waht does everybody think of charlie haden. I think his playing is great in a contextual setting. His playing is perfect for the free jazz/avante garde setting. It's articulate, experimental, punctual, and melodic enough to be enjoyed even when surrounded by all the melody and rythm within the music. Any opinions??

Best kept secret: Charlie's a monster.
Second best kept secret: Don, The Man, has some first hand info on Charlie.

[Edited by olivier on 02-06-2001 at 08:18 AM]

Originally posted by soundofphysics
what does everybody think of charlie haden?

In a recent thread on influences I said I wasn't influenced by bass players anymore but Charlie Haden is somewhat of an exception. I am continually inspired by his sense of space and service to the music and my effort to learn from his playing is very conscious.

For some very interesting and somewhat heated insights into Charlie's playing, you might check out "Poor Jazz Tone...and no Bounce" in DB Technique.

I'm not qualified to comment on how great a player he is - most Double Bass players impress me - but he has certainly been involved in some fine music, that is well worth listening to.

I love his composition "Silence" which is one of the most beautiful of modern original Jazz compositions IMO - should be a "standard".

I like his playing with Don Cherry - have any of the experienced players here ever played "Mopti" - great bassline, but requires a lot of stamina!! We played it at Jazz Summerschool transposed up from E to C and it made my wrist ache after only a few minutes.

As I've said before, I think anyone who can keep up with Ornette deserves respect.

Charlie Haden is one of my favorite players because of this choice of notes, he played one of my all time favorite favorite bass solo's but I cannot figure out what recording it is from , I have it on a cassette..

I love Charlie's tone, and his ensemble work and writing but his solos have never done it for me. The solos I've heard on some of his Liberation Music Orchestra and solo albums struck me as hokey and simplistic.

Charlie is the man. I'm checking out a duo album he did with Hampton Hawes called "As Long as there's music" as I write. Melodicism out the ying-yang. I've only seen him once-in a duo with Brad Mehldau at a Thelonius Monk Foundation gala. The other bassists on the gig were Ray Brown, Christian McBride, John Clayton, Brian Bromberg, and a few others. Charlie's bass sounded like it was coming from deep within a well, perfectly in tune. Not flashy at all, but, way better for that very reason.

Charlie is from the Ozarks, where he sang hillbilly and gospel music on the radio with his family. This likely plays a role in the "folksy" flavor of many of his solos.

I have to admit, when I see his left hand technique, I wince. But he's a consummate musician by any standard, and more than just about anyone in jazz, he brings out the bass's profound earthiness.

He was also a holdout on gut strings, using them long after many of his peers defected and long before any of the young lions "discovered" them.

didn't want to start a new thread, since there's one here, but just wondering, does anyone know what gut strings and what bass charlie plays? For curiosity's sake....

thanks!

Charlie Haden had always been one of those bassists I liked, but hadn't paid that much attention to. That changed when I started playing upright. His tone, sense of melody, and his well-thought out solo and accompaniment lines are a constant reminder of how simplicity is sometimes the best approach of all.

For someone whose biggest bass-centric influences, both on electric and upright, are Jaco Pastorius and Scott LaFaro, it was definitely refreshing to hear Charlie's approach. He loves music, it comes from his heart, and you can definitely hear and feel it in his playing... that's what makes Charlie great IMHO.

Bassgeek, that Hampton Hawes disc is one of the best recordings I've ever heard. I love the way you can hear Charlie's fingers snapping against his palm as he's playing the walking line on the first cut. Is that album still in print?

Charlie is one of my favorite players, in part because he almost always plays very simply....because I'm a relative DB newbie without a lot of chops at the moment, Haden's playing has been a great example for me of how to play very musically and well without having to have monster LaFaro/NHOP chops. In a way, he reminds me of Bill Evans in this regard, the difference being that Evans actually HAD monster chops and simply chose not to use them most of the time.

thanks much Ed.....

Thanks to the "Great Blizzard of SE Va"-
...I've spent most of the day checking out Ornette's box, Beauty Is A Rare Thing.
Haden has a clue or two about playing in that 4-tet; he sounds great with both Higgins & Blackwell.

I adore Haden's playing in whatever contexts he chooses to play in. When I hear him, I hear not a great bassist, but a great musician. About 10 years ago, at a concert at the North Sea Jazz Festival, the MC introduced Haden as "the poet of the bass." I always thought that was entirely appropriate.

Why is Charlie Haden always classified as an avant garde bassist? I understand that a majority of his work was done with Ornette Coleman, and that Ornettet's music is classified as out, or avant garde. What I want to know is has anybody heard the Montreal recordings? Charlies playing on these records is very, very straight ahead, and extremely supportive.

The two of those that I have -- without looking I believe are with Don Cherry and Paul Bley -- likely wouldn't be pigeon-holed as traditional, swing, bop, post bop, or any varition of the classification 'straight ahead' by Leonard Feather or any of the other critics (read geniuses).

I've only seen him live once, in a trio with Lew Tabackin and Billy Higgins. His sound was just huge, and the interplay with Billy was telepathic. His solos developed organically, and were integrated into the overall musical landscape perfectly. I also had the honor of hanging out with him at soundcheck for a bit; he's a very nice gentleman, and a class act.

Please check out the recording of Haden with Paul Motian, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba. The playing on this particular recording is very refined. It still sounds like Haden, but has a much more supportive texture. The other Montreal tapes do have a much more free vibe, but it was this particular record that I was using as my reference. Sorry I will be a little more specific next time.

Someone asked him what he felt were his best recorded performances awhile back, and he mentioned "Death and the Flower", with Keith Jarrett, Motian, Dewey Redman, et al. Regardless of how you feel about this group, it stands as one of the best examples of Charlie's approach. The sound of the bass is gorgeous. I personally like some of those old Keith sides, like "Backhand".

I feel that another good representaion of Haden's playing is on Change of the centry( Ornette Coleman). I am especially fond of Ramblin. I love how Charlie is constantly implying a blues through out the tune, but never really plays the changes. It is almost an attitude thing rather than a harmonic approach. I also must say that the solo in this particular cut taught me the lesson of simplicity in my soloing. If your on to something good, hold on to it till it you need to grab something else.

Its interesting to me to hear others perspective on this. I love Charlie Haden's playing. What has been described as the big heart in his music, is kind of daring in a way. You could listen to Haunted Heart, the gospel stuff with Hank Jones, the duets with Pat Matheny, and call them nostalgic, sentimental or corny. But to my ears they are really profound. I also love his compositions.

Charlies playing on the Hank Jones album is to say the least gorgeous. He seems to shine the best when the harmonic aspect of the song is at a minimum. Not to say he can't play changes, but it is absoultely astounding what he does in wide open space. The way he approaches, navigates, and tempers his improvising is proof that the man is a master musician ( not Just a player ).

I found an excellent article/interview in the archive section of the BP magazine site - just click on "artists"

http://archive.bassplayer.com/

Mark

Charlie reminds me of Ry Cooder in the sense that he is such a monster and so REAL and PURE. Although he is capable of ripping of the mega runs he chooses to play the spaces. He is one of the great unsung heros of american music. I'd love to here Ry Cooder and Charlie do some Blues...
-sigh-