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| Charles Lloyd Celebrating His 70th Birthday Since leaving Memphis for Los Angeles in 1956, Charles Lloyd's journey has been one of unique musical vision and intensely felt passion, conjuring up sounds of elegant beauty and soulful spirit. For over four decades, Lloyd has fronted some of the most profound and far-reaching ensembles of his time. Embraced by the psychedelic listeners of the '60s, Lloyd was one of the first million-selling jazz artists incorporating bop, world music and avant-garde elements into his sound. Since 1989, his performances and recordings have garnered him great acclaim as one of music's true living masters. Four days before celebrating his 70th birthday on March 15, 2008, Lloyd will release Rabo de Nube, his 12th recording for ECM and the first from his astounding new quartet. In the spring of 2007, Lloyd formed the new group for his European tour, an exciting formation with pianist Jason Moran, bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland. The tour started in Porto, Portugal on April 18 and ended in Dublin on May 11. The concert in Basel was recorded for the new CD and was dubbed by the Swiss press, "the concert of the century." As the newest member of Lloyd's ensemble, stellar young pianist Moran brings fresh ears and a fully developed sense of the possibilities improvisation offers to the group. With a string of highly acclaimed records of his own, Moran's ability to employ genre-bending stylistic freedom with a roots-based intellect and technique fits well with Lloyd's expansive vision and their band mates' youthful energy. Lloyd has long surrounded himself with immensely talented and idiosyncratic pianists such as Joe Zawinul, Keith Jarrett, Michel Petrucciani, Bobo Stenson, Brad Mehldau and Geri Allen. Jason Moran's addition to this esteemed lineage finds the young pianist expanding his modern and progressive style while adding an exhilarating new dynamic to the ensemble. For Charles Lloyd, 2008 finds the indefatigueable master musician playing at peak form as he leaps into his seventh decade with one of his most incisively exciting bands for a series of concert dates in support of this tour de force recording, Rabo de Nube. Charles Lloyd Quartet: Charles Lloyd tenor saxophone, alto flute, tarogato,Jason Moran piano, Reuben Rogers double-bass, Eric Harland drums, percussion. write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Jazz News :: home page |