Veronica Swift

Charles Lloyd is one of the most celebrated jazz artists in the world and was recently awarded a rare quadruple crown in DownBeat magazine’s critics’ poll–a feat only matched by John Coltrane.

Voted DownBeat magazine’s Artist of the Year in 1967, Charles Lloyd was again voted Artist of the Year in 2023. And in 2024 he was honored with a rare DownBeat Critic’s Poll quadruple crown; Hall of Fame, Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Tenor Saxophonist of the Year–John Coltrane being the only other artist to receive that honor.

I grew up immersed in the culture of jazz music, blessed to have had some of the greats as mentors, and I felt a deep familial duty to uphold that tradition. But as rooted in jazz as I’ve been, there’s a uniquely visceral power in rock and soul music that’s always fueled my creative passion, and rather than mask or confine that part of my identity, the people I admire most show themselves unabashedly and that’s the kind of tradition I want to be a part of. — Veronica Swift