Saxophonist Charles Lloyd’s groundbreaking groups in the 1960s brought post-Coltrane improv to rock audiences, but behind the catchy tunes and danceable grooves, there was always a wayward, independent streak in Lloyd that connected with something deeper in US music.
His second album for Blue Note drills down into that same motherlode: folky, funky, at times almost childlike in its simplicity, but with a spirituality that invests iconic tunes such as Shenandoah, Abide with Me and Dylan’s Masters of War, with the glow of inner conviction.
Guitarist Bill Frisell’s bell-like sound bathes the loose, organic grooves in honeyed, country-tinged harmonies, Willie Nelson and Norah Jones contribute vocals, and above it all, imperturbable and laconic, is the great saxophonist, bluenote.com.
