Jon Lloyd Quartet

“Anima”

(Jon Lloyd Music in association with ECN Music JLM01CD)

Jon Lloyd – tenor & soprano saxophones, John Law – piano, Nick Pini – double bass, Alex Goodyear – drums

Saxophonist and composer Jon Lloyd (born 1958) has enjoyed something of a creative renaissance in recent years as the leader of a quartet featuring his long time collaborator John Law on piano plus a rhythm section of bassist Nick Pini and rising star drummer Alex Goodyear. This line up recorded the acclaimed album “Earth Songs”, released on Ubuntu Music in 2024.

Lloyd has previously referred to this line-up as his “European Quartet”, the identifier inspired not by the geographical origins of the players but instead by the style of the music played by the group. As Lloyd has explained this is not American jazz rooted in the blues, but instead jazz informed by specifically European influences and sensibilities, and particularly classical music and folksong. The aesthetic of the German record label ECM and its founder Manfred Eicher has been cited as an inspiration and it remains a Lloyd ambition to actually record for the label. 

In July 2024 I reviewed a live performance by this quartet at Black Mountain Jazz in Abergavenny which largely focussed on material from the then recently released “Earth Songs” album plus a number of selections from the repertoire of Naissance, Lloyd’s ongoing duo with Law, re-arranged for quartet. My account of the Abergavenny show can be found here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/jon-lloyds-european-quartet-black-mountain-jazz-melville-centre-abergavenny-28-07-2024

“Anima”, the second release from this quartet picks up where “Earth Songs” left off and continues to explore jazz with a distinctly ‘European’ aesthetic. Perhaps the most obvious comparison is with the music of American pianist Keith Jarrett’s ‘European Quartet’ with Jan Garbarek, although by and large Lloyd avoids sounding too much like the celebrated Norwegian saxophonist, preferring to channel Garbarek’s aesthetic rather than his tone.

In January 2026 I enjoyed a performance by the Lloyd Quartet at the annual Bath Jazz Weekend which included some of the material that appears on the new “Anima” release. My review of that performance, which provides the basis for much of the above biographical detail, can be found as part of my BJW coverage here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/features/article/6th-annual-bath-jazz-weekend-widcombe-social-club-bath-friday-9th-january-2026

Just one week after the Bath show the quartet went into Sansom Studio in Birmingham for two days and recorded “Anima” in a ‘live in the studio’ situation with the musicians all playing in the same room at the same time rather than in separate booths. This has resulted in a warm, rich, natural sound masterminded by the engineering / production team of Olly Samson, John Law and Jon Lloyd.

Although Lloyd is a comparative veteran of the UK jazz scene and has been recording since 1990 his music is a fairly recent discovery for me. Indeed the Abergavenny show was the first time that I had actually seen him perform live, although I was already familiar with the playing of his three bandmates. Lloyd’s career has included the playing of free jazz with some of the leading practitioners of the art from both sides of the Atlantic, the writing and playing of more conventional small group jazz and a number of projects exploring the interface between jazz and contemporary classical music, most notably the Naissance duo with Law. The “Naissance” album, released in 2024 is reviewed here;

The new album features Lloyd’s compositions exclusively and commences with “Build a Fire”, an appropriately slow burning piece that builds upon Goodyear’s opening drum pattern and Pini’s accompanying bass motif, adding firstly piano and then the warm, rich rounded tone of the leader’s tenor sax, playing folk inspired melodies. The piece unfolds slowly and organically, gradually gathering a quiet intensity. Subtle gospel flavourings inform Law’s piano solo and there’s a certain air of spirituality about the music that, in keeping with the ‘European’ aesthetic, is more Tord Gustavsen than John Coltrane.

Title track “Anima” continues the mood of hushed reflection with Lloyd’s tenor brooding gently above the subtlest of rhythmic backdrops with Law, Pini and Goodyear all playing with commendable sensitivity. Lloyd gradually develops his tenor sax melodies before handing over to Law for a flowingly lyrical piano solo underpinned by Pini’s melodic double bass and Goodyear’s delicate brush work. It’s then back to Lloyd for further pensive tenor sax ruminations, gently shadowed by the other members of the group. Taken as a whole it’s all very beautiful.

