Charles Edward Haden was born on August 6, 1937, and passed away on July 11, 2014. He was an American musician who played the double bass, led musical groups, wrote music, and taught others. His career lasted more than fifty years. Haden changed how bass players use harmony in jazz. Sometimes, his playing supported other musicians, and other times, he played independently, showing that bassists could do more than just support others.

In the late 1950s, Haden was part of the Ornette Coleman Quartet, a group known for its new ideas in jazz. In 1969, he started a band called the Liberation Music Orchestra, which included music written by pianist Carla Bley. In the late 1960s, he joined pianist Keith Jarrett’s trio, quartet, and quintet. In the 1980s, Haden formed his own group, Quartet West. He also performed in duos with musicians like guitarist Pat Metheny and pianists Hank Jones and Kenny Barron.

Joachim-Ernst Berendt, a German music expert, said Haden’s ability to create unexpected harmonies by responding to Ornette Coleman’s free jazz solos was both new and fascinating. His skill was in making the double bass sound clear and strong. Haden helped others hear the instrument’s deep, powerful sound in a way no one else in jazz had done before. He was known for his ability to make simple music, which is very hard to do well.

Biography

Haden was born in Shenandoah, Iowa, on August 6, 1937. His family was very musical and performed on KMA radio as the Haden Family, playing country music and American folk songs. Haden began his professional singing career on the Haden Family's radio show when he was two years old. He continued singing with his family until he was fifteen, when he got bulbar polio. At fourteen, Haden became interested in jazz after hearing Charlie Parker and Stan Kenton in concert. After recovering from polio, Haden focused on playing the bass. His interest in the instrument came from listening to Johann Sebastian Bach, not jazz. Haden wanted to move to Los Angeles to become a jazz musician. To save money for the trip, he worked as a house bassist for the American Broadcasting Company TV show Ozark Jubilee in Springfield, Missouri.

Haden often said he moved to Los Angeles in 1957 to find pianist Hampton Hawes. He refused a full scholarship at Oberlin College, which did not have a jazz program, to attend Westlake College of Music in Los Angeles. His first recordings were made in 1957 with Paul Bley, and he worked with Bley until 1959. He also played with Art Pepper in 1957 and with Hawes from 1958 to 1959. For a time, Haden shared an apartment with bassist Scott LaFaro.

In May 1959, Haden recorded The Shape of Jazz to Come with Ornette Coleman. Haden's folk style worked well with Coleman's Texas blues style. Later that year, the Ornette Coleman Quartet moved to New York City and played at the Five Spot Café for six weeks. Ornette's quartet played music by ear, as Haden explained: "At first, we followed the pattern of the song. Then, when we got to New York, Ornette didn’t play on the song patterns. He just played. And that’s when I started following him and playing the chord changes he made up on the spot."

In 1960, drug problems caused Haden to leave Coleman's quartet. He went to rehab in September 1963 at Synanon houses in Santa Monica and San Francisco, where he met his first wife, Ellen David. They moved to New York City's Upper West Side, where their four children were born: their son, Josh, in 1968, and their triplet daughters, Petra, Rachel, and Tanya, in 1971. They separated in 1975 and later divorced.

Haden returned to his career in 1964, working with saxophonist John Handy and pianist Denny Zeitlin, and performing with Archie Shepp in California and Europe. He also did freelance work from 1966 to 1967, playing with Henry "Red" Allen, Pee Wee Russell, Attila Zoller, Bobby Timmons, Tony Scott, and the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. He recorded with Roswell Rudd in 1966 and returned to Coleman's group in 1967. This group remained active until the early 1970s. Haden was known for being skilled at following the changes in Ornette's improvisations.

Haden joined Keith Jarrett's trio and his "American Quartet" from 1967 to 1976, with drummer Paul Motian and saxophonist Dewey Redman. The group also included percussionist Guilherme Franco. He also organized the collective Old and New Dreams, which included Don Cherry, Redman, and Ed Blackwell, who had also been members of Coleman's band. They played Coleman's music and original compositions in a style influenced by Coleman.

In 1970, Haden received a Guggenheim Fellowship, recommended by Leonard Bernstein. Over the years, Haden received several NEA grants for composition. Haden founded his first band, the Liberation Music Orchestra (LMO), in 1969, working with arranger Carla Bley. Their music was experimental, exploring free jazz and political themes. The first album focused on music from the Spanish Civil War, which inspired Haden. Inspired by the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, he combined songs like "You're a Grand Old Flag" and "Happy Days Are Here Again" with "We Shall Overcome."

The original LMO lineup included Haden, Bley, Gato Barbieri, Redman, Motian, Don Cherry, Andrew Cyrille, Mike Mantler, Roswell Rudd, Bob Northern, Howard Johnson, Perry Robinson, and Sam Brown. Over the years, the LMO had many members from diverse backgrounds, including Ahnee Sharon Freeman and Vincent Chancey (French horn), Tony Malaby (tenor saxophonist), Joseph Daley (tuba), Seneca Black (trumpet), Michael Rodriguez (trumpet), Miguel Zenón (alto saxophone), Chris Cheek (tenor saxophone), Curtis Fowlkes (trombone), Steve Cardenas (guitar), and Matt Wilson (drums). Through Bley's arranging, the group used instruments like the tuba and French horn in addition to common ones. The LMO won awards in 1970, including France's Grand Prix du Disque and Japan's Gold Disc Award.

