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On June 26, 1981, composer and saxophone great Charles Lloyd first graced the Lobero stage with his innovative and transcendent jazz.

In the decades since that first night, Lloyd has performed at the theatre nearly twenty times and has played a singular role in establishing the Lobero as one of the world’s greatest jazz venues.

Charles Lloyd has called Santa Barbara home since the 1980s but was born in Tennessee in 1938. As a teenager Lloyd immersed himself in the rich Memphis jazz scene, playing with music greats like George Coleman and B.B. King. In 1965, he formed the Charles Lloyd Quartet, featuring Keith Jarret on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums. Their live album “Forest Flower: Charles Lloyd at Monterey” became one of the first jazz records to sell a million copies.

Charles Lloyd has produced a whopping 46 albums, and in 2015 was recognized as a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master for his “ever-searching, spiritually charged music that combines his sharp improvisational skills with an interest in infusing jazz with non-Western musical styles.”

In 2018, Lloyd celebrated his 80th birthday with a performance at the Lobero which was released as the album “Charles Lloyd 8: Kindred Spirits: Live from the Lobero”. The Wall Street Journal raved that the album contained “fascinating blends of daring and elegance; of structural complexity and unfettered emotion; of accumulated wisdom and wide-eyed wonder…an octogenarian master, sounding vital as ever, distilling still further the clarity of his music.”

While we wait in the wings for things to return to normal, we hope you enjoy a peek into the Lobero archives.

We hope you’re staying safe and enjoying the arts from the comfort of your own home. Go ahead and read more stories below.