An integral figure to the development of free jazz, Farrell Sanders (Best known by his stage name "Pharoah Sanders") has been referred to by Ornette Coleman as "probably the best tenor saxophone in the world", and has frequently been mentioned in the same breath as untouchable legends like John Coltrane or Sun Ra. As a member of Coltrane's final quintet, as well as a bandleader, Sanders' distinct performance style, involving overblowing, multiphonic and harmonic textures, as well as abrasive dissonance helped set an encompassing blueprint for the experimental free jazz sounds of the late 60s and much of the 1970s.

Sanders' wild and unhinged playing style takes center stage on his 1982 record Live..., one of his most raucous and accomplished live records released. Sanders is joined by a powerhouse trio of backing musicians, including John Hicks on piano, Walter Booker on bass, and the great Idris Muhammad on drums. By this point in his career, Sanders had gradually begun to move away from free jazz in favor of progressive and modal sounds, but the sounds of his early experimentations are still present and powerful
as ever, across four tracks clocking in at a little over an hour in length.