Album Review: Charles Lloyd Trios - "Chapel"

                                                              The Sninit Report

By Marjorie Snint

🎷 Charles Lloyd — Trios: Chapel (Blue Note, 2022) — Album Review

At age 84, Charles Lloyd continues to reaffirm his place as one of jazz’s most poetically expressive voices, and Trios: Chapel stands as both a culmination of long musical relationships and a fresh statement of intimacy and nuance.

Setting & Concept

Recorded live in Coates Chapel, San Antonio, this album emerged from a performance in a reverberant, drum-free space — a setting Lloyd chose deliberately because the chapel’s acoustics couldn’t support percussion. The result is music that feels spacious, contemplative, and deeply acoustic, rooted in breath and silence as much as melody.

Lloyd leads a trio with Bill Frisell (guitar) and Thomas Morgan (bass) — musicians deeply attuned to one another’s instincts. Their synergy is the album’s centerpiece: rather than locking into traditional swing or post-bop modes, they create a chamber-like sound where every note, rest, and harmonic nuance resonates.

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🛐 Musical Character & Highlights

The album is mellow but richly textured, a blend of jazz standards, past Lloyd compositions, and creative reinterpretations:

• “Blood Count” opens the set with a haunting, almost otherworldly reading of the Billy Strayhorn classic — delicate, reverent, and deeply expressive.

• “Song My Lady Sings” is an affectionate revisit of a 1960s Lloyd original. Here, Lloyd’s tenor dances around Frisell’s warm comping and Morgan’s responsive bass lines, giving the tune a new dimension.

• “Ay Amor”, a Cuban love song originally by Ignacio Jacinto Villa Fernández (Bola de Nieve), unfolds with a gentle, slow-burn pulse that showcases Frisell’s lyrical guitar voice and Morgan’s graceful rhythmic support.

• “Beyond Darkness” finds Lloyd on alto flute, enveloping the listener in a glowing, contemplative soundscape, while “Dorotea’s Studio” — a tribute to Lloyd’s partner Dorothy Darr — closes the album with meditative warmth and gentle interplay among the trio.

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🎧 Artistic Strengths

1. Deep Empathy Among Players
Frisell and Morgan aren’t just accompanists — they engage in mutual musical conversation with Lloyd. Their ability to listen and respond transforms the trio into a singular voice rather than a leader plus rhythm section.

2. Economy of Sound
The absence of drums shifts focus to space, texture, and color. Moments breathe; phrases unfold slowly but with deep deliberation, giving the music a quiet emotional power.

3. Reflective, Mature Expression
Rather than showcasing technical fireworks, this album offers spiritual depth and lyrical introspection, characteristic of Lloyd’s later career but elevated here by setting and ensemble rapport.

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🎼 Who This Album Is For

Trios: Chapel will especially resonate with listeners who enjoy:

• Contemplative jazz that emphasizes texture and mood.

• Intimate, acoustic trio interactions.

• The lyrical side of Charles Lloyd’s playing and composition.

• Works by Bill Frisell that blur jazz with folk and ambient sensibilities.

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⭐ Summary

Trios: Chapel isn’t about jazz pyrotechnics — it’s about presence, connection, and sonic space. With Lloyd’s warm tone, Frisell’s distinct voice, and Morgan’s elegant grounding, this album offers a subtle yet profound listening experience that rewards repeated engagement.