Charles Lloyd

The Call ECM/***: Now available in ECM's mid-price Touchstones series, this was the first of three for the label by Lloyd's early to mid-1990s group with Bobo Stenson (piano), Anders Jormin (bass) and Billy Hart (drums).

And though it has its champions, it was surpassed by its successors, All My Relations and Canto . In part it may be the material, all composed by Lloyd; consisting mostly of slow, ballad-like pieces, it's attractive but doesn't stay in the mind afterwards. The leader's own musical personality, moreover, was still somewhere behind a facade of personal devices derived from Coltrane. Lloyd fans will be persuaded otherwise, but others may find the tenor's frequent recourse to 'Trane-ish flurries less rewarding. The plus for them is surely Stenson's work with longtime colleague Jormin and the stimulating Hart; together they lift an accomplished if slightly underwhelming album every time they are unleashed. www.music connection.org.uk

© 2008 The Irish Times