Charles Lloyd

Born in Memphis in 1938, saxophonist and flutist Charles Lloyd grew up surrounded by the blues, gospel and Afro‑American jazz of the U.S. South. Settling in Los Angeles in the early 1960s, he gained notice with Chico Hamilton’s ensembles and later with Cannonball Adderley before forming his own quartet, which included musicians such as Keith Jarrett, Cecil McBee and Jack DeJohnette. With a style that blends post‑bop, modal influences, a blues heritage and a meditative dimension, he made his mark on American and European stages, propelled by the live album “Forest Flower: Charles Lloyd at Monterey” (1966). From the early 1970s Lloyd largely withdrew from the circuit, dividing his time between occasional collaborations and a more secluded life in California, before a gradual return in the 1980s, notably via his ECM recordings like “Fish Out of Water” (1989). The subsequent period saw him expand group projects and touring, with albums such as “The Water Is Wide” (2000), “I Long to See You” (2016) and “Vanished Gardens” (2018), where his lyrical, spare playing interacts with musicians from contemporary jazz as well as American folk and rural traditions.