Charlie Haden has gone Home
July 12, 2014 11:49 AM Subscribe
Charlie Haden, one of the most influential jazz musicians of our time, is going home Here is Charlie, singing the old ballad Wayfaring Stranger - a fitting song for this occasion. Previously (somewhat repetitive, for background
Here are more entries about Charlie Haden.
One of the greats is gone, but he lives on through his music. I'll never stop listening.
Here are more entries about Charlie Haden.
One of the greats is gone, but he lives on through his music. I'll never stop listening.
Mr. Haden’s playing was just as crucial, for its feeling of unerring rightness in the face of an apparent ruckus.
word.
posted by chavenet at 12:03 PM on July 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
word.
posted by chavenet at 12:03 PM on July 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
He was a big influence on my development as a bassist.
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:05 PM on July 12, 2014
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:05 PM on July 12, 2014
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posted by quazichimp at 12:05 PM on July 12, 2014
posted by quazichimp at 12:05 PM on July 12, 2014
Here he is playing "Little Man With a Gun in His Hand" with the Minutemen.
posted by Ironmouth at 12:09 PM on July 12, 2014 [16 favorites]
posted by Ironmouth at 12:09 PM on July 12, 2014 [16 favorites]
> Here he is playing "Little Man With a Gun in His Hand" with the Minutemen.
HOW IS THIS SOMETHING I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT
posted by ardgedee at 12:12 PM on July 12, 2014 [5 favorites]
HOW IS THIS SOMETHING I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT
posted by ardgedee at 12:12 PM on July 12, 2014 [5 favorites]
Haden was one of the most influential musicians on my young self. His solo on part 2 of "Folk Songs" on Metheny's 80/81 blew my mind and made me want to learn bass. It's not sophisticated or elaborate. No fast runs, no effects, no high-register stuff to try to sound like a guitar. It's a simple trad melody played beautifully over and over again in different ways, and in every way using the bass as a bass.
When I read an interview later in which he explains in a jazz ensemble, the drummer is not responsible for keeping time, the bassist is, he blew my mind again. And he kept blowing my mind for decades. He was a soft-spoken genius and, by all accounts, just plain a hell of a guy.
posted by ardgedee at 12:15 PM on July 12, 2014 [5 favorites]
When I read an interview later in which he explains in a jazz ensemble, the drummer is not responsible for keeping time, the bassist is, he blew my mind again. And he kept blowing my mind for decades. He was a soft-spoken genius and, by all accounts, just plain a hell of a guy.
posted by ardgedee at 12:15 PM on July 12, 2014 [5 favorites]
what a great player. I saw him in a duo with Ed Thigpen on drums at a free concert in Atlanta once - that is a challenging format to pull off. I remember Haden did this thing where he could sound like whale song with the bow.
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posted by thelonius at 12:23 PM on July 12, 2014
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posted by thelonius at 12:23 PM on July 12, 2014
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A great jazzman and musician. Thanks for commemorating him here.
posted by languagehat at 12:25 PM on July 12, 2014
A great jazzman and musician. Thanks for commemorating him here.
posted by languagehat at 12:25 PM on July 12, 2014
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posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 12:26 PM on July 12, 2014
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 12:26 PM on July 12, 2014
I went to see the Liberation Music Orchestra a few years ago, as it was a very rare opportunity to see Robert Wyatt singing (he did a few South American revolutionary songs). The show was a part of Ornette Coleman's Meltdown festival at the Royal Festival Hall (MD'd by Carla Bley), and throughout the concert Charlie was heavily hinting that Ornette would come on and play something with them, but he was caught in traffic and only got there for the end of the encore. Charlie had him come out anyway so we could applaud and he could give Ornette a big hug.
I got the strong impression that he was one of the nicest men in the world.
posted by Grangousier at 12:27 PM on July 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
I got the strong impression that he was one of the nicest men in the world.
posted by Grangousier at 12:27 PM on July 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
I got the strong impression that he was one of the nicest men in the world.
