“Today, I bring with me everything I’ve ever played, but I try to maintain ‘beginner's mind.’ I have both the benefit of experience and the desire for new discoveries. You can’t bring everything you know all at once… that's the error of youth. I’m not denying the young Charles, but as my character becomes whole, the music gets better. You have to choose the right notes. There are some notes on the saxophone I didn’t have as a young man. They aren’t on the horn; they’re in between the cracks.” — Charles Lloyd

Royce Hall and UCLA hold a special history for legendary saxophonist Charles Lloyd. In the 1960s he sold out two nights in the famed concert hall with his quartet featuring Keith Jarrett, Ron McClure and Jack DeJohnette. This year he returns with an equally astonishing group of musicians featuring pianist Gerald Clayton, guitarist Marvin Sewell, bassist Reuben Rogers, and drummer Eric Harland to perform from his most recent album, Kindred Spirits. 

What connects all of Charles Lloyd’s work over the past 60 years are his unforgettable two-bar and four-bar phrases and his focus on the spiritual quality of sound. Melody, rhythm and emotion are bonded so tightly in these musical molecules that the elements can’t be separated. This is particularly evident in Kindred Spirits. CAP UCLA is honored to bring back one of our favorite musicians to perform at Royce Hall once again.