A great title for this one – as the set really features reedman Charles Lloyd flowering strongly – blooming into a richer expression of his talents than any one might have expected a few short years before! The album features Lloyd working with his groundbreaking quartet of Keith Jarrett on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – players who have a perfect rhythmic conception to take Charles to the place he wants to go with his reeds! Titles include "Speak Low", "Goin' To Memphis/Island Blues", "Gypsy 66", "Wilpan's", and "Love-In/Island Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Overseas excursions from the Charles Lloyd Quartet – a group who were already breaking down plenty of boundaries at home in the US! The lineup is a bit different than some of the other Lloyd sessions of the time, in that Cecil McBee is in the group on bass – adding in some wonderfully spiritual tones to a lineup that features Charles on tenor and flute, Keith Jarrett on piano, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – playing with those inventive rhythms that made his work a perfect fit for Lloyd's lines on the tenor! Titles include "Tagore", "Karma", "Little Anahid's Day", "Manhattan Carousel", "European Fantasy", and "Hej Da!". CD

Late life brilliance from the legendary Charles Lloyd – a reed player who seems to have given the world more great music in the past 20 years than he had in the previous 60s! Lloyd keeps on moving forward with all these new ideas and fresh conceptions – and here, he blows tenor, alto, and flutes in a great quartet that features Jason Moran on piano, Larry Grenadier on bass, and Brian Blade on drums – all excellent players on their own, but musicians who also put their egos aside to fold into the richness of Lloyd's music. The set's got a subtle spiritual current throughout – nicely understated, but very pure – on titles that include "The Water Is Rising", "Defiant Tender Warrior", "Beyond Darkness", "Sky Valley Spirit Of The Forest", "Balm In Gilead", "Cape To Cairo", and "Ghost Of Lady Day". CD

Late life brilliance from the legendary Charles Lloyd – a reed player who seems to have given the world more great music in the past 20 years than he had in the previous 60s! Lloyd keeps on moving forward with all these new ideas and fresh conceptions – and here, he blows tenor, alto, and flutes in a great quartet that features Jason Moran on piano, Larry Grenadier on bass, and Brian Blade on drums – all excellent players on their own, but musicians who also put their egos aside to fold into the richness of Lloyd's music. The set's got a subtle spiritual current throughout – nicely understated, but very pure – on titles that include "The Water Is Rising", "Defiant Tender Warrior", "Beyond Darkness", "Sky Valley Spirit Of The Forest", "Balm In Gilead", "Cape To Cairo", and "Ghost Of Lady Day". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic set from reedman Charles Lloyd – a set that really pushes forward all the experiments he'd begun in the Chico Hamilton group – and shows a bold move forward for rhythms in 60s jazz! The tracks are long, and spiral out wonderfully – but in ways that are different than those used by other creators of the time – like Eric Dolphy or John Coltrane. Even though leading the group on tenor and flute, Lloyd's got a real sense of rhythm to his playing – echoes of the Hamilton group – but set loose with a stellar quartet of younger players – including Keith Jarrett on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – all perfect choices for inventive music like this! The standout cut is the amazing "Sombrero Sam", a tight little groover that we never tire of – and one that has Jarrett sounding much more in the pocket than you'd ever imagine – and other tracks include "Dream Weaver", "Autumn Sequence", and "Bird Flight". LP, Vinyl record album

Two great sets from reedman Charles Lloyd! Dream Weaver really pushes forward all the experiments he'd begun in the Chico Hamilton group – and shows a bold move forward for rhythms in 60s jazz! The tracks are long, and spiral out wonderfully – but in ways that are different than those used by other creators of the time – like Eric Dolphy or John Coltrane. Even though leading the group on tenor and flute, Lloyd's got a real sense of rhythm to his playing – echoes of the Hamilton group – but set loose with a stellar quartet of younger players – including Keith Jarrett on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – all perfect choices for inventive music like this! The standout cut is the amazing "Sombrero Sam", a tight little groover that we never tire of – and one that has Jarrett sounding much more in the pocket than you'd ever imagine – and other tracks include "Dream Weaver", "Autumn Sequence", and "Bird Flight". Love-In features a classic batch of modal grooves from Charles Lloyd – recorded during the height of his mind-expanding years, with his famous quartet that included Keith Jarrett on piano and Jack DeJohnette on drums! The tracks are long and magical, done with that spiritual spiraling sound that Lloyd was wowing the hippies with at the time – and considering that this set was recorded live at the Fillmore, there were an awful lot of hippies present to be wowed! But the set's also got a charm that lives long past its time – thanks to an expansive vision from Lloyd on flute and tenor, and from Jarrett on piano too. Titles include "Sunday Morning", "Love-in", "Tribal Dance", and "Temple Bells". CD

Never-heard music from the great Charles Lloyd – two well-recorded live sets from the 60s, both with a very unusual group! The lineup has Lloyd on tenor, soprano, and flute, working with frequent partner Gabor Szabo on guitar – but the rest of the quartet also features Ron Carter on bass and Pete LaRoca on drums – two players who really have an open, laidback way of letting the music flow! All tracks are nice and long, and Lloyd is wonderfully expressive – maybe even more so than on his studio records from the period – with these long, soulful, spiritual solos that almost make us feel like he's picked up the torch from the recently-departed Eric Dolphy – especially in the way that Dolphy would spin things out in a live setting. The set features two versions of "Lady Gabor", both a bit different – plus the titles "How Can I Tell You", "Slug's Blues", "Sweet Georgia Bright", and "Dream Weaver". CD

Quite a bit different than the famous Charles Lloyd work of the 60s – but a nicely introspective session that showcases his quieter sounds of later years! The date was recorded in Oslo, with a relatively laidback feel – by a quartet that features Lloyd on tenor, Bobo Stenson on piano, Anders Jorman on bass, and Billy Hart on drums – all players who really get some of their own space and time for expression on the record, working with Lloyd more in the sense of a small cadre of co-mingled players, rather than the structure of a traditional combo. Titles include "Imke", "Song", "Dwija", "Glimpse", "Nocturne", and "The Blessing". CD

Charles Lloyd makes a step over to Blue Note Records – and the result is one of his richest, most organic albums in years! The whole thing's a live performance from Poland – done as a suite of longer tracks that feature a core acoustic quartet with Lloyd on tenor, plus added cymbalom and lyra – both used very heavily, with these open, sonic properties that are especially great – almost a way of bringing in some of the exoticism of Lloyd's earlier recordings, but with less focus on the reeds. The group also features Gerald Clayton on piano – and both he and Lloyd can be airy one minute, powerful the next – as the tunes build up slowly, and form this wonderful painting in sound. Titles include "Gardner", "Lark", "River", "Wild Man Dance", "Invitation", and "Flying Over The Odra Valley". CD