Impulse!, 1972

For 1971’s Black Unity, Pharoah Sanders built on the foundations of spiritual free-jazz he’d explored on his previous albums for Impulse!, this time adding a healthy dose of heavy groove courtesy of twin bass players, Cecil McBee and a young Stanley Clarke. Over the course of a single 37-minute track (split over two sides of vinyl), he investigates the power of rhythm, building polyrhythmic vamps touching on African and Latin traditions. While the irrepressible central groove never lets up, horns come in and out, soloing wildly or building to huge peaks of group intensity. It’s quite a trip!