Charles Lloyd

Jazz tenor saxophonist Charles Lloyd had a crossover hit in the late '60s with "Forest Flower." A couple of years later, he was on hiatus, meditating at Big Sur, seeking the links between music, spirituality and life. That quest has continued to play a role since his return in the '80s as one of jazz's most imaginative practitioners. He performs Sunday night at Catalina's. YOUR NEW CD, "RABO DE NUBE," IS TITLED AFTER A SONG WRITTEN BY CUBAN COMPOSER SILVIO RODRIGUEZ. HOW DID YOU HAPPEN TO MAKE THAT CHOICE?

By nature, duet recordings are all about limitations, and an exercise in trying to say more with less. This month marked a pair of high-profile recordings between saxophone and keyboard, and the results are as distinctive as they are rewarding. Say what you will about Charles Lloyd, but the guy has exquisite taste in piano players. Over a career that began as a member of Gerald Wilson's band in the '50s, Lloyd has recorded with Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Brad Mehldau and, in an album-length pairing that coincides with Lloyd's 75th birthday, Jason Moran, who has been part of Lloyd's regular quartet for several years.

Charles Lloyd would be a perfect subject for one of those "Where Are They Now?" stories. The tenor saxophonist was one of jazz's biggest stars in the late '60s, riding a wave of fame generated by such albums as "Forest Flower" and heralded appearances at such rock venues as the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. His quartet, featuring the emerging pianist Keith Jarrett, was bringing Lloyd financial success, too.

Though Ben Wendel and Dan Tepfer could be considered newcomers as compared with 75-year-old saxophone master Charles Lloyd (who also recently released a duet album, "Hagar's Song," with pianist Jason Moran), they show as much restless invention on "Small Constructions. " While still a duet, the album lives up to its name with some judicious multi-tracking, allowing Wendel (co-leader of the genre-skipping jazz-rock group Kneebody) to seamlessly switch to melodica and bassoon, such as "Still Play," the opener, and "Gratitude," which expands with a quiet grace.

On this contemplative, sometimes ethereal recording, his first for ECM, saxophonist-flutist Charles Lloyd, who tends to look inward for musical direction, reaches a transcendent plateau, interweaving his interest in things spiritual with the bluesy roots of his native Memphis.

To the nagging question "Where were you on Sept. 11?," Charles Lloyd has a pointed answer. The veteran saxophonist was in Manhattan, perilously close to ground zero, when the planes hit. He would have opened a six-night run that very night at the Blue Note in Greenwich Village, in support of his then-recently released album, "Hyperion With Higgins." Of course, the Village was a ghost town for a few days after the attacks, and Lloyd didn't play the Blue Note until that Friday.

At the Montreal Jazz Festival last July, sax player Charles Lloyd strolled into the lobby of the festival's central hotel, beaming despite the jet lag. Lloyd was looking forward to the next night's concert and a brief European tour that would culminate in a recording session. A year later, the normally shy Lloyd is out in support of the finished product, "Fish Out of Water," his best-received album in perhaps 20 years.

Though Ben Wendel and Dan Tepfer could be considered newcomers as compared with 75-year-old saxophone master Charles Lloyd (who also recently released a duet album, "Hagar's Song," with pianist Jason Moran), they show as much restless invention on "Small Constructions. " While still a duet, the album lives up to its name with some judicious multi-tracking, allowing Wendel (co-leader of the genre-skipping jazz-rock group Kneebody) to seamlessly switch to melodica and bassoon, such as "Still Play," the opener, and "Gratitude," which expands with a quiet grace.

How original. Press coverage for a male-bashing feminist. If I gave $10 million to the National Center for Men in New York and blamed all my problems on women, could I too appear in The Times? Not likely. After all, it would not be politically correct to say anything negative about females. CHARLES LLOYD La Jolla

Hungry for jazz? Charles Lloyd has a treat set for Saturday at Wheeler Hot Springs in Ojai. The internationally renowned saxophonist/flutist will introduce his new American quartet on the eve of its departure for the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. This performance coincides with the new release, "Fish Out of Water," his first studio-recorded album in more than a decade. Wheeler Hot Springs is at 16825 Maricopa Highway, Ojai. Tickets are $17.50 and seating will begin at 9 p.m.

