From the beginning, meaning has been assigned to numbers - practical, powerful, fanciful, philosophical, mystical, spiritual. For Pythagoras, 3 was considered the perfect number, the number of harmony, wisdom and understanding. It was also the number of time - past, present, future; birth, life, death; beginning, middle, end - it was the number of the divine.
So states Charles Lloyd in the notes to this, the second of three albums in his A Trio of Trios trilogy.
Needless to say, given the profundity of the above, this isn't a New Year's Eve album. Nevertheless, it is none the worse for that and is in actual fact quite delightful.
Far removed from some of his earlier boundary pushing excesses where he was rated, by some, as just to the right (or was it the left?) of Ayler and co he still retains a forward looking, contemporary approach without discarding more traditional values which, as a friend of mine often points out to me, can also be expressed in threes - melody, harmony and rhythm although here the latter quality is more often implied rather than thrown in your face.
Alto sax, tenor sax or alto flute Lloyd is never less than lyrical. On sax he can fly off into blue(s) without loss. He does this on the opening ballad - The Lonely One - it lets you know how it feels to be lonely, if you didn't know already...
Clayton and Wilson are magnificent. They intertwine with Lloyd and each other - drummers? - Who needs them!
I missed out on the first album of the series but, on the strength of this one, I'll be looking out for the next one!
As an afterthought, it's good that Blue Note are continuing onwards and upwards with a cover that reflects the label's grand traditions albeit with a nudge forward, and a more colour-conscious approach design-wise. Well worth checking out - you're in the presence of a grandmaster - Lance
The Lonely One; Hagar of the Inuits; Jaramillo Blues (for Virginia Jaramillo & Danny Johnson); Kuan Yin.
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