Charles Lloyd Quartet: Live at The Ordway

“Follow the career of Charles Lloyd, and you see a map of great jazz across half a century.” – The New York Times

Charles Lloyd is a musical giant who holds a rarefied place among American artists. As a jazz saxophonist steeped in the blues of his native Memphis, he has truly made history. For instance, his 1966 album, Forest Flower: Live at Monterey, became one of the first jazz recordings to sell a million copies. Moreover, his quartet was the first jazz group to appear at San Francisco’s famed Fillmore Auditorium. Additionally, Lloyd headlined other rock palaces, sharing billing with Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Cream, the Grateful Dead, and Jefferson Airplane. Consequently, in 1967, Downbeat Magazine voted him Jazz Artist of the Year.

“Lloyd is one of the greats, rather like Joan Miró in modern art; he has no peer save himself. Music of total transport and delight.” — Jazzwise

In 2023, Charles Lloyd, now an NEA Jazz Master and recipient of the prestigious French honor, l’Ordre Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, was again voted Downbeat’s Jazz Artist of the Year for his current body of work. Furthermore, Downbeat also named him the 2023 Tenor Saxophonist of the Year. This stunning accomplishment reflects the arc of his contribution to jazz, which starts in the early 1960s. Thus, the depth of his expression mirrors a lifetime of experience.

Following a year marked by accolades and lifetime achievement awards, the 86-year-old master released his eleventh Blue Note album in March 2024, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow. It stands as one of the most significant recordings of his career. With threads of gospel and blues, spiritual power, and pristine beauty, the album has received critical acclaim.

Charles Lloyd’s concerts and recordings are events of beauty and elegance, full of intensely felt emotion and passion that touch deep inside the heart.

“Mr. Lloyd has come up with a strange and beautiful distillation of the American experience, part abandoned and wild, part immensely controlled and sophisticated.” — New York Times

Recommended for Fans of John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Wayne Shorter and Archie Shepp.

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