By way of his overblowing technique -- pinching the reed to create multiple tones -- Pharoah Sanders changed the way John Coltrane and many others approached the saxophone in the 1960s. His spirituality walked side by side with the music.
Someone carved out a minute and a half that exemplifies the sound that drew me to Sanders when I was young, excerpted from his 1971 "Live at the East"; listen here.
Also, Carlos Niño and friends recently got together for a jam in tribute to Sanders. Listen here.