The Flowering - LP

The present LP begins with one of these standard works, Kurt Weill's "Speak Low", and thus opens our ears for 43 minutes of relaxed listening. One notices that the control has not been handed over to free jazz players of the day. The impressionist sounds of the young Keith Jarrett fit in perfectly, and Jack DeJohnette had not yet moved into the realms of Miles Davis and his electric phase. A tip for great listening is Gabor Szabo's composition "Gypsy 66", which is reminiscent of their time together with the other top drummer of the day, Chico Hamilton. All in all, this is a highly successful live production by Atlantic Records! (In their archives, by the way, are about a dozen unreleased Charles Lloyd recordings that are waiting to see the light of day.) In general, the present recording is rated higher than the LP "In Europe", because the compositions leave behind a stronger impression on the listener.