Charles Lloyd

About

Charles Lloyd has spent decades bending the rules of jazz without ever abandoning its soul. The Memphis born tenor saxophonist and flutist first turned heads in the mid 1960s when his classic quartet, featuring a young Keith Jarrett and drummer Jack DeJohnette, recorded Forest Flower live at the Monterey Jazz Festival. That album became one of the most successful jazz records of its era, pulling in rock fans and jazz heads alike. DownBeat named him Jazz Artist of the Year in 1967, and the quartet even performed behind the Iron Curtain in Estonia and Russia. Lloyd has never stayed in one lane. He spent stretches of the 1970s playing with The Beach Boys, both on tour and in Brian Wilson's home studio, and he was an early champion of weaving world music influences into jazz composition. After a near fatal illness in the 1980s, he rebuilt his career and signed with ECM Records in 1989, entering one of the most prolific phases of his life. His current quartet with pianist Jason Moran, bassist Reuben Rogers, and drummer Eric Harland has been his core band since 2007, and he released The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow as recently as 2024.