Charles Lloyd – Which Way Is East

[frankiepop]

Are you like me…( god I hope not!) …. a fan of oregon’s music??? maybe you’re a fan of don cherry or the codona series??? This is enchanting music to say the least, but this music is rarely achieved at a high level ….as a result you have searched longingly to find some good stuff. i stay mostly with don cherry...but mostly i have been discouraged with my finds. Well then which way is east is an exception to my prayers and meditations…


I doff my hat, again, to charles Lloyd and billy Higgins who teamed up for which way is east which is one of those rare great worldly recording. Lloyd and Higgins end up playing all kinds of instruments…reeds. taragato, horns, voices, piano, bunch of percussion from east and west ....all kinds of shit...you name it, they play it.….

Musically, higgins and lloyd tap into brazalian , even a little native American musical forms, then they find some blues. You also hear African to middle eastern…to Indian…it’s a rich palette…I can envision Coltrane, don cherry, and Walcott blessing Lloyd with an ommmm from their spiritual palace.

I prefer charles Lloyds 60s legendary --or should be legendary-- 4tet with Jarrett & Dejonette, although which way is east may wind up being my favorite Lloyd cd yet. As a double cd, I only wish it was a triple…I don’t think that there is a wasted moment…I want more…

[Squaredancecalling Steve]

All right, fp, you said the magic word: CODONA!

I'm going to have to spring for this one.

[Nate Dorward]

It's a nice disc, yes. I'm not keen on the guitar+voice bits & the piano solos, but the rest is very good.

[jazzfiend]

This is much more than a nice disc, young fella.

These sessions have that "lord have mercy" quality about them.

Not to be missed, by any rationale.

[frankiepop]

i agree, jazzfiend, this is a superior session for the seasoned listeners...what a knowledge they display here...they tackled some difficult subject matter................thanx for the rec....i really think that this contends for a top cd of the yr prize.....nice package as well.......

[Squaredancecalling Steve]

Haven't opened it yet, but I did pick up the discs tonight.

I also picked up the June Jazz Times, because it contained a very nice tribute to Billy -- an interview with Charles Lloyd about his long relationship with him (with special focus on their last few albums), and a half-dozen short reminiscences and tributes from Steve Lacy, Kevin Eubanks, Cedar Walton, Jack DeJohnette, Jimmy Cobb and Brad Mehldau.

[chuckyd4]

I am really impressed by this one... like Nate says, some of the guitar/voice bits get tired fairly easy (though the track "MY Lord, My Lord" is gorgeous).... but overall this is a fantastic album, full of life, vitality, and variety.

[frankiepop]

...some of the guitar/voice bits get tired fairly easy ...

i think some of the voice parts are fantastic and although the brazalian and bluesy guitar/parts are a little out of place, all in all, i thought they pulled them off well...i also think the piano pieces fit nicely and give a respite and change of pace...that are actually quite touching....

the main issue is that we are discussing a tiny part of whole cd and it gets a little tiresome discussing a tiny portion of the cds that dont fit our jazz expectations of 'what a jazz artist ought to do'

...maybe for the sake of a jc revolution, we could focus on the - about - +95% that is positive. clearly, this takes nate completely out, but what the heck maybe we can survive ONE thread without nate, crawjo, or dolan????

well, call me an optimist, but it's 9 am and i am already drunk on my day off. what i DO love is these diversions from the norm expectations that you would expect....i think they may have had the group codona in mind when they recorded this music...think about it....codona fired out blues on 'clicky clacky' and stuff like that, then higgins and lloyd might have thrown a little tribute or 2 towards nana vasconcelos, the brazilian percussionist, who played everything with codona....

oh BIG THUMBS UP for charles lloyd for filling out the time and throwing risk into the wind by wrapping these weird cuts onto a 'jazz' cd...the whole concept smashed some rules that was a wide departure from the usual roles. in the end, it worked well and to hell with expectations...they got together in their living room and just jammed, recorded and put it onto cd.

this recording delivers an intimacy that is personal, spiritual, cosmic and beautiful...and usually i HATE those words when discussing music...because ....that's enuf for now...fpop is outta herePOjs[0a u9dj..

[Boris Badenov]

Well, I have zero Lloyd, and it sounds like it's time to change that state of affairs. However, I'm not drinking these days; liver's orders. Will I still enjoy it? (I do like Codona, and also (even more) Cherry's duets with Blackwell.)

[Gentle Giant]

I read the Jazz Times piece on this and, being awash in Lloyd's music these days anyway, I'm planning on picking this up real soon. Such a beautiful article. It's so cool to listen to Charles talk about "Master Higgins." It's clear that the two had a very real and special bond. According to the article, he wasn't sure whether or not to release these tapes, but Geri Allen convinced him that people needed to hear them these days. Even though I haven't heard the disc yet, I'm glad she did.

[Darryl G. Thomas]

I enjoyed the sax-drums duets the most.

The disc calls for repeated listening. I got it along with a pile of discs I'd ordered so I haven't taken the time to sit down and really listen.

I think this will be a hard session to talk about because it's impossible to separate what's coming through the speakers and the fact this is the last of Higgins. Me, I'm an emotional dude, so I may give the music more than it's due.

Saying that, I loved the ecleticism of the recording, I really liked the vocals and Higgins' guitar. Maybe it's because I didn't approach this as a "jazz" recording. I approached it as a dialogue between two old friends who got together and just played.

[Nate Dorward]

If you hadn't noticed, f.p., my post above WAS positive.

[picsou]

Has no one else seen the video with the two of them? I assume the CD tracks were recorded at the same time. I am surprise ECM has not made it (the video) available.

[frankiepop]

I have zero Lloyd...

that's what i said about 2 months ago...and then i heard... forest flower at monterey and then i got.........lift every voice cd......then i bought love-in ..........and the list goes on......similarly as gg, i am now awashed in LLoyd...barely got my nose above h2o...

[Squaredancecalling Steve]

Just finished listening to the first disc -- which is a lot of music! -- and I'll toss off a couple of first impressions:

* This is a wonderful album, full of all kinds of surprises and fresh sounds! Both players sound warm, masterful, thoroughly interested in what they're doing, and both bring an incredibly broad range of music to this table. For someone like myself, who takes delight in a variety of musical styles and genres, this album is a feast that a single group -- much less a duo -- can rarely provide.

* 'Hanuman's Dance,' the longest piece on either disc, is one of the *GREATEST* sax/drum duets I have ever heard! (Interstellar Space is one of my two favorite Coltrane albums, so after but a single listen I hesitate to say it is the Greatest; but I am looking forward to my second listen with great excitement!)

[frankiepop]

i would also add that which way is east and those 60s 4tets recordings...especially forest flower and love-in


are some excellent pot smokin' music, so buy LLoyd, buy some weed, and enjoy... .......you know...it's not ez to find music that goes down good with marijuana these daze...i highly promote this concept btw....especially for thelil.... this could save thelil....

[Squaredancecalling Steve]

Sorry to say that my initial impression is that the second disc is not as good as the first, although it has its great highlights, too. There are four cuts of (I think) Billy Higgins on guitar singing in faux Portugese, and that's at least three cuts too much of this. (I might have cut him some slack if it was good faux Fado, but it's so-so faux Brazilian.)

Still, a great set, and I'm primed for a second listen.

[frankiepop]

see...50 good songs...barely mention.............couple bad...bitch bitch bitch

[Lois Gilbert]