If you’ve been waiting for, oh, say half a century, for a logical follow-up to John Coltrane’s classic Ballads album, you’ve finally got your prayers answered. This collection of duos between Charles Lloyd and pianist Jason Moran is one of the most intimate musical conversations you’ll ever come across. Consisting mostly of tunes that are familiar to us through either jazz or pop radio, it’s centerpiece is a thrilling “Hagar Suite” that musically captures the life of Lloyd’s great grandmother. Using flute and alto sax as well as his normal tenor on this suite, Lloyd melds with Moran’s piano and percussion to tell stories that sound like flights to freedom and heartfelt pleading. Dramatic alto sounds wail on “Bolivar’s Blues” while subtle and harrowing piano notes consume “Journey Up River.”
Ellingtonia such as “Star Crossed Lovers” and “Mood Indigo” spotlight all too well what is missing in today’s modern tenor players. On the former, with Moran’s flowing support, Lloyd is lyrical yet restlessly yearning, while the latter has both gents in a playful game of pinball, taking turns at allowing the pedals to snap at the metal orb. “You’ve changed is filled with regretful sighs, while Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released” has Lloyd pleading underneath Mason’s deferential musings. This is music by a man that is sage-like in what he has seen and felt, and only one like this can tell a story like he’s lived it.
ECM Records
www.ecmrecords.com