Charles Lloyd's big day was at the Fillmore West in 1967, when his blending of the sentimental aspects of Coltrane with lolloping gospel vamps and rock beats sold him to the Woodstock generation. In those days he was often a voluble player, but latterly he's played more economically, seemingly as interested in art and spiritualism as the tenor saxophone. Here, perhaps under the sobering sway of the ECM label, he focuses on hushed ballads, his "Ballade and Allegro" is reflective to the point of suspended animation. His band, including old associate Billy Higgins, adds welcome colour. Brad Mehldau makes much of the rattling whole-tone harmonies of "The Monk and the Mermaid", and on the title track guitarist John Abercrombie produces some atypically countrified musings which remind of that other sharecroppin' six-stringer Bill Frisell. The set is not without its expansive moments: when "Figure in Blue" evolves into a gentle bossa nova, Lloyd unleashes a virtual flurry. --Mark Gilbert