By David Rickert
Charles Lloyd was one of the few jazz musicians poised to find an audience in the latter half of the sixties. Armed with a style that owed a great debt to mid-period Coltrane while simultaneously embracing the rock ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂnÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ roll music that was all the rage, Lloyd found his niche, performing before audiences who had embraced the recent counterculture movement. His quartet received enormous critical reviews at the time-press that hailed the group in Europe as the greatest American jazz unit currently working.
Dream Weaver
1966
Dream Weaver explores a variety of textures, often within the same song; ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂAutumn SequenceÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ begins with a breezy, almost cool jazz tinged rendition of ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂAutumn LeavesÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ before venturing into a solemn mantra for the second movement. Lloyd was one of the few jazz musicians who successfully doubled on flute, and his flighty licks mark him as a serious force on the instrument. On the rest of the album, however, he is clearly working in the vein of Coltrane, borrowing his sheets of sound approach for ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂDream WeaverÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ and a drum-tenor duet with DeJohnette on ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂBird FlightÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ which recalls TraneÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Village Vanguard sessions. Clearly the group is working as a unit, everyone making important contributions to the overall idea. However, the young Jarrett contributes most to the overall sound, featuring an idiosyncratic style that falls somewhere in between the cool jazz methods of Bill Evans and the avant-garde leanings of Cecil Taylor.
Love-In
1967
Except for the Coltrane-influenced ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂTribal DanceÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ and the unaccompanied saxophone intro to ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂMemphis Dues AgainÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ, Love In almost seems like a completely different band, and itÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs tempting to speculate that Lloyd and company were pandering to a Fillmore crowd weaned on the Grateful Dead instead of jazz Most of the tunes here are relatively straightforward blues workouts without presenting any challenging ideas, but the quartet again demonstrates that they can bring a fresh sound to even the most mundane material. Jarrett shows a penchant for invigorating the blues with interesting licks while DeJohnette propels each tune with a muscular snap. Lloyd again shows his proficiency on both tenor and flute, although McLure is largely forced to simply rock the beat. This is music clearly meant to sustain a groove, and Lloyd here shows an approach strongly resembling that of Herbie Mann at the time; both were trying to find a niche for jazz with an audience that wasnÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂt necessarily receptive to it by sneaking in the back door with renditions of pop tunes like ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂHere, There, and EverywhereÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ. Dreram Weaver is the better album, if for no other reason than it shows the quartetÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs ability to work in the jazz vein, coupling more common approaches with the avant-garde. However, both CDs are the work of a master who was able to explore different genres without sacrificing his integrity.
Dream Weaver
Tracks: 1. Autumn Sequence 2. Dream Weaver 3. Bird Flight 4. Love Ship 5. Sombrero Sam.
Love-In
Tracks: 1. Tribal Dance 2. Temple Bells 3. Is It Really The Same? 4. Here There and Everywhere 5. Love In 6. Sunday Morning 7. Memphis Blues Again/Island Blues.
Personnel: Charles Lloyd-tenor sax, flute; Keith Jarrett-piano; Cecil Mcbee-bass (on Dream Weaver); Ron McClure-bass (on Love In); Jack DeJohnette-drums.
Collectables on the web: http://www.oldies.com
