I was recently listening to my "Charles Lloyd Radio" on Pandora and it played all stuff that I was digging on heavily - Kenny Garrett's album Pursuance, Lloyd's Hyperion for Higgins, Joshua Redman's Spirit of the Moment: Live at the Village Vanguard.
Then it played the title track from Lloyd's 1966 masterpiece, Forest Flower which was recorded live at the Monterey Jazz Festival with Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette, and Cecil McBee. Apparently it was one of the first jazz records to sell a million copies (that was before the days when platinum was common parlance). And its success helped Lloyd go on to tour with some of the biggest names of the psychedelic rock era such as the Grateful Dead. They were the first jazz group to play the Fillmore Theatre in San Francisco.
Now after years of collaborations with the drummer Billy Higgins (who passed away in 2001), Lloyd is collaborating with new musical partners in a trio where each player plays multiple roles. It combines the sufi vocals, percussion, and tablas of Zakir Hussain, the drums of the not-so-young-anymore Eric Harland (and piano too!), and Lloyd's mastery of all the instruments (from alto flute to tenor saxophone to piano).
Here are some videos up on YouTube that explain the birth of this new band:
Sangam Part 1:
My Trusted MOGs
Pandora rules!! Zakir Hussain, eh? sufi vocals? jazz? i like. i am watching. thanks!