Charles Lloyd, 75, continues to tour widely.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And finally this hour, saxophonist Charles Lloyd celebrates his 75th birthday today. He's become one of the most distinctive voices in jazz. Lloyd developed that voice backing blues musicians such as Howlin' Wolf and BB King. He toured with the Beach Boys and took a jazz quartet into the Fillmore, San Francisco's legendary rock venue and he's not done yet.

Lloyd is celebrating his birthday with a new album and series of concerts. NPR's Walter Ray Watson spent some time with him.

WALTER RAY WATSON, BYLINE: Charles Lloyd has a way of talking that sounds a lot like the notes from his saxophone, full of youthful energy, yet packed with experiences reserved for grown-ups.

CHARLES LLOYD: I heard Billie. I heard Dinah, I heard Aretha, you know, Marvin. I knew Sam Cooke. He used to come and get me and take me in his Ferrari up in the hills and stuff.

WATSON: Lloyd's namedropping comes from a lifetime in the company of celebrated artists. It all started when he was a kid in Memphis, where houseguests included Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Count Basie.

LLOYD: My mother had a large house, and there wasn't an adequate hotel, so these musicians would stay. And I had so many questions, and they were all very kind to me.

WATSON: Lloyd's fascination with music took him to amateur shows on Beale Street. When he was 7, he won second place as a singer, but that victory, he says, was short lived.

LLOYD: I was walking down the street in my neighborhood, which was called Orange Mound in those days, and a girl was approaching me, a little older than myself. And she looked at me and she said, you didn't deserve to win that prize. And she was right.

WATSON: So he changed course and picked up the saxophone, first an alto and later a tenor.

LLOYD: That piece of plumbing became my voice, and so, all these years I've been pursuing that singing sound because I still think of myself as a singer.

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LLOYD: Lloyd's professional connections with singers go way back, too. He first became friends with The Beach Boys in the '60s; they recorded and toured together. And he includes one of their signature songs on his latest album.

"God Only Knows," it's a Beach Boys song that I remember Carl Wilson used to sing with a very pure voice and it touched me very deeply. And I sort of filed that away as something that I wanted to play one day.

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WATSON: He plays it with pianist Jason Moran.

LLOYD: It's kind of classic Lloyd, in that he really steps beautifully through the melody. And I really just follow him as he moves.

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WATSON: Charles Lloyd's last record featured a singer, Maria Farantouri.

LLOYD: When I heard her sing, it moved me so much because there was Billie Holiday right before me when I heard Maria. They're not singing the same song, but the same heart informs you.

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WATSON: Lloyd met the Greek singer a decade ago. In 2010, the two played a program of traditional Greek and Byzantine melodies with jazz improvisation. Farantouri says she felt comfortable singing with Lloyd, and together, they began to build a bridge connecting ancient forms and jazz.

MARIA FARANTOURI: I remember the musicians, they started to smile, dancing with the rhythms, and then I felt that, OK, I think we can walk over the bridge.

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WATSON: Part of Lloyd's affinity for singers is his understanding of lyrics, says pianist Jason Moran.

JASON MORAN: Oftentimes when we're on the road, he is singing while we're waiting to board a plane. He is singing when we're checking into a hotel. The lyrics, he really takes them to heart when he plays those melodies. And I feel it every time he then decides to put the saxophone to his mouth.

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WATSON: Lloyd's connection to the human voice has kept his music distinctive, that, and the 75-year-old musician's childlike sense of wonder.

LLOYD: This 9-year-old music lover is still in here and it informs all I do.

WATSON: And maybe a little bit of that 7-year-old singer is still in there, too. Walter Ray Watson, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.