2. Floating Points/Pharoah Sanders/London Symphony Orchestra Promises (Luaka Bop)

It’s a slow burn, and sometimes it seems whisper-thin. Yet the power of Promises is in its exquisite crawl: a long, dark tunnel with each of Pharoah’s sax breaks coming on like a sudden burst of radiant sunlight. The saxophonist finally gets a real release about 11 minutes before the 46-minute piece ends—and the long buildup is more than worth it. MICHAEL J. WEST

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Read our review here.