Charles Lloyd & Jason Moran
Biographie Charles Lloyd & Jason Moran
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Charles Lloyd
Charles Lloyd was born in 1938 in Memphis, Tennessee. From an early age, he was immersed in that city's rich musical life, including jazz. He began playing the saxophone at age 9. Pianist Phineas Newborn became his mentor, and from age 12, Lloyd worked as sideman in the blues bands of B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Johnnie Ace and Bobbie “Blue” Bland, among others. In 1956, Lloyd moved to Los Angeles and earned a Master’s degree from the University of Southern California. During this time, Lloyd played in Gerald Wilson’s big band, and he also had his own group that included Billy Higgins, Don Cherry, Bobby Hutcherson and Terry Trotter. Lloyd joined Chico Hamilton in 1960, eventually becoming his music director. In 1964, Lloyd left Hamilton's group to join alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley. During this period, Lloyd recorded two albums as a leader for Columbia, Discovery and Of Course, Of Course; his sidemen included Gabor Szabo, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. Through 1965-69, Lloyd led a quartet with Keith Jarrett, Cecil McBee (later, Ron McClure) and Jack DeJohnette. In 1967 Lloyd was voted Downbeat’s Jazzman of the year. The quartet's music was a timely fusion of straight-ahead post-bop, free jazz and world music that caught the attention of both jazz fans and critics. They also achieved crossover success with young rock fans and became the first jazz group to play at the Fillmore. Lloyd’s album Forest Flower: Live at Monterey became a commercial hit, largely on the strength of the title track. Other noteworthy albums included Dream Weaver, on Atlantic. In 1970, after the quartet disbanded, Lloyd moved back to California and entered a state of semi-retirement. He practically disappeared from the jazz scene, but could be heard on recordings with the Doors, Roger McGuinn, Canned Heat and the Beach Boys.
Upon recovery from a near-death experience in 1986, Lloyd decided to rededicate himself to music. He started performing live again in the late ’80s and began recording for ECM Records, showcasing his gifts as a composer and ballad player. The first ECM release was 1989’s Fish Out of Water with Bobo Stenson, Palle Danielsson and Jon Christensen. Between 1993 and 1997, Lloyd’s quartet included Bobo Stenson, Anders Jormin and Billy Hart. In 1998, Billy Higgins replaced Hart, and Lloyd alternated between Stenson and John Abercrombie in the band. Noteworthy albums include Canto, Voice In The Night and The Water Is Wide (featuring Brad Mehldau, John Abercrombie, Larry Grenadier and Billy Higgins). Geri Allen replaced Stenson as pianist for Lift Every Voice and Jumping the Creek. Drummer Eric Harland joined Lloyd’s quartet in 2002, following Billy Higgins’ passing, and is also a part of Lloyd’s Sangam trio, formed in 2004 with tabla master Zakir Hussain. Lloyd’s “new” quartet with Jason Moran, bassist Reuben Roger and drummer Eric Harland have released three ECM albums, the most recent being Athens Concert, in collaboration with Greek singer Maria Farantouri.
Jason Moran
Unfazed by the distinguished pianists who have played with Lloyd over the course of his long career, Jason Moran has found his own, exciting way to play inside the saxophonist’s musical concepts. As The New York Times once observed, Moran reaches both further back in the jazz tradition and further outside it than most of his contemporaries. His strongly chordal approach and his percussive originality took off from an early interest in Thelonious Monk, but Moran’s studies with three great teachers – Jaki Byard, Andrew Hill and Muhal Richard Abrams – encouraged him to find his own path. Moran, born in 1975, has recorded a number of acclaimed albums as a leader (including, most recently, the award-winning trio disc Ten), being voted Jazz Artist of the Year in the DownBeat Critics Poll and awarded a MacArthur “Genius” Award along the way. The Los Angeles Times has said of the pianist: “Although he has the facility to play with breathtaking fleetness, his uniqueness traces to his refusal to be locked into predictable, bebop-based patterns.” And, according to the Village Voice, “Moran is like no other pianist at work. His improvisations are dynamic, eruptive, keyed to the compositions at hand.” In addition to his albums as part of Lloyd’s quartet, Moran recorded Lost in a Dream for ECM with Paul Motian and Chris Potter, a collection of ballads taped live at the Village Vanguard.
