artwork) to explore the musical universes of the XXX. The album features the basic nucleus of Sanders’ backing group for the few albums to come, including Liston-Smith, McBee, Jarvis & Bettis, while he (Sanders) is joined by Shaw’s trumpet and Bartz’s alto sax up front.

Mid 1970, Sanders’ third album was recorded in two tracks, the first of which (the title track) is an extremely percussive piece, which is slightly out of the usual/normal Pharoah soundscape, but fear not, his composing and playing paws are still quite Sanders-ian. On the flipside, the (slightly) shorter House Of The Lord is definitely more slanted in the Trane (more Alice than John) realm of sonic ecstasy, with the typical piano tapestry in guise of intro and leads you in a meditative moments for much of the almost-18-mins. McBee’s bowed contrabass has a long moment of sunshine, and not just in that slow mis section and still shines like a thousand suns until the dusk.

A fairly accessible album into Sanders’ universe, but purists will probably claim that JoT or Karma are Pharoah’s higher works. I guess this old atheist must deaf dumb blind after all to those later works, because I prefer the present, its predecessor and its successor.
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