Album of the Day: “Vanished Gardens” by Charles Lloyd & The Marvels

 

Artist:  Charles Lloyd & The Marvels

Album: Vanished Gardens

Label:  Blue Note Records

Style:  Jazz Americana

Favorite Track:  Vanished Gardens

Music from:  Los Angeles, CA

What I like about it:  Lucinda Williams adds her vocals to half of the tracks on this live performance, and I like that the band’s sound doesn’t change with her presence.  They coalesce around her, like the current navigating the circumference of a small island at sea.  I like that everything is melodically focused, which is implied on the instrumental tracks, and made perfectly clear on the vocal ones.  I like how Bill Frisell’s guitar and Charles Lloyd’s sax just melt into one another, indistinguishable as sunbeams on a cloudless day.  I like how the group generates an intensity from a casual delivery, that every passage, every phrase has that feel.

Extra notes:  Hi, Bill & Lucinda, please feel free to adapt “Are You Alright?” for this or any similar project, thanks.

Your album personnel:  Charles Lloyd (tenor sax, flute), Bill Frisell (guitars), Greg Leisz (pedal steel, dobro), Reuben Rogers (bass), Eric Harland (drums) and Lucinda Williams (vocals).

Available at:  Amazon

Be sure to check out the artist’s site.