LOS ANGELES — Pharoah Sanders, the legendary jazz saxophonist perhaps best known for his transcendent work with John Coltrane and for a solo run for Impulse Records beginning in the mid-1960s, and who helped define the so-called spiritual jazz movement, has died. He was 81.
Sanders died Saturday morning in Los Angeles, his record label, Luaka Bop, confirmed on Twitter. The cause of death was not given.
“We are devastated to share that Pharoah Sanders has passed away,” read the label’s statement. “He died peacefully surrounded by loving family and friends in Los Angeles earlier this morning. Always and forever the most beautiful human being, may he rest in peace.”
