The Charles Lloyd Blog

Rico Reeds / facebook blog

2009-07-09T06:53:00.000-07:00

Charles Lloyd is a jazz musician of the absolute highest accomplishment. A brilliantly original, deeply swinging, hard-driving, romantic voice. When I listen to him live or on recordings there's a stunning electricity, a hard-swinging vibrancy, and deep groove in all he does. Hearing him live is an inspiration I treasure for years in my mind. This past Saturday in New York City at the Highline Ballroom with his working quartet of Jason Moran, Eric Harland and Reuben Rogers was one of those nights.The telepathic communication and flawless execution on this live set was an outstanding performance from Lloyd, Moran,Rogers and Harland. One of the best live concerts I heard all year, and I noted with extreme interest this was the opinion of many others in the audience.

Click here for more at Rico Reeds / facebook blog.

Charles Lloyd New Quartet in NYC - July 3rd

2009-06-25T10:58:00.000-07:00

Charles Lloyd
Friday, July 3 10:30p
at Highline Ballroom, New York, NY

At 71 when most individuals are thinking of ways to slow down and kick back, Charles Lloyd has shifted to a higher gear and keeps going higher. To celebrate his 70th birthday in March of 2008, he released his first live quartet recording in over twenty-five years, " Rabo de Nube" on ECM Records

Click here to buy tickets.

New Fall Tour Dates Added

2009-06-16T08:17:00.000-07:00

The Charles Lloyd New Quartet is on the road again -
Jason Moran, Reuben Rogers, Eric Harland.

Oct 2: Enjoy Jazz Festival, Heidelberg, Germany

Oct 6: Demitria Festival, Thessolonki, Greece

#1 End of Year Standout Wall Street Journal 2008

2009-06-08T21:31:00.000-07:00

“.. with a place among jazz’s elder masters, ( Charles Lloyd ) revered not the least for an ability to conjure near-mystic moods from jazz vernacular. He’s expansive in his musical discourse yet without a wasted note.”
~Larry Blumenfeld

Jazz Times Critic’s Poll 2008

2009-06-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

#1 Jazz Times Critic’s Poll 2008
“If a poll is defined as ‘Who among living players has made the greatest contribution to the tenor saxophone?’ then the poll results are appropriate. If a poll means ‘Who is playing the most tenor saxophone now?’ then the positions of Sonny Rollins and Charles Lloyd should be reversed.”

~Tom Conrad

Crawling Thickets of Groove

2009-05-28T08:14:00.000-07:00

#1 Jazz Times Reader’s Poll 2008
“Melody with gentility, crawls through thickets of world groove, stately, sacred seeking, and with Impulse! – era courage.”
~ Evan Haga

Sangam Interview on The Checkout

2009-05-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

Tabla master Zakir Hussain is the featured performer for Carnegie Hall’s Perspectives series. Zakir, Charles Lloyd, and drummer Eric Harland talk candidly about seeking spirituality through music in their trio, Sangam.

Click here for more at WBGO.org.

2009 Summer / Fall Tour Schedule

2009-05-16T12:10:00.000-07:00

Charles Lloyd New Quartet:
Jason Moran, Reuben Rogers, Eric Harland

June
25 Vigo, Spain

July
2 Dakota - Minneapolis, MN
3 Highline Ballroom - NY, NY
5 Ottawa International Jazz Festival - Ottawa, Canada
25 Nice Jazz Festival - Nice, France
28 Liguria Jazz Summer - Santa Margarita, Italy
29 La Fenice - Venice, Italy
31 Stadtfest - Tubingen, Germany

August
4 Jazz In Marciac - Marciac, France

October
4 Angra Jazz Festival, Azores
16 U of Texas - Austin, Texas
17 Cullen Theater - Houston, Texas

December
4 University of California - Santa Cruz, CA
5 Seattle,WA TBA
6 Portland, OR TBA
8 Disney Hall, Los Angeles, CA

Click here for CharlesLloyd.com.

NYTimes Review of Perspectives at Carnegie Hall

2009-05-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

Sangam, which features the saxophonist Charles Lloyd and the drummer Eric Harland, made the concert’s first half an intrepid outing. The trio’s first offering, “Guman,” featured meditative vocals by Mr. Hussain, who wrote the song, but first came a mysterious rustle of shakers and a rumbling piano drone, played first by Mr. Lloyd and then by Mr. Harland.

