CULT HEROES
METAPHYSICAL JAZZ ELDER CHARLES LLOYD PLAYS ON!
Horn of plenty: Charles Lloyd (right) breaks down barriers in 1967 and (left) still “in service”.
Alamy, D. Darr
FROM 1966 to 1969, Memphis-born saxophonist/flautist Charles Lloyd led one of the most adventurous and creative jazz combos of the era. Following an appear-ance at San Francisco’s Fillmore West in 1967 – captured on the Love-In and Journey Within LPs – the quartet also found a huge audience of rock fans.
“We were dreamers, young idealists on a mission,” remembers the 84-year-old Lloyd, whose previous collaborators had included Chico Hamilton and Cannonball Adderley. “We also loved exploration and breaking down barriers. I wanted to transform the ugliness in the world into beauty. People were looking for a structural change in the model of the world and they began to tune in to our music.”