Lloyd McNeill - 1980 - Elegia

Lloyd McNeill

1980

Elegia

01. Samba For The Animals 7:41

02. Behind The Wind [Flute Solo] 2:24

03. Asha II 11:24

04. Elegiac Suite For Elizabeth 12:43

    4.1. Time

    4.2. The Mighty River

    4.3. The Wind

05. Striped Pants [With Cadenza] 3:18

06. Memory Cycle 7:40

Acoustic Guitar – Claudio Celso

Bass – Cecil McBee

Drums [Samba Only] – Portinho

Flute, Alto Flute – Lloyd Mc Neill

Percussion – Portinho (tracks: 5)

Percussion, Vocals – Naná Vasconcelos

Piano – Dom Salvador

Vocals – Susan Osborn

Recorded Dec., 13, 1979 at Right Track Recording, Studios NYC

I bought this in a record store without knowing anything about it because I misread the album credits and thought that the bassist was the great pianist Cecil Taylor - very happy to have made that mistake. Lloyd McNeill is a gifted flutist and assembles a great cast of players here, with this album occupying a space between jazz fusion and Latin jazz.

"Samba for the Animals" is a wonderful introduction into McNeill's playing, who manages to lead a group in a way that I've never heard another flutist do. Highly rhythmic and a stellar groove, his voicings are very sharp. From there he goes into the sprawling "Asha II" and "Elegiac Suite for Elizabeth", an ethereal track featuring Susan Osborn on vocals - early in the suite it almost sounds like a minimalist piece before settling into a Latin/fusion groove. The shorter tracks here ("Behind the Wind", "Striped Pants (With Cadenza)") are great as well, with the former being a very evocative solo piece while the latter almost functions as a release of tension before the final track. "Memory Cycle" is an intense closer that creates a haunting atmosphere without dissonance or harshness, rather with Cecil McBee's kinetic bass lines and Dom Salvador's meandering piano. Beautiful end to a beautiful record.

This is a great, very soulful jazz release and a must listen for any jazz fusion fans. Lloyd McNeill is also a gifted visual artist, having befriended Pablo Picasso and had his work displayed in numerous museums across the country. Here, his flute is his brush

This is the last of the 6 album run that Lloyd McNeill started with Asha in 1969. He did not change with the times. Despite being from 1980, it sounds every bit like a jazz record from the 1960s. Few, if any, could put the spirit in spiritual jazz like McNeill. In many cases the term is just a euphemism for free blow. Not with McNeill. All his pieces are highly composed and often times have a groove that just won't quit. One doesn't have to go any further than the opener 'Samba for the Animals' to underscore that latter point. McNeill also recreates his initial signature piece with 'Asha II', one of the most beautiful flute driven jazz pieces one can ever hear. Closer 'Memory Cycle' is another composition in this style of spiritual jazz. The one diversion here is 'Elegiac Suite for Elizabeth', an incredibly powerful track dedicated to the passing of his 80 year old mom Elizabeth B. McNeill. Here, McNeill and his mostly Brazilian backing band are joined by soprano singer Susan Osborn. It's not an easy listen, rather an intense portrayal. It's hard to imagine too many albums as out of time as Elegia was in 1980.