While touring with the Ornette Coleman Quartet in Portugal in 1971, Haden dedicated a performance of his "Song for Ché" to anti-colonial movements in Mozambique, Angola, and Guinea. The next day, he was detained at Lisbon Airport, jailed, and interrogated by the DGS, the Portuguese secret police. He was released after Coleman and others complained to the American cultural attaché. Haden was later interviewed by the FBI about the dedication. A recording of the dedication and audience applause is included at the beginning of "For a Free Portugal" on the 1976 album Closeness, released two years after the Carnation Revolution.

Haden formed the LMO during the Vietnam War, frustrated by the government's focus on the war instead of solving internal problems. His goal was to amplify voices of oppressed people and support global political movements. The LMO's 1982 album The Ballad of the Fallen commented on the Spanish Civil War and U.S. involvement in Latin America. The LMO toured widely in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1990, the orchestra released Dream Keeper, inspired by Langston Hughes' poetry and drawing on American gospel and South African music to address racism and apartheid. The album featured the Oakland Youth Chorus. In 2005, H

Awards

In 2012, Haden received the NEA Jazz Masters Award. In 2013, Haden received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014, Haden was given the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture. In 2015, a posthumous ceremony in his honor was held in New York City. At this event, his widow, Ruth, was presented with the medal.

Legacy

Haden did not belong to a specific religious group, but he was interested in spiritual ideas, especially those connected to music. He believed it was his responsibility, and the responsibility of artists, to create beauty and help make the world a better place. He encouraged his students to discover their own special way of playing music and to express it through their instruments. He also taught them to focus on the present moment, saying, "there is no yesterday or tomorrow, only the moment you are in." To find this state and understand one's spiritual side, Haden encouraged people to be humble and respectful of beauty. He believed they should be grateful for the ability to make music and use it to give back to the world. He said music taught him how to share and receive, and he passed this lesson on to his students. Haden believed music also teaches important lessons about life. He said, "I learned early that music teaches you about life. When you are improvising, there is no past or future—only the moment you are in. In that moment, you feel how small you are compared to the universe. It is then that you understand your true importance."

Haden saw jazz as "the music of rebellion" and believed it was his duty to challenge the world through music and take artistic risks that showed his personal vision. He believed all music comes from the same place and avoided putting music into separate groups. He had no preference for certain types of music or musicians and worked with people who shared his ideas about music and life. His music, especially the work he did with the LMO, was inspired by music from people fighting for freedom. He explained this in reference to his 2002 album American Dreams: "I dreamed of a world without cruelty and greed, of a humanity with the same creativity as our solar system, of an America that honors the dreams of Martin Luther King and the meaning of the Statue of Liberty. This music is for those who still hope for a society filled with kindness, deep creativity, and respect for life—for our children and our future."

In addition to his expressive playing, Haden was known for his warm sound and gentle vibrato on the double bass. He believed the bassist should play a more active role in group improvisation rather than just supporting other musicians. This is clear in his work with the Ornette Coleman Quartet, where he often played melodic responses to Coleman's free-style solos instead of following written music. He often closed his eyes while performing and curved his body around the bass until his head was near the bottom of the instrument.

In an interview, pianist Ethan Iverson said Haden's "mix of folk songs, unusual musical ideas, and harmony similar to Bach's classical music is as unique in this style as Thelonious Monk or Elvin Jones."

Haden owned two basses: one was three-quarters the size of a standard bass, and the other was seven-eighths the size. The larger bass was one of a few made by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume in the 1800s. He valued this bass highly and only played it during recording sessions or at jobs close to his home to avoid damaging it during travel. He believed the bass's special quality came from the varnish Vuillaume used.

Haden had tinnitus and hyperacusis, which made it difficult for him to play with a drummer. As a result, he played behind a Plexiglass divider when performing with a drummer.

Pianist Keith Jarrett said of Haden's playing style: "He wanted to connect with the music in a deeply personal way every time. He wasn’t someone who would simply enjoy a rhythm just because it was there."

Personal life

Charlie's son, Josh Haden, is a bass guitarist and singer in the group Spain. Charlie's three daughters, Petra, Tanya, and Rachel, are triplets born on October 11, 1971. They are all singers and instrumentalists. All four of Charlie's children are from a previous relationship with Ellen David. Petra plays the violin, Rachel plays the piano and bass guitar, and Tanya, a visual artist, plays the cello. The three daughters formed a band called The Haden Triplets, and they released their self-titled album in 2012. Comedian, actor, and musician Jack Black is Charlie's son-in-law through Tanya.

Charlie Haden died in Los Angeles on July 11, 2014, at the age of 76. He had been suffering from post-polio syndrome and complications related to liver disease. A memorial concert was held at New York City's Town Hall on January 13, 2015. The event was produced and organized by his wife, Ruth.