Charles Lloyd has signed with Blue Note Records and will release Wild Man Dance, his first album for the label in 30 years, on April 14. The album is a live recording of a long-form suite commissioned by the Jazztopad Festival in Wroclaw, Poland, according to a press release from Blue Note. Lloyd will present the North American premiere of the “Wild Man Dance Suite” on April 18 at the Metropolitan Museum Temple of Dendur in New York City followed by two performances of the work during a four-night stand at SFJAZZ (April 23-26) in San Francisco. Lloyd will also perform with his Quartet at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 2.
According to the Blue Note press release, the six-movement “Wild Man Dance Suite” was recorded in its premiere performance at the Jazztopad Festival and features pianist Gerald Clayton, bassist Joe Sanders and drummer Gerald Cleaver, as well as Greek lyra virtuoso Sokratis Sinopoulos and Hungarian cimbalom maestro Miklós Lukács.
On April 20, Lloyd will be awarded the NEA Jazz Masters honor. An awards ceremony and concert honoring the recipients will take place at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City.
