Oct 20, 2015 CalArts Tribute to Charlie Haden
I’m the first one to admit that I don’t know anything about jazz. But I respect the art form and know Rachel Haden, so my family and I drove out to Valencia and attended the CalArts tribute to her late father and legendary musician and teacher at the campus’s Wild Beast stage.
Rachel and fellow Haden Triplets Petra and Tanya played a gorgeous, raw, and masterful yet loving batch of Americana songs–the sort of stuff Charlie Haden performed daily on his family’s radio show during his childhood in Iowa. Their short set reflected Charlie’s roots (not to mention the foundation of American music) as well as his legacy in his family of musicians (by blood, instruction, collaboration, and spirit) that lives on.
It was fitting that the leader of the Liberation Music Orchestra would be paid tribute to at a free-to-all, open-air show, and it commenced with a number of duos, trios, and quartets played by students and colleagues. Even a jazz novice like me had to be blown away by the appearance of Ernie Watts (Haden’s Quartet West, but also the Stones and Zappa) or appreciate the lineage of a guy like Ravi Coltrane (student of Haden, son of Haden’s friends John and Alice, and collaborator of Flying Lotus). The combos smoldered with bonds of musicianship and family. The cover of Ornette Coleman’s “Turnaround” was especially cool, with Coltrane, Ralph Alessi, and Peter Epstein taking turns at solos.
The evening ended with a reunited Liberation Music Orchestra conducted by Vinny Golia playing “Silence,” “Not In Our Name,” and “We Shall Overcome.” The traditional protest song that always ended Haden’s shows was preceded by an open call to students who had studied under Haden, and provided an appropriately rowdy and cozy free-for-all to cap the evening.
Did I mention my wife and I brought our daughter and nieces to the show? After we finished picnicking in the front row, the three little girls danced to the side of the stage throughout the duos, trios, and quartets–probably the evening’s most solemn pieces. They were pretty quiet but they were still kids goofing around, and I was a little worried about them bothering or distracting the coolcats in the crowd. Yet as we packed up, passers by said things to us like “Keep nurturing their free spirits.”
The CalArts tribute may not have had the same star-studded roster as the Manhattan version in January (would have been interesting to counter New York jazz greats with musicians from L.A.’s underground like Mike Watt or Beck) but Charlie Haden’s spirit clearly lives on in Valencia and beyond.