Charles Lloyd´s Kindred Spirits – Jazz Middelheim (2019)

It may seem a bit of a paradox to still describe 81-year-old American saxophonist Charles Lloyd as a jazz innovator. But the fact is that Lloyd continues to search tirelessly for new paths and forms of expression rather than producing a resume of his long career. »I refer to myself as a sound-searcher,« says Charles Lloyd. »The deeper I dive into the ocean of sound, the more I become aware that I need to dive down even deeper.« Thus as recently as 2016 he founded the alternative country and Americana band The Marvels, recording the album »Vanished Gardens« with the new band’s pedal-steel-guitar sounds and roots rock singer Lucinda Williams; for many critics, this is one of the top records in Lloyd’s large discography.

In addition to two members of The Marvels, Charles Lloyd is accompanied by guitarists Julian Lage und Marvin Sewell. »Kindred Spirits« is the title of the programme with which the five musicians celebrate jazz music’s inexhaustible powers of innovation.

And here´s a review of his show at the Ronnie Scott´s Jazzclub, London (1 August 2019)

Charles Lloyd’s first appearance at Ronnie’s with a truly amazing group was a very special event. Lloyd’s Kindred Spirits group comprised a cohort of the highest calibre. Two extraordinary guitarists, Julian Lage and Marvin Sewell, and on bass and drums, two of Lloyd’s long-time co-musicians, the in-demand rhythm section of Reuben Rogers and Eric Harland, and, leading it all, the unmistakeable, 81-years-young Charles Lloyd on tenor sax and flute. From the moment he stepped on stage it was clear that he just loved to be playing in a small club, and he did not hold back – a strong musical presence making sure attention was paid to detail all-round, guiding with a gentle, knowing intelligence with roots in a lifetime of just living the music.

The guitarists had very different styles, so complemented each other inspiringly. Lage light, super fast and furiously florid, Sewell, sharp, raw and hitting the blues streak – they just kept upping the ante every time they soloed! Not quite duelling, but… and Harland’s drum solo was one of those that redefines what a drum solo is – none of that ‘just bash away’ – he focused on a beat and worked round it meticulously and, later, Lloyd joined him, not without humour, wielding metallic green maracas for a brief percussive duet that lightened the tone. Similarly, Rogers on electric bass didn’t take the easy route, lots of space and then he just turned it up.

Great playing from all five – never a dull moment, with Lloyd imposing his large, all-embracing presence with a gentle touch and many big smiles – just like his playing, which combined the imposingly forceful, demanding attention, and the gracefully mellifluous, with gorgeous phrasing trickling up and down the hill with every note he played – with a memorably devastating tenor sax solo outtro to their second number that really flew. The flute was Lloyd’s other instrument of choice, setting up the mood for the finale to a brilliant 80 minute set, ending on a carnival note, throwing jazz, chunky funk and a demon Latin undercurrent in to the melting pot with glorious glee! (by Geoff Winston)

And here´s is his show from the Park den Brandt … Excellent stuff !

Thanks to Steven (who recorded the show); and to gideon77 for sharing it at Dime.

Recorded live at Jazz Middelheim. Park Den Brandt, Antwerp, Belgium; August 16, 2019. Very good FM broadcast.

Personnel:
Gerald Clayton (piano)
Eric Harland (drums)
Charles Lloyd (saxophone, flute)
Reuben Rogers (bass)
Marvin Sewell (guitar)

Tracklist:
01. Radio intro 1.51
02. Deverish Dance 19:54
03. All My Relations 10.44
04. How Can I Tell You 19.40
05. Little Anahids Day 11.04
06. Untitled 1 10.58
07. Untitled 2 14.19
08. Crowd 0.14
09. Radio outro 1:03

Music composed by Charles Lloyd

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Charles Lloyd – Wild Man Dance Suite (live at The Temple of Dendur, New York) (2015)

Charles Lloyd (born March 15, 1938 in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American jazz musician. Though he primarily plays tenor saxophone and flute, he has occasionally recorded on other reed instruments, including alto saxophone and the Hungarian tárogató.

Mr. Lloyd has been a notable solo artist in jazz for some 50 years, though his track record hardly suggests an unbroken line. He found fame in the latter half of the 1960s, selling more than a million copies of the album “Forest Flower” and becoming the first jazz artist to headline the Fillmore Auditorium. Then, at the height of his prominence in the early ’70s, he retreated into meditative seclusion in Big Sur, Calif. (The arc of his career forms the subject of “Arrows Into Infinity,” a recent documentary film directed by his wife and manager, Dorothy Darr, and the producer Jeffery Morse.)

Mr. Lloyd’s major resurgence as a jazz artist came about in the ’80s, with a series of tours and albums that includes the only other Blue. (artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com)

In April 2015 he released a live Album, called “Wild Man Dance” (on Blue Note again) and it was original recorded in 2013:

Response was generally positive, with AllMusic calling it “a success on virtually every level.” All About Jazz noted that “While plenty of musicians tend to slow down as they get older, the opposite seems to be happening with this septuagenarian”, and said it “is every bit as magical as the best of Lloyd’s output.”[3] The Los Angeles Times stated “Here the dulcimer-like Hungarian cimbalom and the bowed lyra color the open-ended framework of a six-part suit (by wikipedia)

And here´s another live version of this Suite … rerded live in 2015 to promote the original album.

Wild Man Dance Suite is a sweeping new masterpiece from Charles Lloyd. Blending traditional jazz elements with visceral sounds and textures from antiquity, Lloyd has created something altogether new and exciting. Composed for a quartet of piano, bass, and drums, with the addition of Greek lyra and the Hungarian gypsy cimbalom, the ensemble performs the six movements of the suite like a flowing orchestral unit. (metmuseum.org)

Charles Lloyd turned 80 on March 15.

Thanks to Lewojazz for sharing the HDTV webcast at Dime.

Recorded live at The Temple of Dendur, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; April 18, 2015. Very good audio (ripped from HDTV webcast).

Personnel:
Eric Harland (drums)
Charles Lloyd (saxophone, flute, tarogato)
Miklós Lukács (cymbalom)
Jason Moran (piano)
Joe Sanders (bass)
Sokratis Sinopoulos (greek Lyra)

 

 

Wild Man Dance Suite:
Part 5 Rumination – Flying Over The Odra Valley
Gardener – Lark – The River – Invitation – Wild Man Dance

 

Tracklist:
01. Part A 16.42
02. Part B 8.08
03. Part C 10.19
04. Part D 8.42
05. Part E 15.08
06. Part F 9.59
07. Part G 7.15
08. Part H 6.06
09. Part I 11.48
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10. Video version 1.34.22

Music composed by Charles LLoyd

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