Lotus Blossom – 2001
Charles Lloyd
Lloyd leads an all-star quintet through a Billy Strayhorn classic
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Tenor-saxophonist Charles Lloyd has had a long career, beginning in the late 1950s in Los Angeles, working with the Chico Hamilton Quintet and the Cannonball Adderley Sextet in the early-to-mid 1960s, and then leading his quartet with pianist Keith Jarreet, one of the most popular groups in jazz of the second half of the 1960s.
After taking much of the 1970s off, Lloyd made a full comeback in the 1980s and became a major part of the jazz scene for the next 40 years, continuing to grow as an improviser with his own sound and relaxed yet adventurous approach to playing music.
This performance from the 2001 Montreal Jazz Festival has Lloyd playing an exquisite version of Billy Strayhorn’s “Lotus Blossom” with an all-star group consisting of guitarist John Abercrombie, pianist Geri Allen, bassist Marc Johnson, and drummer Billy Hart.
-Scott Yanow
Ella Fitzgerald