The Guardian, (John Fordham), August 26, 2011
(4 stars) Lloyd's sound is like nobody else's, and this unusual album is a fascinating setting for it.
CD Description
'Athens Concert' is a major event, a very special live double album. It documents a stunning performance in front of a huge audience at the open air Odeon of Herodes Atticus, as Charles Lloyd, uniquely-expressive saxophonist, and Maria Farantouri, Greece's voice of resistance, come together. Friends for a decade, this is their first recorded collaboration.Lloyd's brilliant quartet is on hand and on fire, with Jason Moran in especially creative mode. Critics view the current Lloyd group as not only Charles's most consistently creative ensemble to date but also one of the very best groups in contemporary jazz. The band's last two albums, 'Rabo de Nube' and 'Mirror', were both poll-toppers.
On Athens Concert, the quartet plus Farantouri are augmented by lyra player Socratis Sinopoulos and second pianist/arranger Takis Frazio in a marvellous programme that includes songs by Mikis Theodorakis, suites of Greek traditional music, Eleni Karaindrou's 'Voyage to Cythera' and Lloyd originals including his classic 'Dream Weaver'. Recorded in Athens in June 2010, the music was mixed by Manfred Eicher and Jan Erik Kongshaug at Oslo's Rainbow Studio.
Lloyd: "From Maria's first notes I felt such a power and depth of humanity. She is a modern wonder rising up from the ruins of civilization. She is Alethea, Athena, Aphrodite, Demeter, Gaia, Phemonoe... Mother of the Universe. The resonance of her voice stirred the memory of my love for Billie Holiday." Maria Farantouri: "For me it was an aesthetic pleasure to work with Charles, becoming a unique experience on stage, as jazz music blended with the musical tradition of Greece, and transformed it into a wholly new sound."
Personnel: Charles Lloyd (tenor saxophone, flute, tarogato), Maria Farantouri (voice), Jason Moran (piano), Reuben Rogers (double-bass), Eric Harland (drums), Socratis Sinopoulos (lyra), Takis Farazis (piano)
