Charles Lloyd has again placed his nonpareil sax and flute adjacent to Jason Moran's infinitely adaptable piano, which is always the best kind of news. The addition of the highly experienced Larry Grenadier (Brad Mehldau) and Brian Blade (Joshua Redman, Wayne Shorter) on bass on drums makes for another enviable Lloyd Quartet, and they've gifted us with a golden double album to celebrate Lloyd's 86th birthday. The highlights are many, but the first and last selections emit a special shine.
When we think of a "Defiant, Tender Warrior," Nina Simone might come to mind; regardless of inspiration, this leadoff song makes a deep impression. Blade's toms usher us in, a combination of murmuring heartbeat and call to war. Once Moran's gentle chords have established the inviting melody, Grenadier takes over the low punches and Blade starts whispering behind Lloyd and Moran, whose tenor and piano engage in a telepathic fugue born of countless hours' communion. This very unusual yet immediate performance invites repeat dives, not least to appreciate Grenadier, who writes a song of his own while tuning in to every harmonic variation.
The album's final entry is "Defiant, Reprise; Homeward Dove." This more straightforward version sets up a Lloyd tenor solo that speaks urgent comfort before ending with a flutter of wings and a few breaths, as Blade and Moran mark out the last spare but sure steps down a road. The closing statement's tenderness, with defiance left behind, leaves a listener's eyes in unfocused pools.
In between lies a world of variety. "The Lonely One," with its cinematic rolls over the dunes, could be Lawrence of Arabia. In "Monk's Dance," Moran compresses Thelonian snippets before he and Lloyd whirl into abstraction. "Ghost of Lady Day" brings Grenadier close to Charlie Haden's plaintive meditation as Lloyd echoes "Go Down Moses" and "Strange Fruit," and the rhythm surges like the sea. Lloyd's most recent revisitation of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" puts the accent on any bright, optimistic individual whose belief is essential to the choir and the congregation.
The song "The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow" reminds us that the sky can be blue and that Ornette Coleman wrote "When Will the Blues Leave?," the answer to which is "Never." Lloyd's very Ornettish tenor introduction briefly quotes the tune and reaffirms a philosophy: Music is transitory yet permanent, because its essence partakes of the universal soul. We know it when we hear it.
Listen to "Defiant, Tender Warrior" here.
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Dorothy Darr, Charles Lloyd's wife, adds: "'Tender Warrior' is a name a fellow saxophonist gave Charles a long time ago, and it seemed appropriate to add 'Defiant' to this."
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Charles Lloyd plays the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival on Saturday, June 15.
COVER PHOTO AND DESIGN BY DOROTHY DARR.