Tisziji, Pharoah Sanders & Rashied Ali - Thank You All Great Spirits

“Thank you All Great Spirits“ Tisziji Muñoz: Guitar, Keyboard Synths, Bells, Vocals* Pharoah Sanders: Saxophone, Vocal effects* Rashied Ali: Drums and Percussion Bernie Senensky: Piano Don Pate: Bass Produced by Tisziji Muñoz Composition by Tisziji Muñoz, Anami Music - BMI Recorded on November 3, 1997 at Rashied Ali’s Survival Studio in Soho, New York City. Recording Engineer: Mike Muñoz Mastered by Tisziji and Mike Muñoz at Sweetfish Recording Studios, Argyle, NY Assistant Engineers: Nancy and Rebazar Muñoz, Larry Voelker, Mark Fuller & Mike Hostettler Pharoah Sanders discusses Tisziji ... “Tisziji Muñoz is a man of self-knowledge, and a very advanced musician. I remember in the early days, in 1974, when we were playing at the Village Vanguard in New York, I was in the back room looking for a decent reed when I heard this tenor sounding sax coming from the bandstand. I could not believe the sound and I said, ’Who is this cat with the nerve to get up on the bandstand and just start blowing on my gig?’ So, I ran out. I was almost angry, and then I saw him. It was Tisziji playing guitar! But he sounded just like a horn player, and I kept saying to myself, ’How is he doing this horn sound on a guitar.’ I just couldn’t believe it. When I saw it was Tisziji I calmed down. “Tisziji is one of the spiritual players. He has that quality about him. He is the only one I know that plays like that. He is the only guitar player I really know that I can play with. To me, it’s like there are no other guitar players. He is the only one. I can’t play with anyone else like I play with Tisziji. “Tisziji can come into my band at any time and we can just play. We don’t have to think about it. He just knows what to play. And we’re just gonna do it. We’re just gonna play the music and it will be what it will be. You never know what he’s going to do next. He thinks and plays on a higher level. Tisziji plays with that spiritual quality that is about being Free. That is in his music. He has a lot of conviction in his music. He has that unique Sound. If you want to know about Tisziji, you have to listen to his music. “Tisziji plays a lot of different sounds on his guitar. Sometimes it’s like a horn, sometimes it’s like a sitar, sometimes it’s like singing. He creates multiple sounds. It’s like each note has a different sound. He sounds like a whole lot of things at once. He sounds like a full band all by himself. “I don’t know anyone who really knows Tisziji that has anything bad to say about him. Oh, maybe the critics, we all have critics, but those who criticize him just don’t know him or understand him and they don’t deserve to hear his music. “Tisziji Munoz is a genius who must play his own music and write his own books. “I can always talk to Tisziji and play with him like there is no time between us. He is a very unique person. He has helped me through a lot in a lot of different ways. For instance, when we played in Schenectady, I came in with a lot of physical pain, but Tisziji took away my pain. He made me feel good. I always feel good when I’m around Tisziji. “I am very thankful to have met someone with Tisziji’s qualities. He is a great player, a great person and a great man. He has the qualities that I like in a man. I like being around him. I feel comfortable with him. He is always very humble, very understated. He is not commercial. He doesn’t care about money. He just wants to be Free with his music. He has no ego and I love that in him. He has always been that way. He has this aura about him. Not everyone sees it, but I do. I always feel good around him. He is a unique spirit.“ ~Pharoah Sanders