Charles Lloyd celebrated his approaching 70th birthday by generously sharing the spotlight Sunday at the Catalina Bar & Grill with the talents of his superb young band.

Jazz tenor saxophonist Charles Lloyd had a crossover hit in the late '60s with "Forest Flower." A couple of years later, he was on hiatus, meditating at Big Sur, seeking the links between music, spirituality and life. That quest has continued to play a role since his return in the '80s as one of jazz's most imaginative practitioners. He performs Sunday night at Catalina's. YOUR NEW CD, "RABO DE NUBE," IS TITLED AFTER A SONG WRITTEN BY CUBAN COMPOSER SILVIO RODRIGUEZ. HOW DID YOU HAPPEN TO MAKE THAT CHOICE?

Charles Lloyd's music has passed through a shifting sequence of creative phases over his four-decade career. One of the most appealing is traced to his frequent partnership with the late drummer Billy Higgins, whose irrepressible rhythmic energy brought vim and vigor to Lloyd's sometimes distracting tendency to focus on looking inward. In "Lift Every Voice," his only album since Higgins' death in 2001, Lloyd's ruminative qualities seemed an appropriate response to Sept.

To the nagging question "Where were you on Sept. 11?," Charles Lloyd has a pointed answer. The veteran saxophonist was in Manhattan, perilously close to ground zero, when the planes hit. He would have opened a six-night run that very night at the Blue Note in Greenwich Village, in support of his then-recently released album, "Hyperion With Higgins." Of course, the Village was a ghost town for a few days after the attacks, and Lloyd didn't play the Blue Note until that Friday.

Tenor saxophonist Charles Lloyd's roller-coaster career has taken him from a major jazz hit--"Forest Flower"--in the mid-'60s to virtual departure from the music scene in the '70s and a return to action in the '80s. Initially following in the trail-breaking path blazed by John Coltrane in his early career, Lloyd emerged, after a period of contemplative inner work in the '70s, in his own unique musical image.

The tenor saxophone, for many listeners, is the ultimate jazz instrument. And it's not hard to see why. From the first stirrings of Coleman Hawkins to the most recent recordings of Joshua Redman, the instrument has played a pivotal role in the music's unfolding history. Capable of dark, sensuous sounds, it can also scream like a beast; cool, detached and floating in one player's hands, it can be an instrument of astonishing technical virtuosity in another's.

Artistic identity is as vital to jazz as it is to the other arts. The capacity to generate an expressive singularity, one that is instantly identifiable, is as important to a jazz improviser as it is to a novelist, painter or dancer. In his early years, saxophonist Charles Lloyd, who opened a five-night run at Catalina Bar & Grill on Tuesday before a full, responsive crowd, was often linked with John Coltrane. But his resurgence in the '90s has produced a far more personal sound and style.

As in chemistry, musical catalysts create a reaction that generate more heat, more light, more overall energy. That was the case Wednesday night at Catalina Bar & Grill when saxophonist Charles Lloyd, ignited by pianist Bobo Stenson and drummer Billy Hart, burned more brightly than during his last run here in December of 1994.

Artistic identity is as vital to jazz as it is to the other arts. The capacity to generate an expressive singularity, one that is instantly identifiable, is as important to a jazz improviser as it is to a novelist, painter or dancer. In his early years, saxophonist Charles Lloyd, who opened a five-night run at Catalina Bar & Grill on Tuesday before a full, responsive crowd, was often linked with John Coltrane. But his resurgence in the '90s has produced a far more personal sound and style.

When last we heard from saxophonist Charles Lloyd, he was scheduled to play in Santa Barbara's Lobero Theater. It was 1990, just after the devastating Painted Cave Fire, which made the national news and left the town in a state of shock. Lloyd said his first thought was to cancel the show. But "someone called the box office and said his house had burned up and he'd lost his tickets in the fire and he wanted to replace them," Lloyd said.