Jazz Articles about Charlie Haden

Charlie Haden: Land of the Sun

by Joshua Weiner
October 18, 2004

Charlie Haden's latest release explores the ballads of Mexican popular songwriter Jose Sabre Marroquin, again pairing the bassist with Gonzalo Rubalcaba, his compatriot on 2001's Grammy-winning Nocturne. Smoothly flowing, wistful melodies predominate, caressed by gently inventive arrangements by the Cuban pianist that feature an excellent group of musicians highlighted by Michael Rodriguez on trumpet and the redoubtable Joe Lovano on tenor sax. Needless to say, this gentle music is miles away from the fiercely avant-garde work with Ornette ...

Charlie Haden: Land of the Sun

by Dan McClenaghan
October 8, 2004

Most of the Latin jazz offerings out there seem to be focused on the sounds of Cuba and Brazil. Charlie Haden's Land of the Sun pulls us into a musical trip to Mexico with his takes on a set of eight songs from the pen of Mexican composer Jose Sabre Marroquin and one each from Augustine Lara and Armando Manzanero.Bassist Haden teams up once again with pianist Gonzalo Rubalcala, his collaborator on the Grammy-winning Nocturne. Rubalcala--a facile and ...

Charlie Haden/John Taylor: Nightfall

by John Kelman
April 23, 2004

Bassist Charlie Haden is in the enviable position of being able to play with pretty much anyone he wants. From his own Quartet West to duet recordings with Kenny Barron, Egberto Gismonti, and Pat Metheny to collaborations with Paul Bley, Joe Henderson, and Paul Motian, his spare yet deeply emotional approach has also made him a highly in demand session player. When the audiophile Naim gave him the chance to produce another in a series of duet recordings, his choice ...

Charlie Haden: An Analog Guy in a Digital World

by Clifford Allen
March 1, 2004

Born August 6, 1937 in Shenandoah, Iowa, Charlie Haden came up in a musical family. After moving around the Midwest, he eventually settled in Los Angeles playing bass with Hampton Hawes, Elmo Hope, and Paul Bley. A fateful meeting in 1958 with Ornette Coleman netted Haden one of his most infamous gigs, which continued with brief interruptions into the late 1960s. While noted for his sideman work on numerous landmark avant-garde recordings, as well as co-leading the star-studded Liberation Music ...

Charlie Haden Remembers Tomorrow

by Mike Brannon
March 7, 2003

"As long as there are musicians who have a passion for spontaneity, for creating something that's never been before, the art form of jazz will flourish." --Charlie Haden “The whole underlying theme for the new music...is to communicate honest, human values, and in doing that to try to improve the quality of life."--Charlie Haden (re: his Liberation Music Orchestra) If lower Manhattan is the Ellis Island for jazz and creative improvised music, the heartland ...

Charlie Haden with Michael Brecker: American Dreams

by Dan McClenaghan
October 22, 2002

American Dreams is an addition to Verve Records' collection of ..."with Strings" sessions pioneered by legedary producer Norman Granz. Charlie Parker, Ben Webster, Harry Carney and others gave this genre a shot for Verve. Something about the grit of the sax sound in front of the orchestral string washes that jazz fans seem to either love or hate. The strongest impression several listenings of of American Dreams leaves is: What a great quartet. “Charlie Haden with Michael Brecker" ...

Charlie Haden: Nocturne

by Jim Santella
February 1, 2002

What do you hear in darkness? The little things? Sounds that go unnoticed during the day. Crickets, creaking hinges, softly purring machinery, the hum of automobile traffic, and perhaps a distant television or radio. Night creatures are everywhere; but you don't see them. You hear the same things they hear, though; and it helps you to concentrate on your work.

Charlie Haden's ballad album, Nocturne , follows from his love of film noir. Like his Quartet West, this ...