# CD review: Charles Lloyd Quartet – Stockholm 1966 – 2022: Video, CD cover

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2022/07/27/cd-review-charles-lloyd-quartet-stockholm-1966-2022-video-cd-cover/
- Published: 2022-07-27T00:04:49+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**Saxophonist and flutist Charles Lloyd is one of the most curious figures in jazz,
and this release of several radio broadcasts from Lloyd’s first flowering in 1966
underlines the curiosity. After a fairly standard apprenticeship playing in popular
early ‘60s jazz groups led by drummer Chico Hamilton and Cannonball Adderley, Lloyd
found himself a piano trio and formed his own quartet. On _Live 1966_, you can hear
the quartet on its own and with the European Orchester Kurt Edelhagen.**

The trio that joined forces with Lloyd consisted of the pianist Keith Jarrett, drummer
Jack DeJohnette and bassist Cecil McBee, all young players at the time and all soon
to become major forces in the music. The band shot to the kind of stardom that could
have come about only at that moment. They played both straight-ahead, melodic jazz
and a somewhat milder variant on the kind of yearning energy music that John Coltrane
had pioneered with his early ‘60s quartet. But Lloyd’s quartet attracted big audiences
of young people, headlined outdoor festivals and seemed to capture some of the same
moment that would be owned by Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead. There was
something groovy about this band that the kids were digging.

Lloyd’s band had its own identity and some engaging tunes, but there is also an 
argument Lloyd was an Elvis figure. That is, he was a very talented guy who heard,
varied and watered down (somewhat) the true innovations of an African-American pioneer
and, naturally, found more popular (and financial) success along the way. This is
a reductive argument, and one that ignores not only the length and detail of Lloyd’s
career (he is still playing today) but also the details of ‘60s music. But it is
true that one would be hard-pressed to listen to “East of the Sun” on this set without
hearing a debt to Coltrane in ALL CAPS. It is there is Lloyd’s tone and vocabulary
on tenor saxophone and also in the way that the band and performance are arranged:
a long tenor solo that ventures from expressive to free, followed by a piano feature.

For those who have followed Keith Jarrett’s 45-year career, his solos will often
be more interesting than those of the leader. On “East of the Sun,” this is manifestly
the case. Jarrett simply doesn’t sound like anyone but himself, and as he goes from
tasty to melodically arcing to wildly free you always hear the development of an
original voice. Lloyd seems so enraptured by Coltrane’s spell that he simply isn’t
there yet, despite being the leader.

“Song My Lady Sings,” a flowing waltz, opens with just the original trio, and it
feels like it belongs on a different (better?) recording. This is because there 
is no wrestling with Lloyd’s Coltrane thing. Jarrett owns the tune, then Lloyd comes
in and the sheets of sound, the nasal tone and the meditative use of pedal tones
begin. The tune ends with DeJohnette rumbling as Lloyd zones you out.

The quartet’s “hit” was “Forest Flower,” and it’s here, 18 minutes in length. It’s
an engaging theme with a Latin groove that has release moments of four-on-the-floor
swing. Jarrett’s solo is first, and his back-and-forth play with the rhythm section
as the groove changes is exemplary. Lloyd solos melodically and to a climax, giving
way to McBee and DeJohnette in playful dialogue. All of this is fairly conventional
jazz of the time. It is the coda that intrigues. Lloyd blows for a bit but then 
cedes the stage to the trio again, allowing Jarrett to play an astonishingly inventive
solo over a simple harmonic pattern that develops into a calypso. This kills the
groove, unfortunately, because Lloyd isn’t Sonny Rollins.

Yes, the suggestion is that, on his biggest hit, Lloyd was simply channeling the
other dominant tenor saxophonist of that era. Even still, “Forest Flower” is a joy
to listen to. Its rhythmic pliancy and the melodic invention of Jarrett can take
you far enough that the sense of imitation doesn’t kill it.

The other features for tenor saxophone here are mostly Coltrane-in-Translation, 
particularly the several versions of “Love Ship,” which was a tune featured on the
quartet’s 1966 album _Dream Weaver_. “Tribal Sun” is bopping theme for tenor, and“
Mississippi Blues” sets out a craggy Trane-ish theme as a quick set-ender.

If you want to hear the Charles Lloyd imagination without so much Coltrane influence,
it is the flute pieces that may get you there. “Dream Weaver,” the title track, 
is an atmospheric slow groove with a healthy dose of percussive interest. On flute,
Lloyd not only avoids aping Coltrane, but he is in much better balance with the 
rest of the band, blending into the flow of an exceptional group. “Autumn Sequence”(
also from _Dream Weaver_) puts a swinging “Autumn Leaves” into a medley with an 
impressionistic opening and a slow, hinting-at-baroque counterpoint ending that 
segues into squiggling, joyous free playing. “Island Blues” is a backbeat boogaloo
that also starts with just the trio. Lloyd’s flute theme is played low and airy,
with a hip subtlety that can explode into faster runs on a moment’s notice.

_Live 1966_, weirdly, catches Lloyd at peak popularity but in a trough in terms 
of originality. In the ‘70s, he would leave jazz to play with the Beach Boys and
then expand into other genres of music. For the rhythmic section alone, however,
this album is worth your attention.

1 Love Ship 6:42
 2 Love Song To A Baby 13:24 3 East Of The Sun 6:40 4 Tribal Sun
7:19 5 Mississippi Blues 1:03

**Charles Lloyd – tenor saxophone, flute**
 **Keith Jarrett – piano** **Cecil McBee–
bass** **Jack DeJohnette – drums**

**k **

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