''Rejoice'' is a double album led by saxophonist Pharoah Sanders recorded in 1981 and released on the

Theresa Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; french: Thérèse) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or re ...

label.

Reception

In his review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, Scott Yanow commented: "The music always holds on to one's interest, making this one of Sanders's better later recordings". The authors of ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled ...

'' stated that the album is "cluttered by spurious vocals, but packed with interesting episodes," and noted that "the basic group is hard to fault, but it's rarely heard in isolation and there is always someone running interference." Imran Mirza of UK Vibe remarked: "''Rejoice'' lovingly strives for that notion of celebration, achieving it almost immediately... this is an album that embraces its 80s surrounding soundscape, particularly during the album’s early portion of highlife songs." Writing for ''

Jazz Journal ''Jazz Journal'' is a British jazz magazine established in 1946 by Sinclair Traill (1904–1981). It was first published in London under the title ''Pick Up'', which Traill founded as a locus for serious jazz criticism in Britain.Roberta Freund Sc ...

'', Derek Ansell noted that, on the opening track, "Sanders is full of complex, high-octane improvising," while the succeeding tracks present "a more mellow, mature Sanders... sounding at times like a supercharged Sonny Rollins doing his calypso thing."

Track listing

''All compositions by Pharoah Sanders except as indicated'' # "Rejoice" – 12:42 # "High Life" – 7:38 # "Nigerian Juju Hilife" – 9:57 # "Origin" – 5:41 # "When Lights Are Low" (

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

) – 6:24 # "

Moment's Notice "Moment's Notice" is a "classic" jazz standard composed by John Coltrane. The song was featured on Coltrane's noted 1958 recording '' Blue Train''. History Coltrane never recorded "Moment's Notice" after the version on ''Blue Train''. But other s ...

" (

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raise ...

) – 5:16 # "

Central Park West Eighth Avenue is a major north–south avenue on the west side of Manhattan in New York City, carrying northbound traffic below 59th Street. It is one of the original avenues of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 to run the length of Manhattan, ...

" – 5:43 # "Ntjilo Ntjilo/Bird Song" – 4:03 # "Farah" – 5:28

Personnel

* Pharoah Sanders –

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

, bells, vocals *Danny Moore – trumpet (tracks 4–7) * Steve Turre – trombone (tracks 4–7) *Lois Colin – harp (tracks 7 & 8) * Bobby Hutcherson –

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist ...

(tracks 1, 4, 6 & 7) *

John Hicks Sir John Richards Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economi ...

– piano (tracks 4–7) *

Joe Bonner Joe Bonner (April 20, 1948 – November 20, 2014) was a hard bop and modal jazz pianist, influenced by McCoy Tyner and Art Tatum. He was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina and studied at Virginia State College, but indicated that he lear ...

– piano, vocals (tracks 1–3 8 & 9) *Peter Fujii – guitar, vocals (track 2 & 3) *

Art Davis Arthur David Davis (December 6, 1934 – July 29, 2007) was a double-bassist, known for his work with Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner and Max Roach. Biography Davis was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United Stat ...

– bass (tracks 1 & 4–7) *Jorge Pomar – bass, vocals (tracks 2 & 3) *

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebrate ...

(track 1),

Billy Higgins Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop. Biography Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, ...

(tracks 4–7) – drums *Big Black – congas, vocals (tracks 2 & 3) *Babatunde Lea – bells, drums,

shekere The shekere (from Yoruba Ṣẹ̀kẹ̀rẹ̀) is a West African percussion instrument consisting of a dried gourd with beads or cowries woven into a net covering the gourd. The Shekere originated in a tribe in Nigeria called the Yoruba. The in ...

, vocals (tracks 1–3) *George V. Johnson Jr. – vocals (track 6) *B. Kazuko Ishida – voice (track 1) *Flame Braithwaite, Bobby London, Sakinah Muhammad, Carroll Wilson Scott, Yvette S. Vanterpool – vocals (tracks 4 & 7) *William S. Fischer (vocal arranger (tracks 4 & 7)

References

{{Authority control 1981 albums Pharoah Sanders albums Theresa Records albums