Charles Lloyd - 'Of Course, Of Course'

 

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 15, 1938, Charles, from an early age, was immersed in that city’s rich musical life and was exposed to jazz.

In 1956, Charles moved to Los Angeles and graduated from the University of Southern California.  During this period, Charles played in Gerald Wilson’s big band and formed his own group that included Billy Higgins, Don Cherry, Bobby Hutcherson, Scott LaFaro and Terry Trotter.  

Charles joined the last cello edition of the Chico Hamilton quintet in 1960, playing alto saxophone and flute.  Charles's musical identity and gift for melody quickly emerged.  His originals were fresh, distinctive, appealing and pushed the envelope.



In 1962, Chico overhauled his group, bringing in Hungarian guitarist Gabor Szabo.   Charles and Gabor developed an uncanny empathy and instantly identifiable sound. That group made four stunning albums over the next two years, full of outstanding Lloyd originals. 

Released in November 1965, on the Columbia label, 'Of Course, Of Course' was recorded in May 1964 and March 1965, after Charles had left the Hamilton fold, so these sessions were a welcome reunion for Gabor Szabo and him.  The recording group was completed by another highly empathetic team, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. Bringing two of the most creative pairings in jazz together makes for one hell of a quartet.

When 'Of Course, Of Course' was originally released, the quartet was best described by Charles:

"I'm always striving for that moment when the music is really happening; by this I mean complete involvement by everybody. When I surround myself with Gabor, Tony and Ron, those moments come more easily because we all draw so well from each other. It happens in the playing. We don't talk much about our roles in the ensemble - we speak best through our instruments, which are like extensions of ourselves."



In 2007, Mosaic Records, who made its name releasing comprehensive multi-disc box sets of jazz musicians, released 'Of Course, Of Course' as a single CD on their short-lived, Mosaic Singles series.  The idea behind the series was to release historically valuable LPs that don't fit into a box-set concept.  For this CD, the album was newly remixed from the original four-track tapes and includes three bonus tracks approved by Charles Lloyd.  "East Of The Sun" is an extra tune from the album sessions.  "Island Blues" and "Sun Dance" come from a later session with Szabo, Albert Stinson and Pete LaRoca, with Robbie Robertson of The Band added on guitar on the last tune.  This was the first CD release of one of the most neglected masterpieces in an era of masterpieces, and now is again out of print.

Tracklist:

01 "Of Course, Of Course"
02 "The Song My Lady Sings"
03 "The Best Thing for You"
04 "The Things We Did Last Summer"
05 "Apex"
06 "One for Joan"
07 "Goin' to Memphis"
08 "Voice in the Night"
09 "Third Floor Richard"
10 "East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)"
11 "Island Blues"
12 "Sun Dance"

Charles Lloyd – tenor saxophone and flute

Gábor Szabó – guitar

Ron Carter – bass (tracks 1-3, 5-10)

Tony Williams – drums (tracks 1-3, 5-10)

Albert Stinson – bass (tracks 11-12)

Pete LaRoca – drums (tracks 11-12)

Robbie Robertson – second guitar (track 12)



For the freeload, tell us about albums you really like, that were panned by critics and by fans of the group/artist alike.