Quartet West

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Quartet West
Studio album by Charlie Haden

Publication
(s)

1987

Label (s) Verve Records

Format (s)

LP, CD

Genre (s)

jazz

Title (number)

8/10

running time

62:17 (CD)

occupation

production

Hans Wendl

Studio (s)

Producers Studio, Los Angeles

chronology
The Ballad of the Fallen
(1983) 		Quartet West Etudes
(1987)
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Quartet West is a jazz album by Charlie Haden , recorded in two sessions on December 22nd and 23rd, 1986 in Los Angeles. Quartet West also refers to Haden's Californian band .

The album

Charlie Haden's Quartet West was a successful ensemble in the 1980s and 1990s for the bassist who had previously made a name for himself as an avant-garde bassist in Ornette Coleman's band and with his Liberation Music Orchestra . After his return to the American West Coast in 1979 and the Quartet West , he returned to a more bop-influenced, more mainstream sound. In addition to two original compositions by Haden ( In the Moment , Bay City and Solo Taney County ), the band plays two tracks from Ornette Coleman's repertoire ( The Good Life and The Blessing ), the Pat-Metheny number Hermitage (from Methenys ECM- Album New Chautauqua , 1979) as well as the jazz standards Body and Soul , My Foolish Heart , Billy Strayhorns Passion Flower and Charlie Parkers Passport . The music on the album (and the subsequent productions by the Quartet West ) is intended to evoke the character of the 1940s, the years of Haden's childhood and his participation in his family's radio show. Haden dedicated his composition Bay City to the crime writer Raymond Chandler and quotes in the liner notes a passage from his book Lebwohl, mein Liebling from 1940, which begins with:

" I starred back at the lights of Bay City and tried not to bear down too hard on my dinner "
Charlie Haden Quartet West (2007)

Rating of the album

Stacia Proefrock gave the album the highest rating of five stars in Allmusic and wrote:

“Although the album doesn't stretch many boundaries stylistically, this format hardly detracts from Haden's impressive performances, and his affection for the material is evident in its intricate arrangements, especially on Ornette Coleman's two tracks, 'The Good Life' and 'The Blessing' . 'The Good Life' in particular is energetic and a sample of the skillful, joyful and effortless playing of pianist Alan Broadbent. Haden brings three original compositions here, the most convincing of which is 'In the Moment', which shows some of the rhythmic complexity that he had revealed in his earlier work. However, the real highlight of the album may be its version of Charlie Parker's 'Passport' which brings the whole band together in an exuberant burst of energy ” .

In their review, Richard Cook and Brian Morton (1993) describe the Quartet West's first album as the best:

" The 1986 record is in the style of the '40s, beautiful and idiomatically played. Watts and Broadbent are as aware of contemporary harmonics as one would expect, but they aren't prepared to dismiss an older language either. Haden himself straddles the broad highway that runs from Jimmy Blanton to Jimmy Garrison , and some of the phrase shapes irresistibly recall Wilbur Ware . Even allowing for the crytalline quality of the record, who would with confidence have dated these performances of Body and Soul and My Foolish Heart ? "

The titles

  • Charlie Haden: Quartet West (Verve Records - 831 673-1)
  1. Hermitage (Metheny) 7:59
  2. Body and Soul (Eyton, Green, Heyman, Sour) 6:19
  3. The Good Life (Coleman, Distel) 4:39
  4. In the Moment (Haden) 6:06
  5. Bay City (Haden) 6:46
  6. My Foolish Heart ( Victor Young , Ned Washington ) 6:47
  7. Passport (Parker) 4:45
  8. Taney County (Haden) 7:39
  9. The Blessing (Coleman) 5:50
  10. Passion Flower (Strayhorn) 4:53

More albums by the Quartet West

  • Charlie Haden's Private Collection, Volume 2 (Naim, 1987), same cast
  • In Angel City (Verve, 1988), with Lawrence Marable and Alex Cline instead of Billy Higgins
  • Haunted Heart (Verve, 1990)
  • Always Say Goodbye (Verve, 1993)
  • Now Is The Hour (Verve Gitanes / 1995)
  • The Art Of Song (Verve Gitanes / 1999), with Shirley Horn, Bill Henderson
  • Sophisticated Ladies (2010)

literature

Web links

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ See Cook & Morton, 1993.
  2. ↑ quoted from the Liner Notes.
  3. ↑ In the original: “ While the album may not be stretching many boundaries stylistically, this format does little to dilute Haden's impressive performances, and his love for this material is made obvious with his intricate arrangements, especially on the two Ornette Coleman tunes, 'The Good Life 'and' The Blessing '. 'The Good Life', in particular, is infused with energy, and is a showcase for some nimble, joyous, effortless playing by pianist Alan Broadbent. Haden has three originals here, the strongest of which, 'In the Moment,' shows off some of the rhythmic complexity that he has displayed in his previous work. Perhaps the true highlight of the album, though, is a version of Charlie Parker's 'Passport' that brings together the whole band in one exuberant expression of energy . "
  4. ^ Review of the album Quartet West at Allmusic (English). Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  5. ^ Richard Cook, Brian Morton: The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. 8th edition. Penguin, London 2006, ISBN 0-14-102327-9 .