Of Course, Of Course

Recorded in 1964-65 for Columbia, "Of Course, Of Course" was Charles Lloyd's second album as leader and his first with the young rhythm section of Ron Carter and Tony Williams, paired here with guitarist Gabor Szabo rather than piano, giving the group an unusually open, exploratory sound. Lloyd, a Memphis-born saxophonist and flutist steeped in blues and gospel who had passed through the Chico Hamilton Quintet and Cannonball Adderley's group, was on the verge of the crossover fame that his next album, "Forest Flower," would bring him at the Monterey Jazz Festival. The absence of a chordal piano and the presence of Szabo's guitar let the quartet move fluidly between hard-bop drive, modal exploration, and lyrical, almost folk-tinged balladry. Original compositions like the title track and "Third Floor Richard" sit alongside standards such as "The Best Thing For You" and "The Things We Did Last Summer," showing Lloyd's range as both composer and interpreter. Carter and Williams, both already key voices in Miles Davis's mid-60s quintet, bring an elastic, conversational rhythmic freedom that anticipates the loosening of hard-bop conventions later in the decade. The record was praised on release for its combination of accessibility and adventurousness, and it is remembered as an important transitional statement bridging Lloyd's Chico Hamilton-era lyricism and the more expansive, spiritually inflected jazz he would pursue through the late 1960s. It remains a favorite among Lloyd collectors for the chemistry between Szabo's guitar textures and the young Carter-Williams rhythm team.