eMusic Review 0
The reedist Charles Lloyd, who turns 75 on March 15, is almost twice the age of pianist Jason Moran, but over the last few years the two musicians have developed a mutually fulfilling partnership. Moran, one of the most visionary composers, improvisers and conceptualists of his generation, has appeared on three of Lloyd’s albums since 2008, and with Hagar’s Song, they not only share equal billing for the first time, but they demonstrate that their artistic partnership has never been more simpatico and sublime.
The centerpiece of the album is Lloyd’s five-part titular suite, written for his great-great-grandmother who was taken from her parents in Mississippi and sold into slavery in Tennessee when she was 10 years old. It’s understandably the most solemn and sobering music on the collection: On the meditative opening section “Journey Up River,” Lloyd blows serene, measured melodies on bass flute, while “Dreams of White Bluff” adopts a tense, tightly-coiled energy, with both musicians shaping roiling lines that simmer in a narrow pitch range. Then, a tender, imploring melody emerges, ruptured by a turbulent, free jazz-inspired episode before the pair gather themselves back in. On some of the pieces, Moran underlines his keyboard rhythms with tambourine and… read more »