On the next few songs, Mr. Lloyd was the one sounding a melodic incantation, on tenor, alto or tárogató, a straight woodwind instrument; his outpourings were imploring and soulful.

The trio delivered its share of percussive flash — Mr. Hussain was right to introduce Mr. Harland as “my partner in rhythm crime” — but the more lasting impression of the first half was melodic. This had to do partly with the pianist Jason Moran, an unbilled guest on the song “Tales of Rumi.”

Click here for the rest of the NYTimes review.

Sangam at Carnegie Hall

2009-03-18T05:09:00.000-07:00

Sangam will perform at Carnegie Hall on April 29th as part of the Perspective Series that Zakir Hussain is curating this year. The evening is announced as " Zakir Hussain and Friends, Featuring Sangam with Charles Lloyd and Eric Harland, and members of Remember Shakti." It should be an unforgettable evening of music with new collaborations between the two groups.

During recent concerts in Dubai and Mumbai, Sangam performed with Shankar Mahadevan, U Shrinivas, V. Selvaganesh, and T. Qureshi - both events were thrilling. Not to be missed.

Click here for the Carnegie Hall site.

Remembering Abbaji - Mumbai Mirror

2009-02-03T07:56:00.000-08:00

The purpose of life is to serve God, and I do this through music,” says the legendary saxophonist Charles Lloyd. Charles Lloyd fell in love with the Vedas during the Ramakrishna Mission movement during the '60s in the States. In fact, the jazz man took a break in his career to attain a higher state of mental awareness under the guidance of gurus at a Vedanta temple in Santa Barbara. His travels took him everywhere other than India.

Lloyd finally comes to India to play for the annual barsi celebration of Ustad Alla Rakha Khan as part of Sangam - a trio completed by Ustad Zakir Hussain and Eric Harland. The concert will also honour the tabla maestro Kishan Maharaj, who passed away last year.

Click here for more at the Mumbai Mirror.

Wall Street Journal: The Best Span . . .

2009-01-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

Jazz these days has no one single source or sound, and that's a good thing. Many of the musicians on my top-10 list have been covered in these pages during the course of 2008 -- guitarist Lionel Loueke, clarinetist Evan Christopher, singer Cassandra Wilson, pianist Guillermo Klein, the Microscopic Septet. But here are five more -- reflecting the influence of three continents and as many generations -- who stood out.

Charles Lloyd
"Rabo de Nube"
ECM/$17.98

Forty years ago, saxophonist Charles Lloyd was a pop star; his 1966 album, "Forest Flower," sold a million copies. These days he must content himself with a place among jazz's elder masters, revered not least for an ability to conjure near-mystic moods from jazz vernacular. Much like the band led by saxophonist Wayne Shorter, yet in a very different way, Mr. Lloyd's current group reinvents the quartet format, investing it with unpredictable organic possibility. Pianist Jason Moran, a brilliant bandleader himself, is one key. No less elemental are drummer Eric Harland and bassist Ruben Rogers. The three much younger musicians feed more than follow Mr. Lloyd. And he, playing tenor saxophone and, on occasion, alto flute and tarogato (an Eastern European reed instrument), is by turns hard-blowing and ruminative. He's expansive in his musical discourse yet without a wasted note.

Click here for the Rest of the Best.

Rabo de Nube - Best of 2008

2008-12-29T11:54:00.000-08:00

Denver Post says:
1. Charles Lloyd,"Rabo de Nube"(ECM) Life-affirming, playful and energetic are all words that apply to the work of saxophonist Lloyd, whose most recent recordings are his finest. Recommended not just for the symbolic passing of the torch between the 70-year old master and the young pianist Jason Moran, but also for the most absorbing explorations released this year.

Click here for the rest of the Best.

facebook photos of Sangam 2004/2005

2008-12-20T05:45:00.000-08:00

Added a few more photos from Sangam on facebook.

Click here to view photos and follow Charles Lloyd on facebook.

Time-lapse: Charles Lloyd New Quartet

2008-12-17T18:45:00.000-08:00

CHARLES LLOYD NEW QUARTET
SANTA FE, NM - LENSIC THEATER
Song: RAMANUJAN
Album: RABO DE NUBE
Photography: JEFFERY MORSE

Click here to watch.

