Charles Lloyd New Quartet featuring Maria Farantouri at SFJAZZ Spring Festival at Herbst Theatre

Tenor saxophone titan Charles Lloyd attained rock star status in the mid-60s with one of the all-time great quartets, featuring Keith Jarrett, Cecil McBee and Jack DeJohnette. Since the release of that group’s Dream Weaver and Forest Flower, Lloyd has charted a remarkable trajectory as one of the most restlessly inventive musicians in jazz history. Over the past 20 years his extraordinary ECM albums have featured collaborations with Brad Mehldau, John Abercrombie, Zakir Hussain, Billy Higgins and many other luminaries. Lloyd’s current group is a perfect setting for the heralded young pianist and recent MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient Jason Moran, who was named DownBeat’s 2011 Jazz Artist of the Year and has been selected as a Guest Artistic Director for the new SFJAZZ Center in 2013...

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Tenor saxophone titan Charles Lloyd attained rock star status in the mid-60s with one of the all-time great quartets, featuring Keith Jarrett, Cecil McBee and Jack DeJohnette. Since the release of that group’s Dream Weaver and Forest Flower, Lloyd has charted a remarkable trajectory as one of the most restlessly inventive musicians in jazz history. Over the past 20 years his extraordinary ECM albums have featured collaborations with Brad Mehldau, John Abercrombie, Zakir Hussain, Billy Higgins and many other luminaries. Lloyd’s current group is a perfect setting for the heralded young pianist and recent MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient Jason Moran, who was named DownBeat’s 2011 Jazz Artist of the Year and has been selected as a Guest Artistic Director for the new SFJAZZ Center in 2013. Bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland round out the rhythm section, joined by special guest Maria Farantouri, whose incandescent vocals are featured throughout Athens Concert, Lloyd’s new double album. An artist widely embraced in her native Greece, Farantouri was the legendary voice of resistance during the Greek military junta of the late ‘60s, giving hope to millions through the banned protest songs of Mikis Theodorakis and earning widespread praise as the “soul of Greece.” Her presence makes this another unique Charles Lloyd moment, one of many in his huge legacy.

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