Far Out Friday: Sonny Sharrock

As I teased in a previous post about Pharaoh Sanders, here's one about the avant garde guitar player he introduced to the world: Sonny Sharrock. Like Pharoah, Sonny had a most exquisite lyrical side that he showed to great effect so memorably on Sanders' album Tauhid, especially on "Upper And Lower Egypt."

A little-known fact is that Sonny went on to play with Herbie Mann on his Memphis Underground album, recorded at American with the usual suspects.

I can't find any videos as good as my recollection of an incredible gig Sonny did in Hartford with some taiko drummers from New York City, so I'll focus on the music, starting with the lyrical "Who Does She Hope To Be?":



As counterpoint, let me hit you with his rhythm & blues grinder, "Black Bottom":



We lost Sonny in 1994, not long after I had the privilege of seeing and hearing him wail like no one else. I'll let him represent himself with a fine cut off one of his best albums, Ask The Ages, "Many Mansions":



You can listen to Ask The Ages in its entirety on Last.FM by clicking here. And click this link if you want to see some videos showing how far out Sonny could get in concert.