I felt that too, even from a distance. Not only a musician at the top of his field, but more or less beloved by everyone. RIP Mr. Haden.
posted by LeLiLo at 12:45 PM on July 12, 2014
I felt that too, even from a distance. Not only a musician at the top of his field, but more or less beloved by everyone. RIP Mr. Haden.
posted by LeLiLo at 12:45 PM on July 12, 2014
the Minuteman clip - I know his son was an electric bass player toiling in the fields of punk rock - it must have been him who made the connection.
Speaking of connection, it was years before I knew that Petra Haden is his daughter.
posted by thelonius at 12:57 PM on July 12, 2014
Speaking of connection, it was years before I knew that Petra Haden is his daughter.
posted by thelonius at 12:57 PM on July 12, 2014
A gracious and lovely human being from what I've read, and a one of the Jazz greats too.
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posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 12:57 PM on July 12, 2014
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posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 12:57 PM on July 12, 2014
I was lucky enough to meet him once after a gig, and he did not disappoint - he seemed like a lovely bloke. Like ardgedee, one of my entry points to Haden was that solo on Metheny's 80/81. A lot of bassists will point out that Haden's technique was really poor (at least in terms of 'accepted' technique), but he always played the right notes at the right time and in tune, which is what counts. Thanks, Charlie.
posted by peterkins at 1:15 PM on July 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by peterkins at 1:15 PM on July 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
NOOOOOOOOOOOO
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 1:17 PM on July 12, 2014
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 1:17 PM on July 12, 2014
. He was a buddy of my husband's. Sad day.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:18 PM on July 12, 2014
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:18 PM on July 12, 2014
the Minuteman clip - I know his son was an electric bass player toiling in the fields of punk rock
That would be Josh, also known as the driving force behind the gorgeousness that is Spain. Josh is a dear friend of mine and my heart broke when I found out the news yesterday.
posted by mykescipark at 1:26 PM on July 12, 2014 [3 favorites]
That would be Josh, also known as the driving force behind the gorgeousness that is Spain. Josh is a dear friend of mine and my heart broke when I found out the news yesterday.
posted by mykescipark at 1:26 PM on July 12, 2014 [3 favorites]
This is so sad. Haden didn't just change the way I thought about playing the bass, he changed my life. When the first Ornette sides came out I was transfixed by Charlie's playing. He played the music. not the bass. And he came out of a country music background and it was in his playing, which really spoke to me. We were the same age and I identified with him deeply. I am devastated by this loss. I can't stop crying.
Charlie's motto for approaching the instument: "Play the wood."
posted by charlesminus at 1:26 PM on July 12, 2014 [7 favorites]
Charlie's motto for approaching the instument: "Play the wood."
posted by charlesminus at 1:26 PM on July 12, 2014 [7 favorites]
> I know his son was an electric bass player toiling in the fields of punk rock
Josh Haden leads Spain, and composed "Spiritual", a lovely song that Charlie Haden and Pat Metheny did justice to (and which, IMO, is the best track in part because it's the only one that Metheny doesn't overwhelm Haden's playing).
posted by ardgedee at 1:28 PM on July 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
Josh Haden leads Spain, and composed "Spiritual", a lovely song that Charlie Haden and Pat Metheny did justice to (and which, IMO, is the best track in part because it's the only one that Metheny doesn't overwhelm Haden's playing).
posted by ardgedee at 1:28 PM on July 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
As someone who spends half my time in punk bands (and already had a Ramones tribute show scheduled next week) and half my time as a working jazz bassist in Springfield, MO (where Charlie is a hometown hero) yesterday was just weird, powerful, and sucky. I still haven't processed this all.
posted by sourwookie at 1:53 PM on July 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by sourwookie at 1:53 PM on July 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
I remember when I "got into" jazz; I'd heard the university-student standards (Kind of Blue, Blue Train, Time Out!, and from an industrial angle I really liked Painkiller, Naked City, and the John Zorn canon), and went into a little shop in Mirvish Village in Toronto (Happy House, long since gone) and said "I like this stuff, what else will I like?"
The guy behind the counter -- it was Sunday, there was nobody else in the shop -- said "sit down" and gave me a set of headphones and basically spent probably three hours playing stuff for me.
