Continuing in the spirit of the ensembles he assembled for his Trio of Trios albums, Charles Lloyd assembles musicians that put a personal, joyful stamp on the leader’s signature effortless improvisation. Joined by pianist Jason Moran and guitarist Marvin Sewell, the eighty-seven-year-old saxophonist/flautist moves soulfully through two disks’ worth of original music, keeping it mellow but never soft.
Often dedicated to the memories of artists Lloyd loves, most of these songs absorb the blues as a prime element. That particular jazz root makes itself passionately felt in “Figure in Blue, memories of Duke,” a cover of “Black Butterfly,” by that selfsame Duke (Ellington), a new version of Lloyd favorite “Abide With Me,” and “Blues For Langston” and “Chulahoma,” both of which give Sewell room to act out his Muddy Waters fantasies. Elsewhere, he gives thanks to Billie Holiday, with the back-to-back “The Song My Lady Sings” and “The Ghost of Lady Day,” and spills his emotions out on “Hymn To the Mother, for Zakir,” a heartfelt tribute to his late friend Zakir Hussein. He closes the program with a deeply felt take on Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s “Somewhere,” from West Side Story.
Regardless of source, Lloyd gives each performance an earnest, graceful touch, with his compadres sharing the vibe. Figure in Blue taps into the beauty he finds in his inspirations, sharing it with us so that we may find succour in this difficult world.
