Blimey, this is good and deserving of all the raves that have been heaped on it thus far. It’s like a Lloyd biography, seamlessly combining the storm of his earlier Atlantic work with the becalmed ECM sounds of what we must now regard as his middle period. There are moments of languid beauty and times of barely restrained tumult stretched across two albums or 90 minutes of music. Floating and ethereal at times and a force of faith in hope and optimism at others.
I suppose the music would
fall into the post-bop category. It feels as if the musicians are not band
members per se but individuals with the freedom to follow their own hearts in
the context of the tune. On occasion there will be contrasting lines taken that
serve to support and enhance the nominal leader’s solo. There is warmth and
humour alongside the faith; Lloyd has played with these musicians before
(though not at the same time) and the familiarity and the friendship shines
through.
There’s been a lot of
talk about Lloyd’s age (86) so when the album opens with a slow rolling blues, (Defiant, Tender Warrior) there is a worry
that this will set the tone for all of what will follow. It is gently rolling
with the horn sounding like a train in the distance and it fades away to a
light breathy tone at times as if Lester Young has come back but the next
track, The Lonely One, is full of
vigour with dives and swoops on the sax in front of roiling drums and
melodramatic single note punctuation from the piano, frequent flourishes and a
probing bass solo. The humour is evident in Monk’s
Dance which opens like a twisted honk tonk, full of ‘Monkish’ shapes and
angles from Moran, sax and piano bouncing ideas off each other.
The
Water Is Rising sees Lloyd playing long notes over a
detached backing, front and rear disconnected until they combine into another
rolling blues. There’s something ominous in both Moran’s solo and Lloyd’s that
follows. It is a warning in a resigned tone, rather than an admonishment. The
overdubbed flute duet of Late Bloom acts
as an introduction to Booker’s Garden; a
flute led piece that harks back to the times of Lloyd’s first coming in the
late sixties; more upbeat, rhythm and blues rather than just blues, it features
a lovely rising and falling bass solo and flute that dances around the garden.
The
Ghost of Lady Day is fragile, sepulchral; a probing bass
solo over cymbal shimmers, the piano and then sax feel like an intrusion. It
builds and builds to the point where Lloyd’s whispers have become full blown
wails and the drums are a boiling sea beneath him. Moran plays out funeral
bells as it fades.
The
Sky Will Be There Tomorrow should be a comforting message but
the listener is pulled in several different directions by the opening and when
the band comes together briefly it is only another point of departure before a
degree of peace is established. Even then there is conflict. Moran’s piano
doesn’t support Lloyd’s solo but challenges and pushes him to greater heights
before abandoning him to the support of just bass and drums.
The second disc opens
with piano to the fore on Beyond Darkness
before Lloyd’s flute takes us on a journey of highs and lows. Sky Valley, Spirit of the Forest, which
follows, is elegant, spare and spacious. The rhythm section plays off against
and with Lloyd, at times almost cradling the melody line he follows. Listen too
intensely and you lose the arc across this piece, the longest on the album.
Thematically, it takes us through some dark places and back into the light.
Cape
to Cairo is one of the other long songs on the album and,
again, shows that intimacy between the players. Moran’s piano playing frames
Lloyd’s solo lines, Grenadier’s bass playing is full of lovely, round notes
that hold and reverb. It’s probably the most nocturnal piece on the album and
at one point even threatens to slide into something more suitable for the lost
hours in a nightclub. It’s saved by an attention demanding, knotty solo by
Moran. A reprise of the opener, Defiant, rolls
us out as the original had rolled us in.
It has been an intense
hour and a half listen but it’s been well worth hanging in there. It’s probably
the album of the year so far.
The
Sky Will Be There Tomorrow is available now from all outlets but
you’re advised to shop around as prices vary for this one. Dave Sayer
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