I left in love with Mingus and Haden. I'm not sure why I gravitated towards bassists names "Charles" immediately, but 25+ years later, I have, have listened to, and like their music above all others.
Completing the Montreal Sessions series of CDs was a minor obsession of mine years ago. And from Charlie (H.) I stemmed out into the Liberation Music Orchestra, and Don Cherry, and Jane Bunnet, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Paul Bley...
Steal Away is still one of my gateway albums for people that think they might like jazz but are a little leery of it.
Sad day. A great day to listen to, and appreciate, one of the greats, though. Charlie Haden accomplished more in his life than most people ever will, and made an indelible mark on music. That's something to be happy about.
If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go drop a needle on twelve inches of The Golden Number and have a think.
posted by Shepherd at 1:54 PM on July 12, 2014 [5 favorites]
The guy behind the counter -- it was Sunday, there was nobody else in the shop -- said "sit down" and gave me a set of headphones and basically spent probably three hours playing stuff for me.
I left in love with Mingus and Haden. I'm not sure why I gravitated towards bassists names "Charles" immediately, but 25+ years later, I have, have listened to, and like their music above all others.
Completing the Montreal Sessions series of CDs was a minor obsession of mine years ago. And from Charlie (H.) I stemmed out into the Liberation Music Orchestra, and Don Cherry, and Jane Bunnet, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Paul Bley...
Steal Away is still one of my gateway albums for people that think they might like jazz but are a little leery of it.
Sad day. A great day to listen to, and appreciate, one of the greats, though. Charlie Haden accomplished more in his life than most people ever will, and made an indelible mark on music. That's something to be happy about.
If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go drop a needle on twelve inches of The Golden Number and have a think.
posted by Shepherd at 1:54 PM on July 12, 2014 [5 favorites]
With Hank Jones: Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
With Alice Coltrane: Triloka
A documentary about him, Rambling Boy is available - it's worth seeing for the *electrifying* footage of the Ornette Coleman Quartet they unearthed, but is moving overall.
posted by ryanshepard at 1:59 PM on July 12, 2014 [3 favorites]
With Alice Coltrane: Triloka
A documentary about him, Rambling Boy is available - it's worth seeing for the *electrifying* footage of the Ornette Coleman Quartet they unearthed, but is moving overall.
posted by ryanshepard at 1:59 PM on July 12, 2014 [3 favorites]
i learned about charlie haden through my love of his daughters' music. i had always hoped for a family album. here is the quote petra tweeted last night.
when the bass stops, the bottom kind of drops out of everything.
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posted by nadawi at 2:18 PM on July 12, 2014 [6 favorites]
when the bass stops, the bottom kind of drops out of everything.
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posted by nadawi at 2:18 PM on July 12, 2014 [6 favorites]
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posted by fingers_of_fire at 2:19 PM on July 12, 2014
posted by fingers_of_fire at 2:19 PM on July 12, 2014
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posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 2:21 PM on July 12, 2014
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 2:21 PM on July 12, 2014
He was fantastic when I saw him at the Village Vanguard in 2008 (with Ethan Iverson of the Bad Plus) — I had been hoping to see him again.
I recommend his album Nightfall. He also plays bass on an extraordinary album by John McLaughlin, My Goal's Beyond.
Keith Jarrett on Charlie Haden.
Playing a spiritual on Letterman. (Does anyone know who the singer is?)
posted by John Cohen at 2:38 PM on July 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
I recommend his album Nightfall. He also plays bass on an extraordinary album by John McLaughlin, My Goal's Beyond.
Keith Jarrett on Charlie Haden.
Playing a spiritual on Letterman. (Does anyone know who the singer is?)
posted by John Cohen at 2:38 PM on July 12, 2014 [2 favorites]
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posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 2:40 PM on July 12, 2014
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 2:40 PM on July 12, 2014
nadawi, I don't know if this is what you meant, but it does have all his kids on it - Charlie Haden Family and Friends - Rambling Boy
Not sure who's all on stage here but it's rather lovely - Spiritual.
