- Charles Lloyd (jazz musician)
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Charles Lloyd 
Photo by Luke WroblewskiBackground information Born March 15, 1938 , Memphis, Tennessee, USA Origin Los Angeles, California, USA Genres Jazz Occupations Musician Instruments Tenor saxophone, flute, taragot, other woodwinds Years active 1961–present Labels Atlantic, ECM Website charleslloyd.com Charles Lloyd (born March 15, 1938) is an American jazz musician. Though he primarily plays tenor saxophone and flute, he has also occasionally recorded on alto saxophone and more exotic reed instruments which include the Hungarian tárogató. Lloyd's saxophone playing is often characterized as an individualized, lighter-toned variant of John Coltrane's style. His best known composition is "Forest Flower".[1]
Contents
Biography
Lloyd was born in Memphis, Tennessee. From an early age, he was immersed in that city's rich musical life and was exposed to jazz. He began playing the saxophone at the age of 9 and took lessons from pianist Phineas Newborn. One of his closest friends was trumpeter Booker Little. Lloyd became a sideman in the blues bands of B. B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Bobby "Blue" Bland and others.
In 1956 Lloyd moved to Los Angeles and earned a music degree from the University of Southern California. During this period Lloyd played in the big band of Gerald Wilson. From 1960 to 1963 Lloyd played in the band of drummer Chico Hamilton and became its musical director. Though the band was known for playing "chamber jazz" at the beginning of Lloyd's tenure, his influence as a composer and a player quickly pushed it in a more progressive post-bop direction. Lloyd's key musical partner in the band was the guitarist Gábor Szabó. In 1964 Lloyd left Hamilton's group to play with alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley. During this period he recorded two albums as a leader for Columbia Records; his sidemen were other young musicians including Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. Through 1966-1968 Lloyd led a quartet with pianist Keith Jarrett, bassist Cecil McBee (afterwards, Ron McClure), and drummer Jack DeJohnette, that producer George Avakian signed to a contract with Atlantic Records. The quartet's music was an interesting fusion of straight-ahead post-bop, free jazz, and soul jazz. The group's music quickly caught on with both jazz fans and critics. Somewhat surprisingly, they also achieved a fair amount of crossover success with young rock fans and became the first jazz group to play in The Fillmore. The album Forest Flower became a big commercial hit, largely on the strength of the title track. Other noteworthy albums include Dream Weaver and Love-In.
In 1968, after the quartet's demise, Lloyd entered a state of semi-retirement. Despite recording several albums during the 1970s and occasionally appearing as a sideman, he practically disappeared from the jazz scene. During the 1970s Lloyd played extensively with The Beach Boys both on their studio recordings and as a member of their touring band. In the late 1970s Lloyd was a member of Celebration, a band composed of members of the Beach Boys' touring band as well as fellow Transcendental Meditation followers Mike Love and Al Jardine. Celebration released two albums.
Upon being approached by pianist Michel Petrucciani in the early 1980s, he resumed playing actively. From 1989, Lloyd toured actively and recorded for the ECM label. Although his playing had not changed much stylistically since his groundbreaking work in the 1960s, these recordings showcased his sensitivity as a ballad player. Noteworthy albums include Canto, Voice in the Night, The Water Is Wide (featuring Brad Mehldau, John Abercrombie, Larry Grenadier and Billy Higgins), Lift Every Voice (featuring Geri Allen), and the live Rabo de Nube with Jason Moran). Lloyd has shown great consistency and creativity in his period with ECM, much of his music containing a strong spiritual element, some it heavily in a "world music" vein, and some of it unusual and experimental as in the duets on Which Way is East? with his longtime friend and musical soulmate, Billy Higgins.
Discography
Charles Lloyd with Reuben Rogers and Eric Harland, Santa Barbara, 2006
As leader
Release date Title Label 1964 Discovery! Columbia 1965 Of Course, Of Course Columbia 1968 Nirvana Columbia 1966 Dream Weaver Atlantic 1966 Forest Flower Atlantic 1966 The Flowering Atlantic 1966 Charles Lloyd in Europe Atlantic 1967 Love-In Atlantic 1967 Journey Within Atlantic 1967 Charles Lloyd in the Soviet Union Atlantic 1968 Soundtrack Atlantic 1970 Moon Man Kapp 1971 Warm Waters Kapp 1972 Waves A&M 1973 Geeta A&M 1973 Morning Sunrise ADC 1978 Weavings Pacific Arts 1978 Koto ADC (Same album as Pathless Path) 1979 Pathless Path Unity (Same album as Koto) 1979 Big Sur Tapestry Pacific Arts 1979 Autumn in New York Volume One Destiny 1982 Montreux 82 Elektra/Musician 1983 A Night in Copenhagen Blue Note 1989 Fish Out of Water ECM 1992 Notes from Big Sur ECM 1993 Acoustic Masters I Atlantic 1993 The Call ECM 1994 All My Relations ECM 1996 Canto ECM 1999 Voice in the Night ECM 2000 The Water Is Wide ECM 2001 Hyperion with Higgins ECM 2002 Lift Every Voice ECM 2004 Which Way is East ECM 2005 Jumping the Creek ECM 2006 Sangam ECM 2008 Rabo de Nube ECM 2010 Mirror ECM 2011 Athens Concert (with Maria Farantouri) ECM As sideman
Release date Title Label Notes With Chico Hamilton 1960 Bye Bye Birdie - Irma La Douce Columbia 1960 The Chico Hamilton Special Columbia 1962 Drumfusion Columbia 1962 Transfusion Studio West 1962 Passin' Thru Impulse! 1963 A Different Journey Reprise 1963 Man from Two Worlds Impulse! 1965 Chic Chic Chico Impulse! Appears on only one track With Les McCann 1961 Les McCann Sings Pacific Jazz Appears on four tracks With Cannonball Adderley 1964 Cannonball Adderley Live! Capitol 1964 Cannonball Adderley's Fiddler on the Roof Capitol 1991 Radio Nights Night With The Beach Boys 1971 Surf's Up Caribou/Stateside Appears on only one track 1972 Holland Brother 1976 15 Big Ones Brother Appears on only one track 1978 M.I.U. Album Brother With Canned Heat 1971 Historical Figures and Ancient Heads United Artists Appears on two tracks With The Doors 1972 Full Circle Elektra Appears on "Verdilac" and "The Piano Bird" With Harvey Mandel 1972 The Snake Janus Appears on only one track With Gabor Szabo 1973 Gabor Szabo Live Blue Thumb Appears on only one track With Roger McGuinn 1973 Roger McGuinn Columbia Appears on two tracks With William Truckaway 1976 Breakaway Reprise With Celebration 1978 Almost Summer: Music from the Original Motion Picture MCA 1979 Celebration Pacific Arts 1979 Disco Celebration ADC With Joe Sample 1995 Old Places, Old Faces Warner Bros Appears on three tracks With Mark Isham 1998 Afterglow: Music from the Motion Picture Columbia References
External links
Categories:- 1938 births
- Living people
- Avant-garde jazz musicians
- African American musicians
- American jazz tenor saxophonists
- American jazz flautists
- American saxophonists
- Jazz saxophonists
- Musicians from Tennessee
- The Beach Boys backing band members
- ECM artists
- Atlantic Records artists
- A&M Records artists
- Blue Note Records artists
- Columbia Records artists
- Elektra Records artists
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