Tahuid
“Upper Egypt, Lower Egypt”
Pharoah Sanders
United States (Jazz)
Voice, Saxophone, Bass, Guitar, Piano, Drums,
Percussion
The name of the album is “Tahuid.” It is an
Islamic word meaning the oneness of God. After listening to Upper Egypt, Lower
Egypt it was evident that it is also a good example for creating world music
because of the room it leaves for improvisation. The piece begins with bass and
gradually adds the tambourine, piano, guitar, drums and builds. These
instruments maintain their rhythmic pattern throughout the entire song allowing
the marimba, saxophone and voice to expand on the simple four chord
progression. The marimba maintains a melody
with slight variations that the voice imitates closer the end of the song. The
saxophone truly explores many musical attributes outside of the norm with the
different tones and techniques used while improvising. This piece can display
to students that there are countless venues to explore when improvising.
Hi Tino - I really liked this piece. You're right about the importance of improvisation. This piece is a great example of jazz improv. The way this piece builds reminds me of "West End Blues" and the way in which we can hear a new texture as each instrument enters. They both share the heterogeneous texture. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete-Martha
Speaking of room for improv...I was wondering when the soloist was going to begin. But when he did, boy oh boy!!
ReplyDeleteThis piece is excellent for rhythmic, lyrical and melodic improvisation. Students could fit a lot into it. It built from almost nothing to a screaming climax and went back down...what a ride! Sounds like authentic jazz. Thank you for sharing.