Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A BLAZING LIVE JAZZ SET FROM THE CHARLES LLOYD QUARTET!!, March 11, 2008
Five HUGE Stars!! Featuring the legendary jazz giant Charles Lloyd on alto flute, tárogató, and his mighty tenor saxophone; an effusive Jason Moran on piano; Reuben Rogers' stalwart bass and a fiery Eric Harland on drums & percussion, this set was recorded live in 2007 in Basel Switzerland. Mr Lloyd, now 70ish, continues to ardently play with fire, swing, and a technique that's somewhat reflective of Coltrane but still Lloyd's own full-tilt recognizable musical sonorities and unique compositions. Eric Harland pushes the virtuosic Mr Lloyd to unleash his profound art, prodding the group along at a furious pace on the up-tempo numbers & moderate swingers, and effectively coloring the ballads. And Charles Lloyd's tenor sax and flute have never sounded better, wonderfully recorded here.
The 'best of the best' begin with "Prometheus" as the group alternates between 'storm and eye-of-the-storm' passages with Charles and Jason getting off some amazing solos. The multi-phased "Booker's Garden" is a flute vehicle with a hint of raegae back beat and is dedicated to a friend of Lloyd's, the late star-crossed trumpeter Booker Little, and it's a wild ride. The four-note motif "Migration of Spirit" begins earthbound before it soars skyward with Reuben Rogers out of tempo, staying out of tempo as Lloyd's mellow tenor sax enters, then patiently accelerating into a grooving tempo with LLoyd getting off a great solo and then Jason effectively funks up the proceedings with single and double handed flurries: a great performance!! "La Colline de Monk" is a beautiful tone poem with Lloyd and Moran in duo. The smoldering "Ramanujan" has LLoyd blazing away on a klezmer-related Eastern European instrument, the tárogató, while Moran expands the piano's frontiers with his percussive harmonics and Harland uses blazing rim shots. The lovely ballad "Rabo de Nube" ('Tail Cloud' or whirlwind) by Cuban legend Silvio Rodriguez is pure poetry and gets to the essence of the song, just as Silvio performs it in public. In all, a great virtuosic jazz performance by Charles Lloyd and friends in this 21st Century European live set and it gets My Highest Recommendation!! Bravo, Mr Lloyd! Five HIP Stars!! (This review is based on an iTunes download.)
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My lord, what a set, May 15, 2008
I will admit, I have only recently become a fan of Charles Lloyd, but with this album I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I am a fan as devoted as any other for life. 'Rabo de Nube' is definitely the best new jazz album I have heard this year, probably this decade. there just too much to say in praise of it... Where to begin.
This is a new band. Recently Lloyd has been playing a good deal with the phenomenally talented drummer Eric Harland (see 'Sangam' and 'Jumping the creek' both fine albums in their own right, though not quite like this I might argue) and in no way does Harland disappoint. His versatility and ability to be either very subtle or powerful and overstated is there as always and his drumming adds quite a lot to the mix. Jason Moran on piano and Reuben Rogers are new members to the quartet and they could not fit in better. Moran in particularly is just spectacular. He brings an energy and force to the quartet that is right at home and some of his playing is so good its frightening. His solo on "Sweet Georgia Bright" (my favorite song on the album) is just too good to be true. He takes off from Lloyd's solo with almost fanatic energy, cools down a down bit to restate a portion of the head of the song with a variation or two then goes off on his own. The solo grows and grows until reaches almost dizzyingly fast flurries of notes until it hits a solid groove right before the end of his solo. Thirty seconds of the best feeling swing in a sort of stride piano style thats ends with a long fall, at which point the piano drops out to give the bass some room. It is a truly awesome moment. I had to stop to catch my breath, listen to it again and then catch my breath again.
Lloyd himself has never sounded better. Like a fine wine he has just gotten better. His breathy, Coltrane like licks are so subtle and he can do so much. He has a nice range here, from hard-blowing "Sweet Georgia Bright to mor cerebral pieces "Prometheus" and "Ramanujan". He varies his instrumentation a little bit with his flute "Booker's Garden" and the eastern Taragato instrument on "Ramanujan". Booker's Garden is great tune, very interesting, in part because the contrast between its soft, somewhat cautious introduction and the rest of the song, which is perhaps what the classic Coltrane quartet would sound like if it had a funk influence.
Every once in a while an album comes out that's just mind blowing. I can still remember the first time I put 'A Love Supreme' on, or the opening of Mahavishnu Orchestra's 'Inner Mounting Flame' or the way Brecker interacted with the strings on 'Broadband', the first track of his album 'Wide Angles'. Although 'Rabo de Nube" is definitely in its own category when compared to the other albums listed above, it was no less spectacular. This is not an album I can praise highly enough. Although a lot has changed since his earlier Lloyd, Jarret, DeJohnette and McBee quartet, it has been for the better. He has created a true testament to the power of music.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lloyd's Best Album - Even better than Forest Flower, May 31, 2008
Overview:
At age 70 Charles Lloyd has delivered the best performance of his career. However, credit for this fantastic live set belongs to all performers on this group not just Lloyd. Each performer (Jason Moran on piano, Eric Harland on drums, Rueben Rogers on bass) play with telepathic communication and flawless execution on this live set recorded in Europe in 2007. The music at times reminds one of Miles Davis' mid 60's work, Coltrane's mid 60's work, and on some tracks pay tribute to Thelonious Monk. The sound quality of the set is beyond perfect. Each musician's instrument can be heard with crystal clear accuracy. If a pin dropped on the stage, you would have heard it. While I've grown to expect outstanding performances from Lloyd, Moran, and Harland I was not familiar with bassist Rueben Rogers before listening to this set. I have to say I could not have been more impressed in my first listen of his work. Throughout the set Rogers delivers tight walking bass lines that fit perfectly and also has many brilliant solos. This will be on everyone's list of the best albums for 2008 and will top many listeners' list for top album of the year.
Songs Highlights:
Prometheus - In Greek mythology Prometheus stole fire from Zeus and gave it to man. This is an apt title for this creative and explorative song. The song reminds me a lot of Wayne Shorter and Mile Davis' work in the 60's. There is a mood of discovery on this song. The song begins with a solo statement by Lloyd with light backing by Harland on percussion. Throughout the song Harland's light pulsing drums remind one of Tony Williams.
Migration of the Spirit - One can help but think of John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner and Alice Coltrane when listing to this passionate performance. The song opens with a moody statement by bassist Rogers. Lloyd then follows with a heart-felt introduction before the rest of the band joins in. The song reminds me a lot of A Love Supreme. Moran seems to incorporate elements of McCoy Tyner and Alice Coltrane's piano playing into his work on this song, which fits perfectly and makes this song something special.
Booker's Garden - This track features Lloyd's flute playing. The track opens with a flue solo by Lloyd and has a light happy airy mood to it. It is the perfect song to follow the somber Migration of the Spirit. At about the 5 minute mark the song transforms when bassist throws a bombshell of a killer walking bass line into the mix, which speeds up the song.
Ramanujan - Lloyd opens this song with an Arabic sounding sax solo. Harland quickly joins in with a killer "rat-tat-tat-tat" tinny drum line that invokes a mood of Middle Eastern coffee house. Moran then joins in and drops some loose runs on the low notes of the piano.
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