Jon Lloyd Quartet: By Confusion

[Steve Reynolds]

again - another old fave

probably impossible to find - but I'm not sure

also almosty impossibly great

Jon Lloyd - alto & soprano saxophone
John Law - piano
Tim Wells - bass
Mark Sanders - drums

recorded 6/9/96 - on hatART recorded by Stev Lowe @ Gateway Recording Studio in England and with the mix and master by the *great* Peter Pfister

and the sound here is - well - oh my......as good as it gets for this music - listen to the bass at the beginning of "Overlay" - can I say lordy, lordy....


more open and airy than the earlier Head (on leo with Paul Rogers in place of Wells). I love Head - but it is sure is dense in parts - but the music on both is pretty remarkable - and the airy aspect is highlighted by the second track. "Tactility" which features sanders playing some very interesting figures on cynbals and his small tom drums simultaneously after Law finishes some mellow broad flourishes

and unlike the later Abacus with a similar band with hemingway on drums in place of sanders - this one is much more a jazz recording with the similarities to Braxton groups evident but not overwhelming

Lloyd plays in a concise (almost minimalistic) fashion maybe a drier pared down Jimmy Lyons - with the compositions and wonderful interplay being the highlights of the music - as well as the prescence of that man, the wonderous one, Mr. Mark Sanders. I brought up the more recent Abacus to highlight the difference between Hemingway (who overpowers this band on that recording) and Sanders who *makes* this band due to his completel sympatico and almost seemingly egoless playing

and Hemingway, as many of you know, is one of my favorite musicians and drummers. But on Abacus he plays like it his band, not Lloyd's or Law's.

Sanders is so light with his touch here except when the situation (or tune) warrants when he gives some precise accents and unexpected solo sections (see above referencing his work on "Tactility")

and the more I have listened over the years, I think the more I love the slower more abstarct pieces - although by the time track 5, "Resilience" comes on, that great groove is somewhat welcome - and what a tune it is

btw - they close with a standard - Dolphy's "Straight Up and Down" - maybe to remind some that they are not disconnected from the source

[jazzfiend]

Nice review, young fella. This cd is my favorite Lloyd, closely followed by his playing on Law's Abacus. Head is challenging stuff, but too damn dense for my taste. Lloyd is an interesting musician with wondrous technical facility, but somehow almost completely devoid of emotion. And after all, isn't this music all about the conveyance of human emotion?

By the way, is Lloyd British? A Britisher who used to blow with great emotion is Mike Osborne. I understand he hasn't played in many years and currently resides in a mental hospital. I recently acquired his "Outback" cd, which completely blew me away. What a great altoist he was! Just think what he'd be playing today. Such a waste of incredible talent! I just ordered Osborne's 2-fer cd which includes Border Crossing & Marcel's Muse. Can't wait to hear it. Do you have it?

[Steve Reynolds]

Outback is phenomenal


no new CD's for me for a while


someday I will tell the whole story - it's not that awful - just a lot of pain - self inflicted and otherwise

btw _ I am working now a bit - a little job - and I have an interview coming up - but there is more - one more hurdle - I hope in a couple of months things might be back to totally normal for me at least!!!

someday things will be all right


peace and blessings, Don

[jazzfiend]

Hey buddy, whatever the cause (or causes), i'm looking ahead to your full recovery. Life's too damn short to let it (life) bring you down.

Mind over matter, baby!