Surrounded by rich musical sources like blues, gospel and jazz, the Memphis born Charles Lloyd started playing sax at the age of nine. As a teenager Lloyd accompanied blues giants like Johnny Ace, Howlin' Wolf and B.B. King. During his studies he played with West Coast musicians including Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Charlie Haden and Eric Dolphy. In 1960 the tenor sax player and flutist received the chance to replace Dolphy as the musical leader of Chico Hamilton's group. This meant his breakthrough. In 1964 he was asked to join the Cannonball Adderley Sextet and played with Nat Adderley and Joe Zawinul. Not much later he formed his own quartet, with the talented Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette and Cecil McBee. Their LP Forest Flower sold millions, an astonishing feat at the time. Together with Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Cream and Jefferson Airplane the foursome performed in rock halls. And suddenly silence fell around the successful sax player. For ten years, Lloyd lived a quiet life in Big Sur, until a young pianist, named Petrucciani, shook him awake. There were new albums, new tours, with Petrucciani on piano. And again, Lloyd took an extended break, but for the last ten years he has been playing actively and with passion. His most recent album is called Hyperion with Higgins- dedicated to his musical pal drummer Billy Higgins, who died last year. With his steady guitarist John Abercrombie (ex-Dreams, Billy Cobham) Lloyd is sure to bring a proper tribute.
