Wikipedia

Charlie Haden

Charles Edward Haden(August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an Americanjazzdouble bassplayer, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than fifty years. Haden helped to revolutionize the harmonic concept of bass playing in jazz, evolving a style that sometimes complemented the soloist, and other times moved independently, liberating bassists from a strictly accompanying role.

Charlie Haden
Haden in 1981
Haden in 1981
Background information
Birth nameCharles Edward Haden
Born(1937-08-06)August 6, 1937
Shenandoah, Iowa,U.S.
DiedJuly 11, 2014(2014-07-11)(aged 76)
Los Angeles, California,U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, bandleader, educator
InstrumentDouble bass
Years active1957–2014
Formerly of
Spouse
Ellen David
​
​
(m.1966;div.1976)​
[1][2]
​
(m.1984)​
[3][4]

In the late 1950s, he was an original member of the ground-breakingOrnette ColemanQuartet. In 1969, he formed his first band, theLiberation Music Orchestra,featuring arrangements by pianistCarla Bley.In the late 1960s, he became a member of pianistKeith Jarrett's trio, quartet and quintet. In the 1980s, he formed his own band,Quartet West.Haden also often recorded and performed in a duo setting, with musicians including guitaristPat Methenyand pianistsHank JonesandKenny Barron.

GermanmusicologistJoachim-Ernst Berendtwrote that Haden's "ability to create serendipitous harmonies by improvising melodic responses to Ornette Coleman'sfree jazzsolos (rather than sticking to predetermined harmonies) was both radical and mesmerizing. His virtuosity lies (...) in an incredible ability to make thedouble bass'sound out'. Haden cultivated the instrument's gravity as no one else in jazz. He is a master of simplicity which is one of the most difficult things to achieve. "[5]

Biography

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Early life

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Haden was born inShenandoah, Iowa,on August 6, 1937.[6]His family was exceptionally musical and performed onKMAradio as the Haden Family, playingcountry musicand American folk songs.[7]Haden made his professional debut as a singer on the Haden Family's radio show when he was just two years old. He continued singing with his family until he was fifteen, when he contracted bulbarpolio.[6]At the age of fourteen, Haden had become interested in jazz after hearingCharlie ParkerandStan Kentonin concert. Once he recovered frompolio,Haden began in earnest to concentrate on playing the bass. Haden's interest in the instrument was not sparked by jazz, but the music ofJohann Sebastian Bach.[8]Haden soon set his sights on moving toLos Angelesto pursue his dream of becoming a jazz musician; to save money for the trip, he took a job as house bassist for theAmerican Broadcasting CompanyTV showOzark JubileeinSpringfield, Missouri.

Early career

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Haden often said that he moved to Los Angeles in 1957 in search of pianistHampton Hawes.[9]He turned down a full scholarship atOberlin College,which did not have an established jazz program at the time, to attend Westlake College of Music in Los Angeles.[10]His first recordings were made that year withPaul Bley,with whom he worked until 1959. He also played withArt Pepperfor four weeks in 1957, and with Hawes from 1958 to 1959.[7]For a time, Haden shared an apartment with bassistScott LaFaro.

In May 1959, Haden recordedThe Shape of Jazz to ComewithOrnette Coleman.[6]Haden's folk-influenced style complemented Coleman'sTexas blueselements. Later that year, the Ornette Coleman Quartet moved to New York City and secured a six-week residency at theFive Spot Café.[9]Ornette's quartet played everything by ear, as Haden explained: "At first when we were playing and improvising, we kind of followed the pattern of the song, sometimes. Then, when we got to New York, Ornette wasn't playing on the song patterns, like the bridge and the interlude and stuff like that. He would just play. And that's when I started just following him and playing the chord changes that he was playing: on-the-spot new chord structures made up according to how he felt at any given moment."[10]

In 1960, drug problems caused Haden to leave Coleman's quartet. He went torehabin September 1963 atSynanonhouses in Santa Monica and San Francisco, during which time he met his first wife, Ellen David. They moved to New York City'sUpper West Side,where their four children were born: their son, Josh, in 1968, and in 1971, their triplet daughters Petra, Rachel, and Tanya. They separated in 1975 and subsequently divorced.

