Charlie Haden

Bassist Charlie Haden is no stranger to the extended family of Spanish and Portuguese culture. Over the last three-plus decades, he has ventured into collaborations with musicians from Argentina, Cuba, Portugal and Brazil, has written tunes with a Spanish flavor and has drawn on songs from the Spanish Civil War for the repertoire of his Liberation Music Orchestra.

After reading numerous paragraphs of Don Heckman's review of Charlie Haden's performance at the Getty ("Charlie Haden's 'Art of the Song' Breaks From Album Format," May 8), one learns absolutely nothing about this concert. We'd like to enlighten the readers of what really transpired that evening. This was a night of magic, with a sophisticated and ethereal sense not recognized by the critic. We found the music to be healing and simply beautiful. Camaraderie between the strings and Quartet West was very apparent.

Charlie Haden's album "The Art of the Song," released last year, is a lushly orchestrated (by Alan Broadbent) series of settings, most of which showcase the singing of Shirley Horn and Bill Henderson. In performance Saturday night at the Getty's Harold M. Williams Auditorium, however, an identically titled performance, "The Art of the Song," had a considerably different slant. The primary divergence was the absence of Horn, whose four ballads were among the album's major highlights.

The use of the word "standard" to describe the lexicon of songs written in the first half of the century by writers such as Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Rodgers & Hart and others has a dual purpose. It reflects, first of all, that this material has become a part of the standard repertoire. Less obviously, it defines a collection of music that has become the standard against which to measure the work of different performers.

At first glance, pianist Kenny Barron and bassist Charlie Haden appear to be a musical odd couple. Barron's fleet, harmony-rich, sophisticated approach seems inherently diametrical to the dark fundamentalism of Haden's folk- and country-rooted style. But there are similarities as well. Both are longtime educators, and both have had lengthy careers as much-in-demand sidemen. In recent years, Barron, 54, has become one of the most admired pianists in jazz.

At first glance, pianist Kenny Barron and bassist Charlie Haden are a musical odd couple. Barron's fleet, harmony-rich, sophisticated approach seems inherently diametric to the dark fundamentalism of Haden's folk- and country-rooted style. But there are similarities. Both are longtime educators, and both have had lengthy careers as much-in-demand sidemen.

Pianist Kenny Barron's continuing series of first-rate musical outings produces yet another impressive performance in this perfectly titled, spontaneous partnership with bassist Charlie Haden. They have recorded together before--most notably on Barron's Grammy-nominated 1995 "Wanton Spirit"--but never in the stark, musically demanding setting of bass and piano alone.

In June and July of 1989, bassist Charlie Haden was accorded an unusual honor at the 10th Montreal Jazz Festival. A series of eight concerts, titled "The Charlie Haden Sessions" and presented over a period of nine consecutive days, featured him in a wide array of musical encounters with outstanding contemporary jazz artists.

The piano's orchestral capabilities, as well as its potential for deep, personal expression, were the focus of the first night of pianist Paul Bley's duo appearance with bassist Charlie Haden at the Jazz Bakery Thursday. Working in front of a black backdrop that sometimes matched the music's mood, Bley explored harmonic frontiers while giving revealing glimpses into the workings of his mind.