The Understated Genius at the Root of a Half-Century of JazzRich Appleman, Whit Browne, Joe Coroniti, Bruce Gertz, John Lockwood, Ed Lucie, Bruno RåbergRich Appleman , Chair Emeritus Bass Department:In my opinion Charlie Haden was a great bassist, composer, and band leader. I first heard him in the early 70’s on Ornette Coleman early recordings. He had the four T’s – Time, Tonality, Timbre, & Taste. I borrowed a lot from him when I played in the Fringe which, similar to Ornette’s early groups, did not have a chordal instrument . Later when I heard his Liberation Orchestra I fell in love with his beautiful ballad Song for Che and wrote Song for Chas for him which was recorded on the Fringe’s third LP. For me he was a bassist’s bassist. Charlie played perfect big phat low notes that always supported the music and beautiful emotional melodic solos. If you are not familiar with his work check out Face of the Bass, Bird Food, Ramblin, Song for Che and then continue with his work with Keith Jarrett, Hank Jones, and Quartet West.Whit Browne , Professor, Bass Department
A very unique bassist, one of a kind
True to the earthy fat sound of the bass, playing gut strings his entire career
Groove/time was rock steady
Harmonic concept was into the future, very interesting and away from the standard norm. I heard him play “A Night in Tunisia” with pianist Kenny Barron. Charlie pedaled on low “E” while Kenny was playing Eb7 to D-7. Not too many bassists can do that and get away with it.
Probably the only bassist that truly understood the direction of Ornette Coleman
I first noticed Charlie Haden in 1971 on a recording he did with Ornette Coleman entitled “Science Fiction”. It blew me away. I needed to hear more. So, I backed up to hear his earlier works with Ornette i.e. “Shape of Jazz to Come”, “Twins”, “Ornette,” etc
Enjoyed his playing with Keith Jarrett group and the recording “Treasure Island”. Saw them perform live at Boston “Jazz Workshop” club mid ’70’s
“Quartet West” recordings were great, and I also saw that band live in a club in Cambridge in the late ’80’s
Also heard Charlie live at Ryle’s Jazz Club, Cambridge, with Pat Metheny in early ’80’s.
Charlie was a guest artist/clinician at Berklee Bass Dept in the late ’80’s. I had the pleasure to talk with him.
Bruce Gertz, Professor, Bass DepartmentCharlie Haden to me was the epitome of an expressive musician, a true communicator. What I got from listening to Charlie was how to make the bass cry. It was his sound and shape of his tone along with his firm sense of time that knocked me out. I still try to get a big soulful sound when I play ever since I first heard him in the late 1960’s. His tone was so true to himself that I and many other musicians could tell from one note that it was Charlie. He didn’t need to play fast and impress anyone with chops because for him it was all about music as it should be. I loved him. He was truly one of the greats. Charlie had the rare ability to say so much in so few notes.John Lockwood, Associate Professor, Bass DepartmentWhen I think of Charlie what comes up is ” Sparseness . . . Beauty . . . with a touch of melancholy.Ed Lucie, Professor, Bass DepartmentI am a bass guitarist but Charlie Haden has always been my favorite acoustic bassist. First and foremost was his sound, so pure and authentic. Next was his simplicity both in his lines and his solos, he was always playing melodies. His playing with Ornette Coleman was so free and spontaneous, his playing with Keith Jarrett and Pat Metheny so beautiful and with his own Quartet West so sublime. And most of all was his spiritual sense of artistry-deeply inspiringBruno Råberg, Professor, Ensemble DepartmentRIP Charlie Haden. The first time I heard Charlie live was at Club 7 in Oslo in trio with Jan Garbarek and Egberto Gismonti. I was around 22 and on tour in Norway. After taking a really long time to get the bass out of the case and tuned, he entered the music by playing a low G on the E-string. The spiritual power, depth, earth, and soul that were contained in that one note made the whole club go completely silent. I still remember and think about that note because, in a way, it has been a compass for me and made me believe that I too could possibly learn to share my soul with everyone who wants to hear it. Thanks Charlie for that note and all the others you blessed us with!Joe Coroniti, Berklee alumnus; Editor-in-Chief, FUSION Magazine
As the weak link in this bass line of praise for Haden, I will just add that Charlie gave me hope as I returned to the double bass 25 years after selling mine to pay for graduate school. I was happy playing 4- and 6-string electric bass, but every time I would listen to Haden, his massive, lyrical sound would induce a slight ache—an ache for the musicality of a single tone, the growl of a low “F,” his expression of so much in so few big, beautiful notes. His lines, while seldom flashy, provided sensitive, bold support and inhabited the tune with elegance.In his solos, Haden never tried to sound like a horn player. He avoided pyrotechnics and yet, we were all in awe of their melodic contour, rhythm, and soul. Through his fine piece of wood (a 150 year-old Vuillaume), Haden’s minimalist approach revealed, curiously, an expansive music and the inner life of an authentic artist. The Grammy award-winning album, Beyond the Missouri Sky (Short Stories) with Pat Metheny, has mid-western reserve and a deep reservoir of feeling and charm. Haden’s composition, “Waltz for Ruth,” features Haden complementing Metheny with strong, melodic contrapuntal lines and a brilliant, subtle, solo. Their rendition of Morricone’s “Love Theme” from the film Cinema Paradiso, is an exquisite distillation of the film’s lush orchestration into a simple sublime duet. We’ve all heard this old joke. A couple with nothing to say to each other anymore walks into a jazz club. They sip their drinks and bob their heads as they listen to the band. Then, the bass player takes a solo. Suddenly, the couple loses interest in what’s happening on stage, and they begin to really talk to each other for the first time in years. While the bass player could not hold their attention, he saved their marriage. It’s a fine thing Charlie Haden was not on the bandstand that night.
