“THANK-YOU NEA FOR THIS WONDERFUL AWARD. I’M DEEPLY HONORED.

I’VE ALWAYS FELT VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE BEEN BORN IN THIS COUNTRY SURROUNDED BY THE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC THAT CAME FROM THE APPALACHIAN AND OZARK MOUNTAINS WHERE I WAS BORN.

I STARTED SINGING ON MY FAMILY’S RADIO SHOW WHEN I WAS TWO YEARS OLD. MY MOTHER USED TO TAKE ME TO THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CHURCH ONE OR TWO SUNDAYS A MONTH SO THAT WE COULD EXPERIENCE THE MUSIC. IT WAS SO INSPIRING.

MY FATHER TOOK ME TO MY FIRST JAZZ CONCERT IN SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI WHEN I WAS THIRTEEN. A LOT OF GREAT JAZZ MUSICIANS CAME FROM MISSOURI: CHARLIE PARKER, MILES DAVIS, JIMMY BLANTON.

I LEARNED AT A VERY YOUNG AGE THAT MUSIC TEACHES YOU ABOUT LIFE BECAUSE WHEN YOU ARE IN THE MIDST OF IMPROVISATION THERE IS NO YESTERDAY AND NO TOMORROW – THERE IS ONLY THE MOMENT YOU ARE IN.

IN THAT BEAUTIFUL MOMENT YOU EXPERIENCE YOUR TRUE INSIGNIFICANCE TO THE REST OF THE UNIVERSE – AND IT IS THEN- THAT YOU CAN EXPERIENCE YOUR TRUE SIGNIFICANCE TO THIS UNIVERSE.

I THANK THE NEA FOR THEIR VITAL SUPPORT OVER THE YEARS. I THANK MY FAMILY – MY PARENTS AND SIBLINGS WHO BEGAN MY MUSICAL JOURNEY WITH ME; MY SON JOSH, AND DAUGHTERS, PETRA, TANYA AND RACHEL; MY GRANDSONS SAMMY, TOMMY AND CHASE.

I THANK MY WIFE, RUTH CAMERON, WITHOUT WHOSE DEDICATION AND LOVE I WOULD NOT BE HERE TODAY.

I THANK ALL THE WONDERFUL MUSICIANS WHO HAVE INSPIRED ME OVER THE YEARS FROM BACH TO RACHMANINOV TO CHARLIE PARKER TO THE GREAT ORNETTE COLEMAN AND MANY MORE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD AND THROUGHOUT THE CENTURIES.

I AM TRULY HUMBLED.”

Charlie Haden, January 10, 2012

Nearly 17 years later arrives the luminous follow-up, Come Sunday, recorded in February 2010 shortly before Jones passed away. It’s another magical and reverent collaboration that plumbs the lyrical and transcendent depth of hymns, carols, spirituals, folk songs and classic tunes.

Photo credit: Kris King

It was time to update this site with the ability to respond in a timely fashion to the ever-changing world. We have a great team ready to
inform you.

It’s been a year of wonderful surprises for me one of which was to be awarded the nation’s highest honor in jazz, the 2012 NEA Jazz Master’s Award. More on that and other events in the news section.

I hope you find this new website both inspiring and informative – it goes along with our commitment to making beautiful music. We’ll have some special treats to post here from time to time (do check out my Turntable blog – just scroll down from here).

This should be a new year for communication – you ask and I’ll answer when I have the opportunity so write me about what is going on: charlie@charliehadenmusic.com

Our voices may be in the minority because that’s our fate, but our hopes are in the majority because that’s our will.

Solid Jackson! – CH

*Gates=Bebop term for Jazz Musician

I first heard this piece (before I saw the movie) when I bought an LP in the early 60’s called Today and Now by Coleman Hawkins which was recorded at Rudi Van Gelder’s studio in 1962. He played the song which was called “Love Song from Apache”. It has a very deep melody and very deep chords and it was a perfect vehicle for Coleman Hawkins because he has a very deep sound. His version inspired me to want to perform it.

Coleman Hawkins – “Love Song from Apache” (Today & Now)
Amazon.com | iTunes

I met Hawkins at the Village Vanguard when he was playing there with his quartet and I introduced myself – I was I my late 20’s. I told him how much I admired him. I sure wish I could have played with him!

I first performed the song on my Quartet West CD Always Say Goodbye recorded in 1993 with Ernie Watts on tenor sax, Alan Broadbent on piano and Larance Marable on drums and strings. We play the song first and then I bring in Coleman Hawkins’ original version so that everyone could hear what inspired me.

Quartet West – “My Love and I/Love Song from Apache” (Always Say Goodbye)
Amazon.com | iTunes

In making our most recent Quartet West album (Sophisticated Ladies) I asked our friend and musicologist Rick Starr, formerly of Hollywood Sheet Music, to find some lyrics to this song because I couldn’t find any anywhere. It got to the point that I was gong to call David Raksin’s estate to see if I could commission someone to write lyrics to it but right before that happened, Rick found the lyrics in some forgotten vault. And the greater surprise was that they had been written by no other than the great Johnny Mercer. What a find! Mercer was a writing partner to David Raksin as he wrote the lyrics to “Laura” another beautiful song composed by Raksin. (I’ll have to write about David Raksin another time.)

Ruth and I both envisioned Cassandra Wilson singing this. It’s a premiere as the song has never been performed before with lyrics.

Quartet West featuring Cassandra Wilson – “My Love and I” (Sophisticated Ladies)
Amazon.com | iTunes

Coleman Hawkins was one of the great innovators in the art-form of jazz and left us with a beautiful legacy.

-CH August,2011