Visage: The Third Eye

New York-born multi-instrumentalist and composer Tomoki Sanders introduces their solo work with Visage: The Third Eye. Bringing spiritual exploration and improvisation together, the album draws on Black American Music while questioning the conventions and inequalities surrounding its culture.

“The Third Eye” explores intuition, spirituality and self-understanding through evolving textures. “Jazz Is Just A Game”, featuring trumpeter Nicholas Payton and vocalist Mélanie Charles, challenges the romanticisation of suffering and asks who receives recognition and creative freedom within the music.

“Tranquil Memories” is dedicated to Sanders’ close friend Rodney James-Spann, a saxophonist and beat producer who died in 2025. Blending the rhythmic language of straight-ahead brushes with the pulse of acid jazz, the composition celebrates friendship and the connections that endure through loss.

A Berklee College of Music graduate and child of Pharoah Sanders, Tomoki began with drums and percussion before learning clarinet and saxophone. Their approach honours a rich musical heritage while leaving space for experimentation, reflection and self-discovery.

Available on black vinyl, aqua blue vinyl and CD.

Vinyl: Side A

1. The Third Eye
2. Game Coin - Game Start
3. Virtual Warrior

Side B

1. The Garden of Truth
2. Kakigori
3. Tranquil Memories (Memories of Rodney James)
4. Jazz Is Just A Game (feat. Nicholas Payton & Mélanie Charles)
5. Buddha The Golden Teacher

CD

1. The Third Eye
2. Game Coin - Game Start
3. Virtual Warrior
4. The Garden of Truth
5. Kakigori
6. Tranquil Memories (Memories of Rodney James)
7. Jazz Is Just A Game (feat. Nicholas Payton & Mélanie Charles)
8. Buddha The Golden Teacher