It hasn’t been too long since we’ve heard from Floating Points; Sam Shepherd’s latest album under the moniker, Crush, came out in late 2019. Jazz legend Pharoah Sanders, on the other hand, could be found onstage but less frequently in the studio; he hasn’t released an album since the middle of the ’00s. Perhaps that makes what would already be a pretty wild collaboration that much more exciting: Sanders and Shepherd are both about to return with a collaborative album alongside the London Symphony Orchestra. It’s called Promises, and it will be out in late March.

Instead of a normal quote, the two shared a conversation:

Sam Shepherd (Floating Points): Pharoah…
Pharoah Sanders: Huh…?
Sam: Were you asleep? I’m sorry..
Pharoah: No no… I was listening… and dreaming… and listening to music in my head…
Sam: Oh wow… sorry.
Pharoah: Many times, people think I might be asleep… but in fact, I am just listening to music in my head. I’m always listening… to the sounds around me… and playing, in my mind… and sometimes I dream.
Sam: What were you dreaming about?
Pharoah: I’m on a ship. In the ocean. Bears coming around smoking cigars. The bears are singing, “We have the music. We have what you’re looking for.”

* * *

Pharoah: How you like that take, Sam?
Sam: It’s cool. I think the bit in the middle, where it stops again… I think you can hear… We were both kind of confused. I like it as well because it sounds like two musicians that are trying to guide each other.
Pharoah: I think that’s it right there. It came out different. It came out good though.
Sam: You happy?
Pharoah: Yeah, I’m cool with it.
Sam: Okay. Yeah, I think your playing is beautiful.

There’s also no music from the album quite yet, but they’ve shared a trailer. Either way, this is suddenly one of the more intriguing releases on the horizon.

Promises is out 3/26 via Luaka Bop.