“Dancing” commences with an extended passage of unaccompanied piano from the excellent Law that emphasises his classically honed technique. Lloyd eventually joins him, this time on soprano sax, together with Pini and Goodyear. Lloyd’s soprano then takes the lead for a series of subtly questing melodic explorations, skilfully shadowed by piano, bass and drums.

“Southern Cross” commences with the sound of dampened piano strings before Goodyear establishes a rapidly brushed drum groove,  this providing the impetus for Pini’s subsequent double bass explorations, his tone deep and resonant but also innately melodic. Lloyd subsequently takes over on tenor, probing deeply as his fellow musicians stoke the rhythmic fires around him. This time round the spirituality of the music edges closer to Coltrane for the first time, but without entirely abandoning the European aesthetic that defines this project.

Law introduces the wistful “Towards Tomorrow” which features the yearning sound of Lloyd’s tenor on a composition with a song like structure and a decidedly anthemic quality. Law is also featured as a piano soloist alongside the leader’s tenor.

Lloyd reverts to soprano for “Sheltering Sky”, a piece with a vaguely Middle Eastern feel that delivers one of the most robust performances of the album. Lloyd’s sinuous soprano incantations are underpinned by Law’s intensely rhythmic piano and the busy bustle of Goodyear’s hand drumming, one of his specialities as anybody who has seen him perform live can probably attest. This piece features the fieriest playing of the entire album.

“Priya” is a composition based around an Indian scale and is introduced by Law at the piano, his gently undulating arpeggios joined by tenor sax, bass and drums. Law’s hypnotic left hand figures help to create a drone like effect that underpins both Lloyd’s tenor sax meditations and his own compelling piano solo. Goodyear’s hand drums supply a deeply underlying rhythmic current on a piece with a genuinely ‘Indian’ feel and a deep sense of spirituality.

Goodyear introduces “Altamira” with delicate sounds of cymbal taps and shimmers before Law introduces the melody at the piano, joined by Lloyd on tenor sax. The tune develops into a spacious and intimate piece which the quartet approach in typically unhurried fashion, with Lloyd’s pensive tenor sax musings underpinned by the sounds of gently rippling piano, economical double bass and delicately brushed drums.

Ushered in by Law at the piano “Closer” explores broadly similar territory, but this time with a tad more urgency and with Lloyd featuring on soprano.

“(If) Only if” is a wistful ballad that features a melodic double bass solo from the excellent, but too easily overlooked, Nick Pini. Law follows with a mellifluous piano solo while Lloyd’s tenor expresses the heartfelt yearning implicit in the title as he improvises around the folk inspired melody.

The album concludes with the near eleven minute “Winter Light”, a composition that has also been played by the Naissance duo. The piece begins with a passage of unaccompanied piano, subsequently joined by Lloyd’s tenor as he and Law enter Naissance duo mode. Subsequently there’s another extended passage of solo piano, one that gradually gathers intensity, before dissipating once more. The music then mutates into the final quartet section with the addition of bass and drums, plus Lloyd’s exploratory tenor as he expounds above the loosely structured rhythmic backdrop.

The “Anima” album represents a worthy follow up to “Earth Songs” and sees Lloyd and the quartet continuing to hone, refine and develop their sound. It’s a sound that has won the group something of a cult following and their many fans will welcome this latest recording. “Anima” features intelligent writing and superb playing while the engineering and production ensures that everybody is heard at their best. It’s no exaggeration to say that this sounds and feels like an ECM recording, an observation that will probably make Jon Lloyd feel very proud as it very much represents a case of ‘mission accomplished’.

Doubtless there will be a few detractors who will dismiss the album as bland and bloodless, the ECM sound does have its detractors, but they are likely to be in a very small minority and on the whole the critical response to “Anima” has been overwhelmingly positive.

The album will also hold a huge appeal to Lloyd’s well established fanbase and with a running time in excess of seventy minutes and with no weak tracks the album also represents superb value for money. It’s an album that I very much enjoyed and it can be wholeheartedly recommended to Lloyd’s many fans and to fans of the ECM sound in general.

 

 

 

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