Monday, December 15, 2008

NYT Article on Charlie Haden

Charlie Haden has always been one of my favorite bassists. As many may already know, he's moved into more of a country/roots music style from his freer jazz moments with, among others, Ornette Coleman. Yet, being such an accomplished player with such a rich reputation, he appears to have been able to make this transition without too much of the scorn of critics. The complete article is here. This is my favorite part:

Mr. Haden still maintains traces of both his hillbilly and hipster sides, speaking with a flat Midwestern inflection but in a jazz musician’s argot. His aesthetic has been shaped in large part by sympathy for what he calls “the struggle of the poor people,” which allows him to draw a connective thread between the music of his birthright and the music of his calling.

“The beauty of it is that this music is from the earth of the country,” he said. “The old hillbilly music, along with gospel and spirituals and blues and jazz.”

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