1964 to 1969

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Haden resumed his career in 1964, working with saxophonistJohn Handyand pianistDenny Zeitlin,and performing withArchie Sheppin California and Europe. He also did freelance work from 1966 to 1967, playing withHenry "Red" Allen,Pee Wee Russell,Attila Zoller,Bobby Timmons,Tony Scott,and theThad Jones/Mel LewisOrchestra. He recorded withRoswell Ruddin 1966, and returned to Coleman's group in 1967. This group remained active until the early 1970s. Haden was known for being able to skillfully follow the shifting directions and modulations of Ornette's improvised lines.[7]

Haden became a member of Keith Jarrett's trio and his 'American Quartet' from 1967 to 1976 with drummer Paul Motian and saxophonist Dewey Redman.[6]The group also included percussionistGuilherme Franco.[9]He also organized the collectiveOld and New Dreams,which consisted ofDon Cherry,Redman, andEd Blackwell,who had also been members of Coleman's band. They continued to play Coleman's music in addition to original compositions in a style informed by Coleman.[11]

Liberation Music Orchestra

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In 1970 Haden received aGuggenheim Fellowshipon the recommendation ofLeonard Bernstein.Over the years, Haden received several NEA grants for composition. Haden founded his first band, theLiberation Music Orchestra( "LMO" ) in 1969, working with arrangerCarla Bley.Their music was very experimental, exploring both the realms offree jazzand political music. The first album focused specifically onmusic from the Spanish Civil War,which had markedly inspired Haden.[12]Inspired by the turbulent1968 Democratic National Conventionin Chicago, he superimposed songs such as "You're a Grand Old Flag"and"Happy Days are Here Again",contrasted with"We Shall Overcome".

The original Liberation Music Orchestra lineup consisted of Haden, Bley,Gato Barbieri,Redman, Motian, Don Cherry,Andrew Cyrille,Mike Mantler,Roswell Rudd,Bob Northern,Howard Johnson,Perry Robinson,andSam Brown.

Over the years, the LMO had a shifting membership comprising a "who's who" of jazz instrumentalists, and consisted of twelve members from multicultural backgrounds.[13]Its members also includedAhnee Sharon FreemanandVincent Chancey(French horn), Tony Malaby (tenor saxophonist) Joseph Daley (tuba), Seneca Black (trumpet), Michael Rodriguez (trumpet),Miguel Zenón(alto saxophone),Chris Cheek(tenor saxophone),Curtis Fowlkes(trombone), Steve Cardenas (guitar), andMatt Wilson(drums).[9]Through Bley's arranging, they employed not only more common trombone, trumpet and reeds but included the tuba and French horn. The group won multiple awards in 1970, including France'sGrand Prix du Disquefrom theAcadémie Charles Cros,and Japan's Gold Disc Award fromSwing Journal.[11]

While on tour with the Ornette Coleman Quartet inPortugalin 1971, Haden dedicated a performance of his "Song for Ché" to anti-colonial resistance movements in the Portuguese colonies ofMozambique,Angola,andGuinea.The following day, he was detained atLisbon Airport,jailed, and interrogated by theDGS,the Portuguese secret police. He was released only after Coleman and others complained to the American cultural attaché; Haden was later interviewed by the FBI about the dedication.[14]A mono recording of Haden's dedication and the audience's applause is included at the beginning of "For A Free Portugal" on his 1976 albumCloseness.[15]

Haden decided to form the LMO at the height of theVietnam War,out of his frustration that so much of the government's energy was spent on the war in lieu of internal problems. Haden's goal was to use the LMO to amplify unheard voices of oppressed peoples and express solidarity with progressive political movements from around the world. The LMO's 1982 albumThe Ballad of the Fallenon ECM commented again on theSpanish Civil Waras well as United States involvement in Latin America. The LMO toured extensively throughout the 1980s and 1990s.[13]In 1990, the orchestra returned withDream Keeper,inspired by a poem byLangston Hughes,which also drew on Americangospel musicandSouth African musicto comment on racism in the United States andapartheidin South Africa. The album featured choral contributions from the Oakland Youth Chorus. In 2005, Haden released the fourth Liberation Music Orchestra album,Not in Our Name,a protest against theIraq War.

