Charlie Haden, Hank Jones - Steal Away (1994)

Charlie Haden, Hank Jones - Steal Away (1994)

Spirituals, Hymns and Folk Songs 

jazz, traditional | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 305MB

Verve

Allmusic:
This is an unusual record. Bassist Charlie Haden and pianist Hank Jones perform a variety of spirituals, hymns and folk songs as duets. The traditional music (which includes such tunes as "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen," "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," "Sometimes I Feel like a Motherless Child" and "We Shall Overcome") are all performed respectfully and with reverence. These melodic yet subtly swinging interpretations hold one's interest throughout and reward repeated listenings.

Tracks
-01. "It's Me, O Lord (Standin' in the Need of Prayer)" - 5:22
-02. "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" - 3:44
-03. "Spiritual" (Charlie Haden) - 4:20
-04. "Wade in the Water" - 4:05
-05. "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" - 2:04
-06. "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" - 4:31
-07. "L' Amour de Moy" - 4:55
-08. "Danny Boy" (Frederic Weatherly) - 5:51
-09. "I've Got a Robe, You Got a Robe (Goin' to Shout All over God's Heav'n)" - 3:49
-10. "Steal Away" - 2:49
-11. "We Shall Overcome" - 5:33
-12. "Go Down Moses" - 6:04
-13. "My Lord, What a Mornin'" - 4:35
-14. "Hymn Medley: Abide With Me/Just as I Am Without One Plea/What a Friend We Have in Jesus/Amazing Grace" (Henry Francis Lyte, William Henry Monk/Charlotte Elliott, William Bachelder Bradbury/Joseph M. Scriven, Charles Crozat Converse/John Newton) - 7:37
All compositions traditional except as indicated
Recorded at Radio Canada Studio B in Montreal, Canada on June 29 & 30, 1994

Personnel
* Hank Jones — piano
* Charlie Haden — bass

 sample & buy: Steal Away

 

Charlie Haden, Jan Garbarek, Egberto Gismonti - Magico (1979)

Charlie Haden, Jan Garbarek, Egberto Gismonti - Magico (1979)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 205MB

ECM

Allmusic:
Perhaps it was the presence of bassist Charlie Haden, but this trio set has more energy than one normally associates with the other members of the group (Jan Garbarek on tenor and soprano and Egberto Gismonti doubling on guitar and piano). The trio performs group originals and an obscurity during the picturesque and continually interesting release; this combination works well. 

Tracks
-1. "Bailarina" (Geraldo Carneiro, Piry Reis) - 14:30
-2. "Magico" - 7:47
-3. "Silence" (Charlie Haden) - 10:17
-4. "Spor" (Jan Garbarek) - 6:11
-5. "Palhaço" - 5:00
All compositions by Egberto Gismonti except as indicated
Recorded at Talent Studio in Oslo, Norway in June 1979

Personnel
* Charlie Haden — bass
* Jan Garbarek — saxophone
* Egberto Gismonti — guitar, piano

 sample & buy: Magico

 

Charlie Haden Quartet West - The Art Of The Song (1999)

Charlie Haden Quartet West - The Art Of The Song (1999)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 405MB

Verve

Allaboutjazz:
In the early-’60s bassist Charlie Haden worked with avant-garde jazz pioneers Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry. In 1969 he founded The Liberation Music Orchestra, an aggregation committed to performing complex, politically charged music. When Haden formed Quartet West in 1986, listeners quickly noted that this group represented a 180 degree shift in his focus. Where the Liberation Orchestra was abrasive and confrontational, Quartet West wallowed in the nostalgic, accessible mainstream. The Art Of The Song is an evocative collection of sombre ballads, immaculately performed by Haden, Alan Broadbent (piano), Ernie Watts (tenor), Larance Marable (drums), Shirley Horn (vocals), Bill Henderson (vocals); plus a string orchestra conducted by Murray Adler. Shirley Horn’s subtle, sparse renditions of Lonely Town, In Love In Vain and The Folks Who Live On The Hill stand out on a disc loaded with high points. Instrumentally, Ernie Watts (why doesn’t he sound this good on his own records?) provides a number of sensuous solos. Hypnotically beautiful.

