January 10, 2020
The legendary saxophonist, composer, and jazz mystic Charles Lloyd celebrated his 80th birthday on March 15, 2018 at his hometown venue, Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theatre, with an unprecedented grouping of musical friends including guitarist Julian Lage, pianist Gerald Clayton, bassist Reuben Rogers, and drummer Eric Harland, with special guests organist Booker T. Jones and bassist (and Blue Note President) Don Was joining the ensemble midway. Lloyd’s magnificent new album 8: Kindred Spirits (Live from The Lobero), which will be released February 28 on Blue Note Records, documents both the sights and sounds of that extraordinary concert, and arrives in a limited-edition deluxe boxset that includes 3-LPs, 2-CDs, and a DVD of the full performance, along with a 96-page hardcover book and 2 photo prints that commemorate the first 8 decades of Lloyd’s remarkable journey. The album will also be released in standard LP/DVD, CD/DVD, and digital versions that feature the concert’s first set.
A video of the quintet’s sublime performance of “Requiem” from the DVD has been released today, and the song is also available digitally to stream or download.
Lloyd has played the 150-year-old adobe theater in downtown Santa Barbara more often than any other venue, and more often than any other performer. Knowing that Marian Anderson sang there on February 14, 1940 makes it a sacred space for him. In the concert film you can see him bobbing with pleasure beneath his pointy, indigo knit cap, curly white hair, and long goatee. He beams at his neighbors, places the palms of his hands together and pulls them against his black sweater and golden tenor saxophone in the traditional Buddhist greeting.
A birthday is a door between the past and the future, and this concert reflected that truth. Representing the future were 34-year-old pianist Gerald Clayton, who performs regularly with Lloyd, and 31-year-old guitarist Julian Lage, who had performed with him when he was 12-years-old. Representing the past was 74-year-old organist and fellow Memphis native Booker T. Jones, who had never played with Lloyd at all. This was a one-of-a-kind line-up for a one-of-a-kind ritual.
“Today, I bring with me everything I’ve ever played, but I do it with beginner’s mind. That way I get both the benefit of experience and the desire for new discoveries. Some nights I am blessed and the deities visit me. You can’t bring everything you know at once, because that’s the error of youth. You have to choose the right notes, but I find that even now I’m finding new notes that I never had before.”
CHARLES LLOYD – 2020 TOUR DATES:
March 20 – Detroit Philharmonic – Detroit, MI – Charles Lloyd & Gerald Clayton
March 22 – The Athenaeum – La Jolla, CA – Charles Lloyd & Gerald Clayton
March 24 – MIM – Scottsdale, AZ – Charles Lloyd & Gerald Clayton
April 13 – Lobero Theatre – Santa Barbara, CA – Charles Lloyd & The Marvels
April 17 – Flynn Center – Burlington, VT – Charles Lloyd & The Marvels featuring Lucinda Williams
April 19 – Strathmore – North Bethesda, MD – Charles Lloyd & The Marvels featuring Lucinda Williams
April 21 – Keswick Center – Glenside, PA – Charles Lloyd & The Marvels featuring Lucinda Williams
April 23 – Blue Note Jazz Club – New York, NY – Charles Lloyd & The Marvels
April 24 – Blue Note Jazz Club – New York, NY – Charles Lloyd New Quartet
April 25 – Blue Note Jazz Club – New York, NY – Charles Lloyd Kindred Spirits
April 26 – Blue Note Jazz Club – New York, NY – Charles Lloyd Kindred Spirits
April 28 – The Dakota – Minneapolis, MN – Charles Lloyd Kindred Spirits
May 31 – Healdsburg Jazz Festival – Healdsburg, CA – Charles Lloyd Kindred Spirits
July 5 – Love Supreme Festival – Sussex, UK – Charles Lloyd Kindred Spirits
July 14 – Molde Jazz Festival – Molde, Norway – Charles Lloyd Kindred Spirits
July 16 – Pori Jazz Festival – Pori, Finland – Charles Lloyd Kindred Spirits
Visit charleslloyd.com/calendar for further details.
