Bassist
Charlie Haden gained his initial fame with the
Ornette Coleman Quartet of 1959-1961, developing an innovative style that allowed him to walk the bass and create a forward movement and momentum while not stating a chord structure.
Haden worked on other rewarding groups through the years, including his Liberation Music Orchestra, the 1970s
Keith Jarrett Quintet, and in
Old and New Dreams. His longest running project has been Quartet West, which he formed in 1986. A somewhat nostalgic unit, Quartet West matches
Haden with tenor saxophonist
Ernie Watts, pianist
Alan Broadbent and usually drummer
Larance Marable on melodic jazz that often could have been played in 1950s (or at least 1960s) Los Angeles. The two-CD set The Private Collection consists of two rare concerts from early in the group's existence. The first CD, recorded at a club date on
Charlie Haden's 50th birthday, has the group (with its original drummer
Billy Higgins) playing songs by
Pat Metheny,
Tony Scott,
Miles Davis,
Bach (a beautiful rendition of "Etudes"), and
Charlie Parker in 1987. The second CD, recorded in 1988 in St. Louis, was a homecoming of sorts for
Haden, who had many friends in the audience. The quartet (with
Paul Motian on drums) performs numbers by
Metheny (a second version of "Farmer's Trust"),
Charlie Parker, and
Ornette Coleman (a nearly 23-minute rendition of "Lonely Woman") plus "Body and Soul" and two
Haden originals.
Ernie Watts' tenor flights are consistently full of fire, passion, and intensity. His tone is soulful and distinctive, and
Watts' style has his own "sheets of sound." While
Haden and the drummers are capable of pulling the music in any direction, pianist
Alan Broadbent keeps the proceedings grounded, chordal, and boppish. Although one would not have necessarily predicted this direction for
Charlie Haden's music in 1970, it has worked out quite well. This well-recorded two-fer features
Haden's Quartet West at its best. ~
Scott Yanow