Pharoah Sanders, Inimitable Jazz Saxophonist, Plays Yoshi’s in Oakland

Pharoah Sanders is immediately recognizable for his viscerally abrasive, ever-searching style of tenor saxophone, an inimitable voice honed in the Sun Ra Arkestra and John Coltrane ensembles before leading his own groups. Born Ferrell Sanders in Little Rock, Arkansas, he worked briefly in Oakland before moving to New York and supporting Coltrane during his avant-garde period epitomized by Ascension. As a bandleader in the late 1960s, Sanders continued exploring free and spiritual jazz on a staggering run of albums for the Impulse! label, by turns intoning peace with wounded lyricism and reveling in explosive, anguished intensity. Sanders last played the Bay Area in 2017, part of a program recognizing Coltrane, and returns with the same collaborators—pianist William Henderson, bassist Nat Reeves and drummer Johnathan Blake—for two sets a night Friday and Saturday, Nov. 29-30 at Yoshi’s in Oakland.