Tracks
-01. "Lonely Town" (Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, Adolph Green) – 5:30
-02. "Why Did I Choose You" (Michael Leonard, Herbert Martin) – 7:23
-03. "Moment Musical Opus 16 No3 in B Minor" (Sergei Rachmaninoff) – 5:36
-04. "In Love in Vain" (Jerome Kern, Leo Rubin) – 5:05
-05. "Ruth's Waltz" (Charlie Haden, Arthur Hamilton) – 4:14
-06. "Scenes from a Silver Screen" (Alan Broadbent) – 6:24
-07. "I'm Gonna Laugh You Right out of My Life" (Cy Coleman, Joseph A. McCarthy) – 6:15
-08. "You My Love" (Jimmy Van Heusen, Mack Gordon) – 4:24
-09. "Prelude en La Mineur" (Maurice Ravel) – 5:14
-10. "The Folks Who Live On the Hill" (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II) – 6:56
-11. "Easy on the Heart" (Haden, Hamilton) – 4:54
-12. "Theme for Charlie" (Jeri Southern) – 4:07
-13. "Wayfaring Stranger" (Traditional) – 4:23

Personnel
Charlie Haden Quartet West
* Charlie Haden – bass, local vocal on "Wayfaring Stranger"
* Alan Broadbent – piano, arranger, conductor, orchestration
* Larance Marable – drums
* Ernie Watts – tenor saxophone
Guest musicians
* Murray Adler – violin, conductor, concert master, orchestra contractor
* Bill Henderson – vocals on "Why Did I Choose You", "Ruth's Waltz", "You My Love", "Easy on the Heart"
* Shirley Horn – vocals on "Lonely Town", "In Love in Vain", "I'm Gonna Laugh You Right Out of My Life", "The Folks Who Live on the Hill"
& Orchestra

sample & buy: The Art of the Song

Keith Jarrett & Charlie Haden - Jasmine (2010) (eac-log-covers)

Keith Jarrett & Charlie Haden - Jasmine (2010)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 230MB

ECM

Allmusic:
The reason to mention the "particulars" of this document of informal sessions is because Keith Jarrett went to the trouble of doing so in his liner notes: they came about in the aftermath of him and Charlie Haden playing together during a documentary film about Haden. The duo, who hadn't played together in over 30 years, got along famously and decided to do some further recording in Jarrett's home studio without an end result in mind. The tapes sat -- though were discussed often -- for three years before a decision was made to release them. Jarrett used his home Steinway instead of his usual concert Boisendorfer. The more immediate, present sound of the former piano makes for something less dynamic than his live performances. And here, with the sheer natural grace and unhurried elegance of Haden's earthy bass playing, that is a great thing. Jasmine is love songs; most are standards. Haden not only supports but solos a great deal. Picking out highlights on this eight-song, hour-long set is difficult because the dry warmth of these performances is multiplied by deeply intuitive listening and the near symbiotic, telepathic nature of the playing. The entire proceeding flows seamlessly. The depth of emotion in Peggy Lee's and Victor Young's "Where Can I Go Without You" opens the world of the bereft lover -- and Haden's solo seems to make her/him speak. Jarrett's intro to "I'm Gonna Laugh You Right Out of My Life," by Cy Coleman and Joseph McCarthy, reveals in its lyric just how woefully ironic this tune is. The loss and reverie steeped in false bravado are expressed in Jarrett's arpeggios and underscored by Haden's emphasis on single notes during the changes and a deep woody tone he gets in the combination of skeletal flourishes during Jarrett's solo. On the surface it might seem that the inclusion of Joe Sample's "One Day I'll Fly Away" is an odd inclusion; yet it acts on some level as the hinge piece for the set. Its simplicity and sparseness are offset by the profound lyricism Jarrett imbues it with. Haden asserts, quietly of course, that the complex emotions in the tune go beyond any language -- other than music's -- to express. After a devastatingly sad reading Gordon Jenkins' "Goodbye" with Jarrett at his most poignant and clean, a brief reading of Jerome Kern's and Oscar Hammerstein's "Don't Ever Leave Me" closes the set. The way it's played, this tune is not a plea, but a poetically uttered assertion between lovers. Jasmine is, ultimately, jazz distilled to its most essential; it not only expresses emotion and beauty, but discovers them in every moment of its performance.

Tracks
-1. For All We Know 9:49
-2. Where Can I Go Without You 9:24
-3. No Moon at All 4:41
-4. One Day I'll Fly Away 4:18
-5. Intro/I'm Gonna Laugh You Right Out of My Life 12:11
-6. Body and Soul 11:12
-7. Goodbye 8:03
-8. Don't Ever Leave Me 3:11

sample & buy: Jasmine