Last year’s Tone Poem album by his Marvels band was always going to be a tough act to follow, being Jazzwise critics’ annual poll topper. But Lloyd, an elder reedsman-flautist with shamanic powers, hasn’t become one of jazz’s few remaining living legends by sitting on his laurels, even at 84. He shifts, by shades, yet astutely in a new direction for the first of three trio CDs to be released in 2022.Trios: Chapel is titled after Coates Chapel, San Antonio, the setting for the ‘live’ recording and sonically it’s of exceptional quality. The iconic contemporary guitarist Bill Frisell, a lynchpin of the Marvels, is the common denominator. The close relationship he and Lloyd have fostered is built on a shared musical DNA of homespun, black-rooted popular Americana and a certain spiritual, some might say spaced-out, vibe. It’s superbly grounded by the addition of the elegantly responsive bassist Thomas Morgan, a close collaborator of Frisell’s. The absence of drums is key to the recording’s airily intimate feel and the looser ties to guitar-led retro stylings. On an early Lloyd composition ‘The Song My Lady Sings’ Frisell adds a warm glow of country-ish standards-jazz guitar while Morgan’s jauntily walking bass motors things along; Lloyd wraps his horn amorously around Cuban Bola de Nieve’s ‘Ay Amor’ with Frisell playing out with something reminiscent of the iconic bolero-like guitar hook from ‘My Girl’. Saving the best until last though ‘Beyond Darkness’ sees Frisell in more garage-y downtown mood with Lloyd’s butterfly-like flute offering deep shade as well as light, and ‘Dorotea’s Studio’ dedicated to Lloyd’s artist wife Dorothy is a charming, playful diversion. Three is absolutely a magic number here.