Saxophonist and composer Charles Lloyd remains an active musical presence over than 50 years into his career. In the late 1960s he appeared at the Fillmore in San Francisco, co-headlining bills with Jimi Hendrix & Janis Joplin (Lloyd’s 1967 album Love-In was recorded at the venue). He also guested with the Grateful Dead and recently entered the studio with Mickey Hart as captured in the video we’re premiering today.

Lloyd tells Relix, “Memories flooded forth when I walked into the studio with Mickey – the late 60s were wide open, we shared dreams of a better world – barriers were coming down and there was a lot of cross pollination taking place, FM radio was free form. When Bill Graham invited me to play at the Fillmore, we exposed jazz to a whole new set of ears. One day when I was on Tom Donahue’s FM radio show, he told me that the Grateful Dead were walking down the hall with my album ‘Dream Weaver’ and raving about it. We met eventually at the Fillmore and began to hang out and jam together – Jerry and I shared some very sweet times. We had fun jamming … I loved “Uncle John’s Band.” We also shared a double bill for a week at the Rock Garden. They always made sure that there was a good piano for us. Fast forward to 2015 – there was a wide open feeling of stepping into the unknown when Mickey and I were in the studio together.”

Hart adds his own thoughts, via poem:

“Think of a quiet stream

A fast noisy world…

Think of Love, think of Sorrow

The world in sound…

All this comes from Charles Lloyd’s horn”

—Mickey Hart