1982–2000

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Haden in 1990

In 1982, Haden established the Jazz Studies Program atCalifornia Institute of the ArtsinValencia, Santa Clarita.His program emphasized smaller group performance and the spiritual connection to the creative process. He encouraged students to discover their individual sounds, melodies, and harmonies. Haden was honored by the Los Angeles Jazz Society as "Jazz Educator of the Year" for his educational work in this program.[11]Haden's students includedJohn Coltrane's son, tenor saxophonistRavi Coltrane,trumpeterRalph Alessi,pianist and composer James Carney and bassistScott Colley.[8][16]

In 1984, Haden met the singer and actressRuth Cameron.They married in New York City, and throughout their marriage, Ruth managed Haden's career as well as co-producing many albums and projects with him.

In 1986, Haden formed his bandQuartet Westat Ruth's suggestion. The original quartet consisted ofErnie Wattson sax,Alan Broadbenton piano, and long-time collaborator Billy Higgins on drums. Higgins was later replaced byLarance Marable.When Marable became too ill to perform, drummer Rodney Green was added to the band. In addition to original compositions by Haden and Broadbent, their repertoire also included 1940s pop ballads which they played in a noir-infused, bop-oriented style.[9] A brief collaboration with tenor saxophonistJoe Hendersonand drummerAl Fostershowcased Haden's playing in a more hard-driving jazz context.

In 1989, Haden inaugurated the "Invitation "series at theMontreal Jazz Festival.With different musicians he selected, they performed in concert for eight consecutive nights of the festival. Each of these events was recorded, and most have been released in the series,The Montreal Tapes.

In 1994,Ginger Baker,legendary drummer from the bandCream,formed another trio called The Ginger Baker Trio with Haden and guitaristBill Frisell.

Duets:Haden performing in duets as he loved the intimacy the format provided. In 1995, Haden releasedSteal Away: Spirituals, Hymns and Folk Songswith pianistHank Jones,an album based on traditional spirituals and folk songs. Haden both played on and produced the album.[17]In late 1996, he collaborated with guitarist Pat Metheny on the albumBeyond the Missouri Sky (Short Stories),exploring the music that influenced them in their childhood experiences in, respectively southwest Iowa and northwest Missouri, with what Haden called "contemporary impressionistic Americana". Haden was awarded his first Grammy award for the album, for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance.[18]

In 1997, classical composerGavin BryarswroteBy the Vaar,an extended adagio for Haden. Instrumentation included strings, bass clarinet and percussion. The piece was recorded with theEnglish Chamber Orchestra,on the albumFarewell to Philosophy.It is a synthesis of jazz and classical chamber music, featuring resonant pizzicato notes and gut strings in imitation of Haden's bass sound.[11]

2000–2014

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Haden in 2007

In 2001, Haden won theLatin Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz CDfor his albumNocturnewhich containsbolerosfrom Cuba and Mexico. In 2003, he won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Performance for his albumLand of the Sun.[11]Haden reconvened the Liberation Music Orchestra in 2005, with largely new members, for the albumNot In Our Name,released onVerve Records.The album dealt primarily with the contemporary political situation in the United States.

In 2008, Haden co-produced, with his wife Ruth Cameron Haden, the albumRambling Boy.It features several members of his immediate family, including Ruth Cameron, his musician triplets, son Josh, and Tanya's husband, singer and multi-instrumentalistJack Black.They were joined by banjoistBéla Fleck,and guitarist/singersVince Gill,Pat Metheny,Elvis Costello,Rosanne Cash,Bruce Hornsby(piano and keyboards), among other top Nashville musicians.[11]The album harkens back to Haden's days of playingAmericanaand bluegrass music with his parents on their radio show. The idea came to Haden when his wife Ruth gathered the Haden family together for his mother's 80th birthday and suggested they all sing "You Are My Sunshine"in the living room, as that was a song everyone knew.[19]Rambling Boywas intended to connect music from his early childhood in the Haden Family band to the new generation of the Haden family as well. The album includes songs made famous by theStanley Brothers,theCarter Family,andHank Williams,in addition to traditional songs and original compositions.

