jazztalk.net

Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at 7:00 PM                            Doors open at 6:00 PM.

The Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036

  Celebrating Charlie Haden


 1937–2014

Family and friends, including many jazz greats, will come together to celebrate the life of Charlie
Haden—Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, NEA Jazz Master, and one of the most
innovative and influential bassists in the history of jazz. Just as importantly, Haden was a husband,
a father, a colleague, a friend, a teacher, and a human being passionately concerned about social justice.

Among the many performers will be Geri Allen, Kenny Barron, Denardo Coleman, Ravi Coltrane,
Jack DeJohnette, Bill Frisell, Josh Haden and the Haden Triplets, Ruth Cameron Haden, Ethan Iverson,
Lee Konitz, Pat Metheny, Joshua Redman, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and Brandee Younger. The evening
will be anchored by performances from Haden's two preeminent bands: Quartet West, with Alan
Broadbent, Ernie Watts, Rodney Green, and on bass, Scott Colley, and Liberation Music Orchestra,
with Carla Bley, Tony Malaby, Chris Cheek, Loren Stillman, Michael Rodriguez, Seneca Black, Curtis
Fowlkes, Vincent Chancey, Joe Daley, Steve Cardenas, Matt Wilson, and on bass, Steve Swallow.
More performers will be announced.

Free; no tickets required. Tax-deductible donations to benefit the Charlie Haden CalArts Scholarship
Fund to assist jazz students in need can be made at the venue or sent to: P.O. Box 520, Agoura Hills,
CA 91376.


http://thetownhall.org/event/624-celebrating-charlie-haden-19372014


Additional sources of info.:

http://jazztimes.com/articles/149728-free-charlie-haden-memorial-concert-coming-to-nyc

http://www.criticaljazz.com/2014/12/charlie-haden-memorial.html

Wow. That's going to be some show!

If I can get an earlier flight, I'll be there.

Flight changed. I'll be there.

Possible that I can make it. Very full concert and life schedule for me for the next couple of months

Yes, I was there. I started to write comments (above), but it was just a bunch of senile rambling. Nothing of value.

bluenoter wrote:

BeBop wrote:Yes, I was there. I started to write comments (above), but it was just a bunch of senile rambling. Nothing of value.

I read your post (eagerly), and I beg to differ.

Thank you, bluenoter. For me, it was a 90 minute wait in wind chilled 9 degrees. I kinda wish I'd had something better than my Seattle clothes. The line ran a long block down 43rd from 6th Ave to Times Square, then up 7th/Broadway more than a block north. (That was as far as I could see.) Seating capacity was 1500, and I was about 1200th in line, despite arriving well before 5:00PM for the 6:00PM door opening and 7:00PM show. I was hoping that they might open the doors a bit early and spare us some misery; alas, they opened about 6:20PM. But I know that many hundreds behind me waited in the cold for...disappointment. The next day, I thanked my boss profusely for those few extra minutes off.

My wait in line seemed even longer. I'd made a casual remark to the guy standing next to me along to lines of "I wonder if Ornette might just show up tonight." I know he's been sick, but that would have been a great surprise. (Hey, I'm trying to keep my spirits up during the wait.) Well, this guy I was talking to told me I'm a damn fool. Ornette's dead. He went to the funeral. (Did it just get a little chillier in here?)

Haden's wife acted as MC. (Man, I could NOT have done that at my wife's Celebration, coincidentally 364 days earlier.) There were nice clips from the Haden documentary film, most highlighting Haden's sense of humor. (Later in the show, the remarks from others about his sense of humor/jokes were...uhm...less positive.) Since I don't watch television, movies, videos, I would never have seen the clips/film, so it was kind of a treat for me.

Music. Well, Pat Metheney started off with a solo medley. I'm not a big Metheney fan, but this was enjoyable. Perhaps I should say I'm not a Metheney fan when he's doing his usual thing. Throw Ornette or Anthony Braxton and Lee Konitz in the mix, and I like the casserole better. Some nice words from Metheney after he played. Not everyone's spoken tributes came off as well.

Speaking of Lee Konitz and, I hate to say it, not coming off well, Lee played a duet with Brad Mehldau. Kind of. It was billed as "Body and Soul", but Lee's opening solo section made it pretty clear it was just going to be straight blues. And so it was. Lee played a little, then...well, sang isn't exactly the right term here. He had some wordless vocalizations. Melodic but a bit rambling. I hadn't heard him do this before. If one can be disappointed merely based on expectations, that was me.

Another "expectations" shortfall was Ravi Coltrane. He played in a trio with Geri Allen on piano and Brandee Younger on harp. I suppose when you've got a harp in your group, there's going to be a limit on what you play, repertoire-wise. In the end, the harp sounded good and Ravi didn't seem to find a groove...that probably wasn't there. Nothing against harps here. I'm sure Ravi has known some fine harp players.

(more a bit later, unless I turn merciful and spare you )

Please don't spare us, BeBop. More is good.