Jazz at the Lobero will present Charles Lloyd & Friends, 8 p.m. Thursday, March 15, at the Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St.
The program will celebrate Lloyd’s 80th birthday with an evening that spans the colorful arc of his life in music, from Memphis and the Mississippi Delta with Booker T. Jones to the universe beyond with Gerald Clayton, Julian Lage, Reuben Rogers, Eric Harland, and other guests.
Saxophonist Lloyd is called a forward-thinking “musician’s musician.” His improvisational talents and journeys into rock and non-Western music styles in the ’60s and ’70s established him as a key figure in the development of fusion and world music.
The critical consensus is Lloyd has never sounded better. The depth of his expression reflects a lifetime of experience.
Over nearly five decades, his compositions have punctuated the post-bop period, embraced the traditional music of a host of world cultures and enlivened the psychedelic 1960s with avant-garde improvisation.
Lloyd was one of the first jazz artists to sell a million copies (Forest Flower), and then he surprised the music world by walking away from performing just at the point that he was dubbed a jazz superstar.
In 1970, Lloyd disbanded the quartet and dropped from sight, withdrawing to pursue an inner journey in Big Sur — the wild haven that had attracted other artists and seekers including Langston Hughes, Henry Miller, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jack Kerouac, Jean Varda and Jamie DeAngulo.
More than 20 years later, Lloyd is still in search of the “sound” and the truth. In 2014, he was honored as a Monterey Jazz Festival Jazz Legend, and in 2015 he received the NEA Jazz Master Award.
In January 2016, he was honored by the Lobero Theatre Ghostlight Society as their first Artistic Luminary.
Lloyd maintains an active performance and recording schedule with the New Quartet, Sangam, Maria Farantouri and special projects around the world.
Tickets for are on sale at Lobero.com or by calling the box office, 963-0761. VIP tickets are $125, Section A tickets, $64 and Section B, $54, including facility fees. VIP ticket-holders enjoy premier seating and a VIP reception before the performance.
— Angie Bertucci for Lobero Theatre.