Courtesy: Blue Note Records
Veteran sax player Charles Lloyd hit the road once again this week.
The seventy-seven year old musician, who will turn 78 next month, embarked on his latest tour this past Friday, February 12th. He performed live at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. He is scheduled to perform next at the Portland Jazz Festival in Portland, Oregon Friday, February 19th and then at the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver, Canada on February 20th. After that performance, Lloyd will take some time off in March to recharge before heading out again beginning April 21st in San Francisco, California. The tour is in support of Lloyd’s latest full-length studio recording I Long To See You, which was released via Blue Note Records on January 15th. Lloyd’s current schedule of dates is noted below.
CHARLES LLOYD – TOUR DATES
Feb. 19 – Portland Jazz Festival – Portland, OR
Feb. 20 – Vogue Theatre – Vancouver, Canada
Apr. 21-24 – Lines Ballet – San Francisco, CA
Apr. 29 – Kennedy Center – New York, NY
I Long To See You includes a reading of Bob Dylan’s anti-war composition ‘Masters of War’ and a performance of ‘Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream’ by country legend Willie Nelson. While the combination of a jazz sax player and country singer may seem odd to some, Nelson released an album of jazz standards in 1978. Lloyd noted in an interview about that album in discussing inviting Nelson to perform on his latest album. “When I was living in Big Sur, a friend gave me a copy of Stardust,” Lloyd says of Nelson’s 1978 album of jazz standards,” he said. “I recognized a synchronicity between us in his choice of songs. Willie is a very soulful, independent outsider who loves the Zone. He has been paving the Freedom Trail for many years now, and we follow in his wake. I was incredibly honored that he accepted the invitation to sing on ‘Strangest Dream.’”
Along with the aforementioned songs, Lloyd’s new album also includes a new take on Billy Preston’s ‘You Are So Beautiful.’ The song was first made popular by singer Joe Cocker in 1974. Norah Jones adds her vocals to the song here. In explaining having Jones lend her talents to the song Lloyd noted that he had had her in mind for a long time for the song. “During my concerts, I sometimes play it as an encore,” he said. “For a long time in my mind’s ear I could hear Norah’s warmth caressing the lyrics. She became an extraordinary, beautiful sixth instrument in the rendition of the song.”
While Lloyd’s new album features a number of covers there are also some originals. One of those originals is the sixteen-minute opus ‘Barche Lamsel.’ If that is not enough for audiences there is also a re-working of Lloyd’s classic hits ‘Sombrero Sam,’ which was originally presented in Lloyd’s 1966 album Dream Weaver, and ‘La Llorona,’ which was originally presented in Lloyd’s 2009 album Mirror. The complete track listing for I Long To See You is noted below.
The track listing for I Long To See You is as follows:
1. Masters Of War (Bob Dylan)
2. Of Course, Of Course (Charles Lloyd)
3. La Llorona (Traditional)
4. Shenandoah (Traditional)
5. Sombrero Sam (Lloyd)
6. All My Trials (Traditional)
7. Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream feat. Willie Nelson (Ed McCurdy)
8. Abide With Me (Traditional)
9. You Are So Beautiful feat. Norah Jones (Billy Preston & Bruce Fisher)
10. Barche Lamsel (Lloyd)
More information on I Long To See You is available online now along with all of Charles Lloyd’s latest news and more at:
Website: http://www.charleslloyd.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CharlesLloydSax
To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.
philspicks 