Of Course, Of Course

Charles Lloyd joined the last cello edition of the Chico Hamilton quintet in 1960, playing alto saxophone and flute. In 1962, Chico overhauled his group, bringing in Hungarian guitarist Gabor Szabo and developing a band book of new material by Charles, now on tenor as well as flute. Lloyd's musical identity and gift for melody quickly emerged. His originals were fresh and distinctive - at once, appealing and pushing the envelope. He and Szabo developed an uncanny empathy and instantly identifiable sound. That group made four stunning albums over the next two years, full of outstanding Lloyd originals.

Of Course, Of Course was recorded in May 1964 and March 1965, after Charles had left the Hamilton fold, so these sessions were a welcome reunion for Szabo and him. The recording group was completed by another extraordinarily empathetic team, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. Bringing two of the most creative pairings in jazz together makes for a hell of a quartet. The album is as cohesive as it is varied.

The quartet was best described by Charles at the time: "I'm always striving for that moment when the music is really happening; by this I mean complete involvement by everybody. When I surround myself with Gabor, Tony and Ron, those moments come more easily because we all draw so well from each other. It happens in the playing. We don't talk much about our roles in the ensemble - we speak best through our instruments, which are like extensions of ourselves."

For this disc, the album was newly remixed from the original four-track tapes and includes three bonus tracks approved by the artist. East Of The Sun is an extra tune from the album sessions. Island Blues and Sun Dance come from a later session with Szabo, Albert Stinson and Pete LaRoca, with Robbie Robertson of The Band added on guitar on the last tune. Amazingly, this is the first CD release of one of the most neglected masterpieces in an era of masterpieces.