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at a glance...
Hometown: Shenandoah, IA
First Recordings: 1958
Orchestra Members:
Charlie Haden -bass
Perry Robinson -clarinet
Gato Barbieri -tenor saxophone, clarinet
Dewey Redman -alto and tenor saxophones
Don Cherry -cornet, flutes
Mike Mantler -trumpet
Roswell Rudd -trombone
Bob Northern -french horn, percussion, whistle
Howard Johnson -tuba
Sam Brown -guitars
Carla Bley -piano
Paul Motian -drums, percussion
Andrew Cyrille -drums, percussion
Notes:
Charlie Haden's bass playing is widely respected for its purity of tone, its knowing simplicity, and its remarkable versatility. He began his career playing on the West Coast with Art Pepper, Elmo Hope, and Hampton Hawes. His real breakthrough came as a vital member of Ornette Coleman's pioneering avant-garde quartet in the late 1950s. Although he often returned to Coleman's group, Haden also developed two influential but dramatically different ensembles: the politically charged, progressive Liberation Music Orchestra and the elegant, mainstream Quartet West.
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Charlie Haden
Liberation Music Orchestra
Impulse, Recorded 1969
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As a key member of Ornette Coleman's groundbreaking free-jazz ensemble and a leader of his own cool-toned, noirish Quartet West, Haden's willingness to embrace the entire spectrum of jazz remains unquestioned. On this amazingly complex and ambitious record, which debuted the Liberation Music Orchestra, the bassist taps into this diversity and versatility to create a stirring and passionate statement. Drawing heavily on Spanish folk themes from the Civil War era, this big-band monster offers chaotic wails, joyous celebrations, urgent marches, and introspective interludes. Haden's anti-fascist political overtones are the prism through which these nine songs are refracted.
Pianist Carla Bley, who would soon build her orchestra from this band's components, contributes lively arrangements of simple traditional melodies and also adds three original instrumental passages. Many familiar names dot the band's roster: Gato Barbieri, Dewey Redman, Don Cherry, Howard Johnson, Paul Motian, to name a few, and although each offers their individual improvisations, the emphasis here is on collective improvisation and freedom. Haden's strikingly pure bass tones guides the orchestra through both folk-oriented turns and classical-oriented ideas. His wonderful solos own a primitive and organic feel and his two compositions are emotionally charged and thought-provoking. Sam Brown's flamenco-tinged guitar enhances the Old World mood.
It's a rare orchestra that can move from Ornette Coleman's unsettling "War Orphans" to Bley's playful and wobbling "The Interlude (Drinking Music)" to a stately, tension-releasing reading of Pete Seeger's "We Shall Overcome." Play this album for your simple-minded friends who believe jazz is nothing more than background music for candlelight dinners.
If you like Charlie Haden, check out:
Astor Piazzolla Tango: Zero Hour
ICP Orchestra Jubilee Varia
Paul Motian Bill Evans
Michael Mantler Communications
Ornette Coleman Change of the Century
-- Marc Greilsamer
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