In some of the most sublime moments on record in the last decade, Charles Lloyd again creates astonishing beauty on his new release Wild Man Dance.
In this six part suite, the master saxophonist is joined by pianist Gerald Clayton, bassist Joe Sanders, and drummer Gerald Cleaver, as well as Greek lyra virtuoso Sokratis Sinopoulos and Hungarian cimbalom maestro Miklós Lukács. The compositions, all from the saxophonist's pen, are all part of a suite commissioned by the Jazztopad Festival in Wroclaw, Poland, to commemorate the festival's tenth anniversary in 2013. Lloyd and his bandmates performed the debut of this suite at the Jazztopad Festival in November, 2013.
From the opener, "Flying Over the Odra Valley", to the closing title track, Charles Lloyd creates a sense of mysterious journey and transcendence, all of it soaked in unspeakable beauty. The saxophonist explains the message of Wild Man Dance: "I represent the tradition of free yogis. I am a bluesman on my spiritual quest. Blues grew from seeking freedom. My way is seeking to liberate the soul (…) I continue to look for the right sound, this is my path, I call it “the way of a sound seeker”; the deeper I delve into the ocean of sounds, the more depths and ways of discovery I find."
Wild Man Dance is arguably one of the finest jazz recordings of 2015. Charles Lloyd has released a recording that touches the heart.
Saxophonist Charles Lloyd was born in Memphis, Tennessee on March 15, 1938. His mentor was the great saxophonist Phineas Newborn, Jr. In his early days Lloyd made music with blues legends Howlin' Wolf and B.B. King, in addition to being the music director for Chico Hamilton's group. He was also a member of Cannonball Adderley's band. In 1965 as a bandleader in his own right he performed with Gabor Szabo, guitar; Ron Carter, bass and Pete La Roca Sims on drums. Two previously unreleased dates were issued on Resonance records in 2014 as "Manhattan Stories".
Charles Lloyd shot to superstardom in 1966 as a result of his appearance at the Monterey Jazz Festival, and his hit Forest Flower, one of the first jazz recordings to sell a million copies. After several years of international success and acclaim, that saw Lloyd perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival and tour the world including the USSR. Lloyd walked away from the music world. He lived for many years out of the limelight practicing meditation and living a contemplative life because, as Lloyd said, he was “getting off my spiritual moorings”.
Lloyd returned to the scene in the 1980s to introduce to the world the jazz pianist Michel Petrucciani. In the late 1980s after a near-death experience he began recording on the ECM label. Jazz fans may find many brilliant gems from the saxophonist on the noted label, many of which have been featured on the Last Call.
The saxophonist is now back on Blue Note records after making his debut with the label 30 years ago. Fans interested in seeing Charles Lloyd perform may consider seeing him at the Iowa City Jazz Festival in July 2015, where he is scheduled to be the headline act.
For more information on the festival you may visit www.summerofthearts.org/festival-menu/jazz-festival/about.aspx
You may also visit http://www.charleslloyd.com/