In 2009, Swiss film director Reto Caduff released a film about Haden's life, titledRambling Boy.It screened at theTelluride Film Festivaland at theVancouver International Film Festivalin 2009. In the summer of 2009, Haden performed again with Coleman at theMeltdown FestivalinSouthbank, London.He also performed and produced duet recordings with pianistKenny Barron,with whom he recorded the albumNight and the City.In February 2010, Haden and pianist Hank Jones recorded a companion toSteal Away: Spirituals, Hymns and Folk SongscalledCome Sunday.Jones died three months after the recording of the album.[11]

In September 2014, three months after his death, the newly reactivated Impulse! label releasedCharlie Haden-Jim Hall,a recording of a duo performance at the 1990 Montreal International Jazz Festival. "This album documents a rarified journey", wrote pianist Ethan Iverson in the album's liner notes. Although terminally ill, Haden produced and worked on the album. In June 2015, Impulse releasedTokyo Adagio,a 2005 collaboration with Gonzalo Rubalcaba, similarly produced by Haden when he was near death.[20]

Awards

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In 2012, Haden was a recipient of theNEA Jazz Masters Award.

In 2013, Haden received theGrammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 2014, Haden was bestowed theChevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettresby theFrench Ministry of Culture.A posthumous ceremony in his honor took place in New York City in 2015, where his widow Ruth was presented with the medal.

Legacy

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Spirituality and teaching method

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While he did not identify himself with a specific religious orientation, Haden was interested in spirituality, especially in association with music. He felt it was his duty, and the duty of the artist, to bring beauty to the world, to make this world a better place. He encouraged his students to find their own unique musical voice and bring it to their instrument. He also encouraged his students to be in the present moment: "there's no yesterday or tomorrow, there's only right now", he explained.[13]In order to find this state, and ultimately to find one's spiritual self, Haden urged one to aspire to have humility, and respect for beauty; to be thankful for the ability to make music, and to give back to the world with the music they create. He claimed that music taught him this process of exchange, so he taught it to his students in return.[13]Music, Haden believed, also teaches incredibly valuable lessons about life: "I learned at a very young age that music teaches you about life. When you're in the midst of improvisation, there is no yesterday and no tomorrow—there is just the moment that you are in. In that beautiful moment, you experience your true insignificance to the rest of the universe. It is then, and only then, that you can experience your true significance."[19]

Musical philosophy

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Haden also viewed jazz as the "music of rebellion" and felt it was his responsibility and mission to challenge the world through music, and through artistic risks that expressed his own individual artistic vision. He believed that all music originates from the same place, and because of this, he resisted the tendency to divide music into categories. He was democratic in his tastes and musical partners, and was interested in musical collaboration with individuals who shared his sensibilities in music and life.[13]His music (specifically the music he created with the LMO), was based on the music of peoples struggling for freedom from oppression. Haden spoke to this in reference to his 2002 albumAmerican Dreams,stating: "I always dreamed of a world without cruelty and greed, of a humanity with the same creative brilliance of our solar system, of an America worthy of the dreams of Martin Luther King, and the majesty of the Statue of Liberty...This music is dedicated to those who still dream of a society with compassion, deep creative intelligence, and a respect for the preciousness of life—for our children, and for our future."[9]

Musical style

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In addition to his lyrical playing, Haden was known for his warm tone and subtle vibrato on the double bass. His approach to the bass stemmed from his belief that the bassist should move from an accompanying role to a more direct role in group improvisation. This is particularly clear in his work with the Ornette Coleman Quartet where he frequently improvised melodic responses to Coleman's free-form solos instead of playing previously written lines.[7]He frequently closed his eyes while performing, and assumed a posture in which he bent himself around the bass until his head was almost at the bottom of the bridge of the bass.[13]

In an interview with Haden, pianistEthan Iversonnoted that Haden's "combination of folk song, avant-garde sensibility, and Bach-like classical harmony is a stream in this music just as distinctive asThelonious MonkorElvin Jones."[21]

Haden owned one three-quarters-sized bass, and one seven-eighths-sized bass. The larger bass was one of a small number of basses made byJean-Baptiste Vuillaumein the nineteenth century. He greatly valued this bass, playing it only at recording sessions and jobs in close proximity to his home so as not to risk damaging it in transit. He attributed the bass's special and valuable nature to the varnish used by Vuillaume.[8]

Haden suffered fromtinnitusandhyperacusis.As a result, when he played with a drummer, he had to play behind a Plexiglass divider.[8]

Keith Jarrett said of Charlie's way of playing: "He wanted to relate to the material in a very personal style all the time. He wasn't somebody to get into a groove and just enjoy it simply because it was a groove".

