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Charles Lloyd

Sangam

ECM 987 5183

Sangam (confluence, coming together) being the name applied to flautist/saxophonist Charles Lloyd's new trio, completed by tabla master Zakir Hussain and US drummer Eric Harland.

In this live recording (made in California in May 2004) of a memorial concert for drummer Billy Higgins (whose collaborations with Lloyd laid the foundations for this band), Lloyd's celebrated rapturous tenor warble, his stridently passionate taragato and his poised but gutsy flute playing are variously set against, intertwined with or propelled by the astonishingly virtuosic tabla playing of Hussain (who occasionally inserts tunes into his playing, even quoting the overture from William Tell) and the dexterous, deft drumming of Harland.

What's really impressive, though, is the fact that said instrumentation produces such a full, rich group sound; as the album's name suggests, this is music in which blending, interplay and empathy are of paramount importance, the material (from all phases of Lloyd's recording history) providing springboards for astonishing group interplay, infused throughout with the leader's profound spirituality.

As Lloyd comments: 'When the spirit is blowing, I know I have to hoist my sails to catch the breeze.' Warmly recommended.