Even when he was a DJ fashioning beats in a techno club in Berlin, Sam Shepherd, aka Floating Points, wasn’t afraid to drop the needle on 20 continuous minutes of spiritual jazz, courtesy of the 1977 song, “Harvest Time” by Pharoah Sanders. Now, the 34-year-old composer-producer and son of a vicar has joined forces with Sanders, the 80-year-old saxophonist and last direct musical heir to John Coltrane’s spiritual legacy, for Promises. A continuous 46-minute opus of luminous beauty spread over nine movements, Promises is composed for saxophone, keyboards, electronics, and 29 string players from the London Symphony Orchestra.
On his most extensive musical undertaking in at least seven years, Sanders conveys a remarkable range of sound and emotion on his tenor. His breath control cracks open extended notes with exquisite vulnerability and reverence; approximates blown kisses and geese departing over the horizon; and affirms faith and strength both solo and in the sonic tapestry of the large ensemble. His mixture of slippery scat and quiet humming around the 11-minute mark is the record’s lone vocal.