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posted by hap_hazard at 2:43 PM on July 12, 2014 [3 favorites]
Not sure who's all on stage here but it's rather lovely - Spiritual.
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posted by hap_hazard at 2:43 PM on July 12, 2014 [3 favorites]
ooooh i somehow completely and totally missed that. thanks!
posted by nadawi at 2:49 PM on July 12, 2014
posted by nadawi at 2:49 PM on July 12, 2014
on total lack of preview- dang it.
I haven't had a chance to watch all of this yet, but it looks like a full-length documentary about the album?
posted by hap_hazard at 2:52 PM on July 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
I haven't had a chance to watch all of this yet, but it looks like a full-length documentary about the album?
posted by hap_hazard at 2:52 PM on July 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
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Musicians eat free in heaven this weekend, right?
posted by spitbull at 3:44 PM on July 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
Musicians eat free in heaven this weekend, right?
posted by spitbull at 3:44 PM on July 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
Also, charlesminus, great comment (and username!). I was also a bassist for years and "he played the music not the bass" is a hell of an epitaph.
posted by spitbull at 3:46 PM on July 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by spitbull at 3:46 PM on July 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
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I was just explaining Charlie Haden to my wife, while listening to Bill Frisell, telling her how they would both play with everyone, any style, without ever showing off…
posted by kozad at 3:51 PM on July 12, 2014 [3 favorites]
I was just explaining Charlie Haden to my wife, while listening to Bill Frisell, telling her how they would both play with everyone, any style, without ever showing off…
posted by kozad at 3:51 PM on July 12, 2014 [3 favorites]
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I had a chance to see him perform at a casual, intimate little concert in college. It was fantastic.
"Spiritual", which ardgedee mentions above, is from the album Beyond the Missouri Sky (Short Stories), an excellent collaboration between Haden and Pat Metheny. I've always loved "The Precious Jewel" from that album as well.
posted by zachlipton at 3:58 PM on July 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
I had a chance to see him perform at a casual, intimate little concert in college. It was fantastic.
"Spiritual", which ardgedee mentions above, is from the album Beyond the Missouri Sky (Short Stories), an excellent collaboration between Haden and Pat Metheny. I've always loved "The Precious Jewel" from that album as well.
posted by zachlipton at 3:58 PM on July 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
♪
posted by Smart Dalek at 5:41 PM on July 12, 2014
posted by Smart Dalek at 5:41 PM on July 12, 2014
RIP Charlie Haden. A wonderful musician, and by many accounts a fine person.
I will relate one story that shows him in not such a great light, but with the understanding that it is only one incident, and by relating the story it is not my intention to disparage the man. But, just for the record…
I lived for several months in Brussels, Belgium in 1983. My apartment there was one flight above a jazz club, where I played a couple of times and which saw lots of great jazz musicians come through. The fellow who ran the place (don't want to use his name here) was a real sweetheart of a guy, and really busted his ass (and usually lost his shirt) running the club and bringing world class jazz artists to his venue (during the 9 months I lived there he hosted, for example, Sun Ra, Steve Lacy, the World Saxophone Quartet and many many others).
Anyway, he told me a story of an earlier time (before I was living there) when Charlie Haden played his club. My friend was behind the bar as usual (incredibly, it was pretty much a one man operation: he took tickets, ran the bar, did sound, dealt with the musicians, everything) and it was just about time for Haden and his band to take the stage. Haden suddenly announced to my friend that he couldn't play, wasn't going to play, unless he had a glass of fresh carrot juice. Yup. Fresh carrot juice. It's about 9pm in Brussels, Belgium, my friend has got a roomful of customers, he's tending bar, and suddenly he's gotta get fresh carrot juice. Like, the kind you need a juicer and carrots to get. Apparently Haden wouldn't budge, he had to have it. So my friend has to leave the bar in the hands of a friend and go out into the Brussels night to try and locate fresh carrot juice. Somehow he located something that was to Haden's satisfaction, and the show went on.
