CHARLES LLOYD “Figure in Blue”

ARTIST

Charles Lloyd

ALBUM TITLE

“Figure in Blue”

LABEL

Blue Note

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The music remains suspended, almost floating, in an atmosphere of shared intimacy. It is fitting that Lloyd chose Figure in Blue as the title because blue represents the soul, melancholy transformed into poetry, and memory turned into song. Alongside his saxophone, Lloyd wanted two special accomplices. Moran is not just a pianist on duty but a longtime partner who understands the leader’s language and recreates it with both respect and imagination. Their partnership, which began in the early years of the new millennium, has produced some of the finest moments of Lloyd’s career, especially on ECM. In Moran, Lloyd has found not only an accompanist but also a lyrical and dramatic counterpoint, a pianist who remains within the tradition while simultaneously opening it up, dismantling it, and putting it back together.

Marvin Sewell’s presence enriches the picture with unexpected colours, as he is a less common choice for this kind of ensemble. Sewell, who has worked extensively with Cassandra Wilson, brings a wealth of blues and Southern influences that intertwine beautifully with Lloyd’s spirituality. His guitar sketches subtle lines, evokes landscapes, and adds depth. Without double bass or drums, the music expands into a fragile, transparent space where each note carries weight like a breath.

Figure in Blue, Memories of Duke is a small jewel of delicacy and introspection. Throughout the album, there are no rhythmic pulses anchoring the ethereal, dreamlike pieces. Instead, a continuous three-way dialogue of pauses and resonances creates an almost telepathic listening experience. Lloyd, at eighty-six, seems to have understood that the secret to beauty lies in subtraction rather than addition, as Miles Davis also observed. His sound is a whisper that vibrates and sings with the voice of memory, yet without nostalgia.

This album envelops us like a Rothko painting or a Zen poem. It is the testimony of an artist who has lived through decades of jazz history and who now, with the wisdom acquired along the way, invites us to be still and listen, to let ourselves be embraced by the blue.

Nicola Gaeta

DISTRIBUTED BY

Universal

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