Like 1999's
Voice in the Night, The Water Is Wide features
Charles Lloyd in the company of one of his dearest friends, drummer
Billy Higgins, who would pass away less than a year after the album's release. Guitarist
John Abercrombie also remains on board, but
Lloyd extends the group's generational span by recruiting two younger players: pianist
Brad Mehldau and bassist
Larry Grenadier. The album begins with a straightforward, elegant reading of
Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia."
Lloyd goes on to lead his ensemble through two lesser-known Ellington pieces, "Black Butterfly" and "Heaven"; Strayhorn's "Lotus Blossom"; two original ballads, "Figure In Blue" and "Lady Day"; and
Cecil McBee's "Song of Her," a track from
Lloyd's 1968 classic, Forest Flower. It's a glorious amalgam of sound: the leader's unique, glissando-laden phraseology,
Mehldau's harmonic nuances, unerring rhythmic backbone from
Grenadier and the majestic
Higgins -- and only occasionally, pointed and eloquent guitarism from
Abercrombie. The session ascends to an even higher level with the inclusion of two spirituals, "The Water Is Wide" and "There Is a Balm in Gilead." The latter features just
Lloyd and
Higgins, starkly setting the melody against a hypnotic drum chant. In addition,
Lloyd's closing "Prayer," written for
Higgins during a life-threatening episode back in 1996, features just the composer,
Abercrombie, and guest bassist
Darek Oles. (Oddly,
Oles' credit is relegated to the fine print.) These tracks, most of all, resonate with personal meaning and profundity. ~ David R. Adler