In 1965, when these tracks were recorded at the now-defunct venues Judson Hall, Lloyd was fresh from his stint with drummer and bandleader Chico Hamilton, where he’d first crossed paths with Szabó. Lloyd already had two albums to his name. Within a year he would form his groundbreaking quartet with Keith Jarrett, Cecil McBee, and Jack DeJohnette.

Szabó himself was on the verge of cementing his name in the jazz canon, starting his acclaimed run of Impulse! releases the next year. Carter was midway through his stint with the second great Miles Davis quintet, while La Roca had already worked with a host of names from the music’s pantheon, including John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Bill Evans, and Joe Henderson.

“It was a specific time and place,” Lloyd told Manhattan Stories annotator Don Heckman. “We all felt like the boundaries were being dissolved and we could do or try anything. This is a music of freedom and wonder — we were young and on the move.”

Charles Lloyd’s status as one of the iconic figures of jazz has been thoroughly established for five decades. His recordings from the ‘60s – especially releases such as Of Course, Of Course, Dream Weaver and Forest Flower – introduced a stunning, new jazz saxophone talent at a time when innovative ideas were rapidly being triggered by the likes of John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, and Eric Dolphy. But Lloyd had a voice of his own, one that blended rich, contemplative improvising with an irresistible flow of dynamic rhythms. No wonder Down Beat selected Lloyd as Jazz Artist of the Year in 1967.

Charles Lloyd – Saxophone and Flute
Gábor Szabó – Guitar
Ron Carter – Bass
Pete La Roca – Drums

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