It was one of the most important nights of jazz music to take place in Northern California in a very long time.

And where else could that possibly occur but down in Monterey?

The 69th annual Monterey Jazz Festival came to a close in historic fashion as three of the top 5 greatest living (and still performing) jazz musicians — Charles Lloyd, Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter — appeared on the same stage on the same night.

To add even more gravitas to the event, all three of the artists were celebrating hugely significant milestones during their performances.

Lloyd was the first to take the festival’s big Jimmy Lyons arena stage on Sunday night (Sept. 27), returning to the site of one of his greatest artistic triumphs — and, without a doubt, his No. 1 commercial success. Yes, he was back at the very spot where he had recorded “Forest Flower: Charles Lloyd at Monterey” during the ninth annual installment of the festival on Sept. 18, 1966.

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of that iconic performance, the 88-year-old saxophonist/flutist revisited the masterpiece in glorious fashion, breathing new life into all five of the album’s tracks during a hour-plus-long set performed before a highly appreciative audience that absolutely knew the significance of what was going on.

Back when he recorded “Forest Flower,” a crossover success story that became one of the first jazz albums to sell over a million copies, Lloyd was accompanied by three all-world players — pianist Keith Jarrett, bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Jack DeJohnette. This time around, the cast was no less impressive as the saxophonist fronted a quartet of drummer Brian Blade, pianist Gerald Clayton and the Bay Area’s own Larry Grenadier on bass.

The group sounded fantastic as it opened with the “Forest Flower” suite — the upbeat “Forest Flower: Sunrise” with its bossa nova flavors into the more-meditative and exploratory “Forest Flower: Sunset” — which takes up all of Side 1 of the original album. Lloyd was nothing short of a dynamo on the second portion, pouring such passion and thought into sax solos that completely mesmerized the crowd.

Clayton, who also serves as an artistic advisor and helped program the festival, had arguably the most difficult task of the night in trying to handle Jarrett’s star-making piano work, particularly on “Sunset.” And yet he came through with flying colors.

Flipping over to Side 2, the four musicians managed to strike just the right balance in trying to stay true enough to the original recording while still managing to add their own distinct voices — circa 2026 — to the mix.

One can only hope that they were recording this performance and that Lloyd will release a “Forest Flower 2026” in the near future.

As Lloyd and company finished, organizers and fans turned their attention to yet another historically significant “only in Monterey” event that was about to take place.

“This is going to be an experience of one of one,” said Jason Olaine, a Palo Alto native who helped book the festival with Clayton. “So, if you weren’t here you there here.”

And with that introduction from the stage, out came 86-year-old pianist Herbie Hancock and 89-year-old bassist Ron Carter to perform a special centennial celebration of the birth of their old boss — Miles Davis.

These two first-tier jazz legends, who first played the festival as part of the Miles Davis Quintet in 1963, were indeed trying out something completely brand new in front of the massive crowd that filled the arena to capacity.

“This is just bass and piano,” Hancock commented. “I haven’t done this before. I’m new to this.”

Yet, the two old friends and longtime collaborators didn’t miss a beat as they got right down to business with a splendid take on the standard “Autumn Leaves” that opened this lovely evening of music associated with the one and only Miles Davis.

Hancock and Carter shared such chemistry, and seemed so joyful, as they continued on through the hard-bop classic “Walkin'” and then moved steadily through “Footprints” by brilliant songwriter (and fellow Davis sideman) Wayne Shorter and other numbers.

It was a brilliant evening of music by two of the finest jazz players of all time. And the stars on the stage seemed to enjoy it every bit as much as the fans in the crowd.

“Thank you for coming out and watching two old guys having fun,” Carter remarked the audience at the end of the set.

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