Anyway, like I said, there are many on record as saying Charlie Haden was a great person and a real gentleman, and I don't doubt those accounts at all. This was one instance, however, when that certain kind of prima donna-ism that some artists can sometimes display shone through.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:12 PM on July 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
I will relate one story that shows him in not such a great light, but with the understanding that it is only one incident, and by relating the story it is not my intention to disparage the man. But, just for the record…
I lived for several months in Brussels, Belgium in 1983. My apartment there was one flight above a jazz club, where I played a couple of times and which saw lots of great jazz musicians come through. The fellow who ran the place (don't want to use his name here) was a real sweetheart of a guy, and really busted his ass (and usually lost his shirt) running the club and bringing world class jazz artists to his venue (during the 9 months I lived there he hosted, for example, Sun Ra, Steve Lacy, the World Saxophone Quartet and many many others).
Anyway, he told me a story of an earlier time (before I was living there) when Charlie Haden played his club. My friend was behind the bar as usual (incredibly, it was pretty much a one man operation: he took tickets, ran the bar, did sound, dealt with the musicians, everything) and it was just about time for Haden and his band to take the stage. Haden suddenly announced to my friend that he couldn't play, wasn't going to play, unless he had a glass of fresh carrot juice. Yup. Fresh carrot juice. It's about 9pm in Brussels, Belgium, my friend has got a roomful of customers, he's tending bar, and suddenly he's gotta get fresh carrot juice. Like, the kind you need a juicer and carrots to get. Apparently Haden wouldn't budge, he had to have it. So my friend has to leave the bar in the hands of a friend and go out into the Brussels night to try and locate fresh carrot juice. Somehow he located something that was to Haden's satisfaction, and the show went on.
Anyway, like I said, there are many on record as saying Charlie Haden was a great person and a real gentleman, and I don't doubt those accounts at all. This was one instance, however, when that certain kind of prima donna-ism that some artists can sometimes display shone through.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:12 PM on July 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
Charlie Haden was Jack Black's father-in-law.
posted by Ike_Arumba at 8:27 PM on July 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Ike_Arumba at 8:27 PM on July 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'm not sure I've seen any mention here of Haden's Quartet West. [Ten videos there]Some of the most superb jazz of the last twenty or so years, with the amazing Ernie Watts on sax. Haden was one of the very last of the remaining giants of the music. Rest in peace.
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 10:31 PM on July 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 10:31 PM on July 12, 2014 [1 favorite]
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Artistic integrity personified. Thanks so much, good sir. Godspeed.
posted by On the Corner at 2:56 AM on July 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
Artistic integrity personified. Thanks so much, good sir. Godspeed.
posted by On the Corner at 2:56 AM on July 13, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by the sobsister at 8:43 AM on July 13, 2014
posted by the sobsister at 8:43 AM on July 13, 2014
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posted by Superfrankenstein at 11:40 AM on July 13, 2014
posted by Superfrankenstein at 11:40 AM on July 13, 2014
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posted by safetyfork at 10:17 AM on July 16, 2014
posted by safetyfork at 10:17 AM on July 16, 2014
Liberation Chorus: 41 musicians talk about Charlie Haden
Some lovely and fascinating stuff here. I particularly like Jason Moran's note:
Charlie had a way of simultaneously pulling notes from the ground and from the air. He was able to sonically display the expanse of the bass's possibilities. Whether deep in the groove, or free of the groove. One night while putting our kids to sleep and my wife said to me, "I need to meet the man that makes music that includes so much history in a bass line."
posted by neroli at 6:47 AM on July 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
Some lovely and fascinating stuff here. I particularly like Jason Moran's note:
Charlie had a way of simultaneously pulling notes from the ground and from the air. He was able to sonically display the expanse of the bass's possibilities. Whether deep in the groove, or free of the groove. One night while putting our kids to sleep and my wife said to me, "I need to meet the man that makes music that includes so much history in a bass line."
posted by neroli at 6:47 AM on July 17, 2014 [1 favorite]
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Definitely one of the greats. He was one of my heroes on ECM records, and he was always showing up for great performances.
posted by Eekacat at 11:59 AM on July 12, 2014