CHARLES LLOYD - The Water Is Wide (2000) WV (image+.cue), lossless

Like 1999's Voice in the Night, The Water Is Wide features Charles Lloyd in the company of one of his dearest friends, drummer Billy Higgins, who would pass away less than a year after the album's release. Guitarist John Abercrombie also remains on board, but Lloyd extends the group's generational span by recruiting two younger players: pianist Brad Mehldau and bassist Larry Grenadier. The album begins with a straightforward, elegant reading of Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia." Lloyd goes on to lead his ensemble through two lesser-known Ellington pieces, "Black Butterfly" and "Heaven"; Strayhorn's "Lotus Blossom"; two original ballads, "Figure In Blue" and "Lady Day"; and Cecil McBee's "Song of Her," a track from Lloyd's 1968 classic, Forest Flower. It's a glorious amalgam of sound: the leader's unique, glissando-laden phraseology, Mehldau's harmonic nuances, unerring rhythmic backbone from Grenadier and the majestic Higgins -- and only occasionally, pointed and eloquent guitarism from Abercrombie. The session ascends to an even higher level with the inclusion of two spirituals, "The Water Is Wide" and "There Is a Balm in Gilead." The latter features just Lloyd and Higgins, starkly setting the melody against a hypnotic drum chant. In addition, Lloyd's closing "Prayer," written for Higgins during a life-threatening episode back in 1996, features just the composer, Abercrombie, and guest bassist Darek Oles. (Oddly, Oles' credit is relegated to the fine print.) These tracks, most of all, resonate with personal meaning and profundity. David R. Adler
Tracklist :
1    Georgia 6'36
Composed By – Hoagy Carmichael
2    The Water Is Wide 5'01
Traditional
Arranged By – Charles Lloyd
3    Black Butterfly 4'35
Composed By – Duke Ellington
4    Ballade And Allegro 3'45
Composed By – Charles Lloyd
5    Figure In Blue 5'12
Composed By – Charles Lloyd
6    Lotus Blossom 5'37
Composed By – Billy Strayhorn
7    The Monk And The Mermaid 8'34
Composed By – Charles Lloyd
8    Song Of Her 7'36
Composed By – Cecil McBee
9    Lady Day 7'28
Composed By – Charles Lloyd
10    Heaven 4'14
Composed By – Duke Ellington
11    There Is A Balm In Gilead 5'12
Traditional
Arranged By – Charles Lloyd
12    Prayer 4'20
Composed By – Charles Lloyd
Credits :
Design, Photography By [Photos], Painting – Dorothy Darr
Double Bass – Darek Oles (pistas: 12), Larry Grenadier
Drums – Billy Higgins
Executive-Producer – Manfred Eicher
Guitar – John Abercrombie
Piano – Brad Mehldau
Producer – Charles Lloyd, Dorothy Darr
Tenor Saxophone – Charles Lloyd
Text By – Robinson Jeffers