Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Charles Lloyd Quartet: Mirror
Charles Lloyd Quartet: Mirror
ByGarnering plenty of attention for his own records, Jason Moran has proven an even more astute sideman, in particular for his recent work with Lloyd and ECM label-mate Paul Motian, whose Lost in a Dream (2010), shed new light on the pianist's mélange of Thelonious Monk-ian angularity, free-wheeling improvisational extremes, and lyrical impressionism. He brings the same sensibility to Mirror, but its general emphasis on ballads, and ambling swing creates a different set of extemporaneous demands, though he does fly into more outré space on a far more powerful and open-ended version of the traditional "Lift Every Voice and Sing" than on Lift Every Voice (ECM, 2002), and "Being and Becoming," from Which Way is East (ECM, 2004), Lloyd's intimate duo album with Billy Higgins, recorded shortly before the iconic drummer's passing in 2001.
Positioned near Mirror's conclusion, these tracks contrast powerfully with Lloyd's title trackoriginally on his 1989 ECM debut, Fish Out of Water, but delivered here with a touch more energy and plenty more commitmentand an equally direct look at "Desolation Sound," from Canto (ECM, 1994). Throughout Lloyd's previously visited originals, traditional spirituals (The Water is Wide's title track, here, going straight to church) and standards, Harland and bassist Reuben Rogers propel the music with more egalitarian interest. Two Monk tunesthe balladic "Ruby, My Dear" and rubato "Monk's Mood"demonstrate Moran's inescapable roots, while Lloyd turns "Caroline, No," from The Beach Boys' classic Pet Sounds (Capitol, 1966), into a thing of simmering beauty.
Saving the best for last, Lloyd's gentle narration on Which Way is East's "Tagi"layered over a backdrop of Rogers' arco and Moran's impressionistic pianismis nothing short of transcendental. Ebbing and flowing with spiritual profundity, Lloyd turns to saxophone for a modal solo driven by Harland's intensifying pulse, before the quartet dissolves for a tranquil coda, bringing Mirror full circle.
While not turning entirely away from the Rabo De Nube's unfettered freedom, Mirror's greatest success is its quartet's palpably growing sense of trust, allowing the freedom to explore without the compulsion to resort to the obvious or the melodramatic. Instead, the smallest gestures become amplified, as Mirror continues to bolster Lloyd's latest ensemble as one of the bestand certainly the freestof his long career.
Track Listing
I Fall in Love Too Easily (For Lily); Go Down Moses; Desolation Sound; La Llorona; Caroline, No; Monk's Mood; Mirror; Ruby, My Dear; The Water is Wide; Life Every Voice and Sing; Being and Becoming, Road to Dakshineswar With Sangeeta; Tagi.
Personnel
Charles Lloyd
saxophoneCharles Lloyd: tenor and alto saxophones, voice; Jason Moran: piano; Reuben Rogers: bass; Eric Harland: drums.
Album information
Title: Mirror | Year Released: 2010 | Record Label: ECM Records
< Previous
Croweology
Comments
About Charles Lloyd
Instrument: Saxophone
Related Articles | Concerts | Albums | Photos | Similar To