Charles Lloyd on facebook

2008-12-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

Just created a new page for Charles Lloyd on facebook. If you're a facebook user join the group and support the cause. If not, join facebook. What are you waiting for?

Click here to join Charles Lloyd on facebook.

Promo Spot for Charles Lloyd Quartet

2008-12-11T12:03:00.000-08:00

Odetta

2008-12-03T13:34:00.000-08:00

My heart weighs heavy with the news that the world has lost one of it's most beautiful, deep and compassionate voices and soldiers for peace. When Rosa Parks was asked what her favorite song was, she replied "Anything by Odetta."

Anything she sang couldn't help but pierce your heart with her humanity. I especially loved her singing of Dylan... and any spiritual she sang took you right to the bosom of Angel Oak. It was my honor and privilege to have met her, and sat beside her in conversation.
God bless your beautiful soul.

Why I Love Jazz

2008-10-27T06:06:00.000-07:00

One day 14 years ago I became a jazz fan for life. I was a newspaper reporter in Idaho, and was paid so poorly that I supplemented my income by delivering pizza in my pickup truck on weekends.

The good part about it was that I had a good stereo, and could pick up a good public radio station out of Salt Lake City, KUER, that played a lot of jazz.

Someone got a cold pizza one day because of Charles Lloyd.

. . .

Click here for the rest of Arik Hesseldahl's blog posting.

Charles Lloyd Videos on HCW

2008-10-20T05:45:00.000-07:00

HelioCentricWorld has posted a nice compilation of Charles Lloyd videos. Check out Prometheus, Lotus Blossom, Supreme Love Dance and two pieces from the Original Charles Lloyd Quartet.

Click here now for HelioCentricWorld.

The Beach Boys Perform All This Is That With The Monster Saxaphonist Charles Lloyd

2008-09-22T17:39:00.001-07:00

Click here to watch.

Dream Weaver - The Charles Lloyd Anthology - The Atlantic Years 1966-1969

2008-08-24T23:01:00.000-07:00

Beautiful and absorbing though most of them are, Charles Lloyd's discs on ECM, with whom the reed player has been recording for almost twenty years, have tended to overshadow the wonderful albums he made with the Charles Lloyd Quartet for Atlantic forty and more years ago.

With Atlantic, Lloyd notched up eight LPs recorded in the three years from 1966—radical discs which reflected the youth zeitgeist like no other jazz outfit—before the quartet imploded in the face of mutual suspicion and predatory rival bandleaders. That the music was instrumental and acoustic—without a Fender Rhodes or bass guitar in sight—made the achievement more remarkable.

Click here for more at All About Jazz.

New Date Added to Summer European Tour

2008-07-27T08:23:00.000-07:00

July 29th, Vaison la Romaine, Charles Lloyd and Eric Harland Duo
7pm in the Cite Medieval

Click here for more information on Vaison la Romaine.

Hidden in Plain Sight

2008-07-13T20:41:00.000-07:00

For more than forty years, Charles Lloyd has been the small combo leader making distinctively impressionistic and soulful kind of small combo jazz. His tenor's delicate, almost alto-like timbre is instantly recognizable from just a single note. His prolific periods of the late sixties and since the late eighties have produced consistently strong albums. Many stars have played in Lloyd's band, and in many cases, gotten their major career boosts playing behind him. Jack deJohnette, Cecil, McBee, Keith Jarrett and Michael Pettruciani all gigged in his group. And yet, Lloyd is oddly not often considered when the subject of major living figures in jazz comes up.

Charles Lloyd is the jazz legend who is hidden in plain sight.

There have been nearly an album a year from Lloyd since he came of of semi-retirement and signed with ECM Records about twenty years ago. It could be a daunting task just to decide where to start with his discography with that label since they're all serious efforts. When his latest Rabo de Nube was issued this past March, I was tempted to forgo writing about it, just because as good as I knew it was going to be, it's still "just another Charles Lloyd" album. That is, until I actually listened to it.

Click here for more at somethingelsereviews.com.

Make Your Reservations Today!

2008-07-08T05:09:00.000-07:00

The lakeside Eurotel hotel in Montreux is preparing to open the doors of a 'Charles Lloyd Room' to coincide with the annual jazz festival. Named after the saxophonist who was the first international artist to perform at the event 41 years ago, the restored room offers fans of jazz and 1960s memorabilia a time-stood-still experience.

Click here for more info.