60 Seconds With . . . Charles Lloyd

Jazz tenor saxophonist Charles Lloyd had a crossover hit in the late ‘60s with “Forest Flower.” A couple of years later, he was on hiatus, meditating at Big Sur, seeking the links between music, spirituality and life. That quest has continued to play a role since his return in the ‘80s as one of jazz’s most imaginative practitioners. He performs Sunday night at Catalina’s.

YOUR NEW CD, “RABO DE NUBE,” IS TITLED AFTER A SONG WRITTEN BY CUBAN COMPOSER SILVIO RODRIGUEZ. HOW DID YOU HAPPEN TO MAKE THAT CHOICE?

It goes back to when Billy Higgins and I were invited to Cuba by Silvio Rodriguez. But Higgins was ill and I never went. Later, around the time of 9/11, I learned the song; it was very poetic and touching. It says, “I wish I could be the tail of a cloud and come down and wash away your tears and sorrows.” When we finally played it in New York a few days after 9/11, there were big tears.

HIGGINS [WHO DIED IN 2001] WAS A GIFTED DRUMMER WHO SEEMED TO HAVE A POWERFUL IMPACT UPON EVERYONE WHO HAD ANY CONTACT WITH HIM.

He had this universal love. He always inspired me to continue on. What would I be without all the blessings I’ve had from people like him, and from having been around all these great masters -- Duke, and Strayhorn and the others? When you’re around a wise man or somebody who’s the real deal, you don’t have to have a lot of lyrics. When I sat around with Coleman Hawkins, we wouldn’t be talking all that much, but he’d just be looking at me and tuning me up and stuff. And the same thing with Johnny Hodges and Harry Carney and Master Higgins.

ON MARCH 15 YOU TURNED 70. THE BAND YOU’RE WORKING WITH PROBABLY AVERAGES HALF THAT AGE. HOW DOES THAT FEEL?

There don’t seem to be any problems with our age or chemistry, and that’s a beautiful thing. I don’t know that the age thing has to impede what informs us. And I’ve learned not to blow fuses the way I did as a young man.

YOU’VE ALSO BEEN MORE SUCCESSFUL IN A BUSINESS SENSE THAN MANY JAZZ MUSICIANS, ESPECIALLY WITH REAL ESTATE.

An artist friend, back in the ‘60s, once said to me, “You’ve got to find a way to endow your creativity.” And that was a landmark saying to me. Because we never grew up thinking about money. We grew up thinking about how to be better at this music. But when I first went to Malibu in ’69 there was a sign on the highway that said, “Welcome to Malibu the Gold Coast, where one good investment is worth a lifetime of labor.” And that thought wasn’t wasted on me.

YOU’VE BEEN EXPLORING THE SPIRITUAL TRADITION OF VEDANTA FOR MANY YEARS. HOW HAS IT AFFECTED YOU?

We should be kind to each other. We’re passing through here, it’s not our home, and you can’t build a house on a bridge, but the winds of grace are always blowing, and if we set our sails high, we can experience them.

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