Personal life

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Charlie's sonJosh Hadenis a bass guitarist and singer in the groupSpain.Charlie's three daughters,Petra,TanyaandRachel,who are triplets, are all singers and instrumentalists. All four children come from a previous relationship with Ellen David.[22][23]Petra plays the violin, Rachel plays the piano and bass guitar, and Tanya, a visual artist, plays the cello. They have a band calledThe Haden Tripletsand recorded their self-titled album in 2012. Comedian, actor, and musicianJack Blackis Charlie's son-in-law via Tanya.[24][25]

Death

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Haden died in Los Angeles on July 11, 2014, at the age of 76. He had been suffering frompost-polio syndromeand complications from liver disease.[26][27][28]A memorial concert was held at New York City's Town Hall on January 13, 2015, produced and organized by his wife Ruth.[29]

Discography

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Main article:Charlie Haden discography

References

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  1. ^"'Live In The Present': Charlie Haden Remembered ".Npr.org.
  2. ^"Haden Triplets".Hadentriplets.com.
  3. ^"Jazz icon Charlie Haden dies at 76".The Guardian.July 12, 2014.ISSN0261-3077.RetrievedSeptember 8,2023.
  4. ^Chinen, Nate (July 12, 2014)."Charlie Haden, Influential Jazz Bassist, Is Dead at 76".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedSeptember 8,2023.
  5. ^Joachim Berendt,The Jazz Book
  6. ^abcdAllMusic Biography
  7. ^abcdKernfeld, Barry."Haden, Charlie".RetrievedApril 18,2014.
  8. ^abcdDavis, Francis (August 2000)."Charlie Haden, Bass".The Atlantic.RetrievedApril 17,2014.
  9. ^abcdef"Biography".Verve Music. Archived fromthe originalon September 1, 2016.RetrievedApril 18,2014.
  10. ^abHeckman, Don (April 19, 2011)."Charlie Haden: Everything Man".Jazz Times.RetrievedApril 18,2014.
  11. ^abcdefg"Charlie Haden Official Website".RetrievedApril 18,2014.
  12. ^Fordham, John(August 2, 2004)."A blue note for Bush".Salon.RetrievedJanuary 12,2023.
  13. ^abcdefConnor, Kimberly Rae (2000).Imagining Grace.Illinois, USA: University of Illinois Press. p. 246.
  14. ^"Jazz Legend Charlie Haden on His Life, His Music and His Politics".Democracy Now.September 1, 2006. Accessed January 5, 2009.
  15. ^Closeness; liner notes(Vinyl LP). USA: Horizon. 1976.
  16. ^"Red Cat"(PDF).Red Cat.
  17. ^Giddins, Gary(1998).Visions of Jazz: The First Century.New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp.19–23.
  18. ^"Past Winners Search".GRAMMY.com.RetrievedJune 23,2012.
  19. ^ab"Charlie Haden Returns To His Bluegrass Roots".NPR.RetrievedApril 18,2014.
  20. ^Charlie Haden and Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Tokyo Adagio,Pop Matters,Jedd Beaudoin, August 11, 2015. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  21. ^Iverson, Ethan (March 2008)."Interview with Charlie Haden".Do The Math.RetrievedNovember 18,2016.
  22. ^"Haden Triplets".Hadentriplets.com.October 11, 2020.RetrievedAugust 6,2024.
  23. ^"Josh Haden".Thebluemoment.com.RetrievedAugust 6,2024.
  24. ^Weigle, Lauren (February 22, 2015)."Tanya Haden – Jack Black's Wife".Heavy.RetrievedNovember 18,2017.
  25. ^"Jack Black Elopes with Tanya Haden".People.November 8, 2008.RetrievedSeptember 30,2019.
  26. ^Peter Hum,"RIP, Charlie Haden",Ottawa Citizen,July 12, 2014.
  27. ^Myers, Marc (july 14, 2014),"Giving the Bass a Voice",Wall Street Journal.
  28. ^Myers, Marc (July 15, 2014),"Charlie Haden (1937–2014)",JazzWax.ArchivedJuly 20, 2014, at theWayback Machine.
  29. ^Ratliff, Ben (January 14, 2015)."Jazz Musicians Memorialize Charlie Haden".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedFebruary 9,2016.
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