Charles Lloyd Quartet

Musical Mystik

Charles Lloyd sees himself as a »blues man on a spiritual journey, searching for the liberation of the soul«. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1938, he is a musical mystic – and a living legend. As a teenager, the saxophonist and flutist jammed with Howlin’ Wolf and B. B. King, and later played with avantgarde jazz musicians such as Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy. His current quartet, featuring musicians who are almost young enough to be his grandchildren, oscillates between unbridled freedom and an inward-focused sensitivity. The first of many international guests, they now kick start the celebrations marking the Elbphilharmonie’s fifth birthday.