Charlie Haden - Bass
As a member of saxophonist Ornette Coleman's early bands, bassist Charlie Haden became known as one of free jazz's founding fathers. Haden has never settled into any of jazz's many stylistic niches, however. Certainly he's played his share of dissonant music -- in the '60 and '70s, as a sideman with Coleman and Keith Jarrett, and as a leader of the Liberation Music Orchestra, for instance -- but for the most part, he seems drawn to consonance. Witness his trio with saxophonist Jan Garbarek and guitarist Egberto Gismonti, whose ECM album Silence epitomized a profoundly lyrical and harmonically simple aesthetic, or his duo with guitarist Pat Metheny, which has as much to do with American folk traditions as with jazz. There's a soulful reserve to Haden's art. Never does he play two notes when one (or none) will do. Not a flashy player along the lines of a Scott LaFaro (who also played with Coleman), Haden's facility may be limited, but his sound and intensity of expression are as deep as any jazz bassist's. Rather than concentrate on speed and agility, Haden subtly explores his instrument's timbral possibilities with a sure hand and sensitive ear.

Haden's childhood was musical. His family was a self-contained country & western act along the lines of the more famous Carter Family, with whom they were friends. They played revival meetings and county fairs in the Midwest and, in the late '30s, had their own radio show that was broadcast twice daily from a 50,000-watt station in Shenandoah, IA (Haden's birthplace). Haden debuted on the family program at the tender age of 22 months, after his mother noticed him humming along to her lullabies. The family moved to Springfield, MO, and began a show there. Haden sang with the family group until contracting polio at the age of 15. The disease weakened the nerves in his face and throat, thereby ending his singing career. In 1955, Haden played bass on a network television show produced in Springfield, hosted by the popular country singer Red Foley. Haden moved to Los Angeles and by 1957 had begun playing jazz with pianists Elmo Hope and Hampton Hawes and saxophonist Art Pepper.

Beginning in 1957, he began an extended engagement with pianist Paul Bley at the Hillcrest Club. It was around then that Haden heard Coleman play for the first time, when the saxophonist sat in with Gerry Mulligan's band in another L.A. nightclub. Coleman was quickly dismissed from the bandstand, but Haden was impressed. They met and developed a friendship and musical partnership, which led to Coleman and trumpeter Don Cherry joining Bley's Hillcrest group in 1958. In 1959, Haden moved with Coleman to New York; that year, Coleman's group with Haden, Cherry, and drummer Billy Higgins played a celebrated engagement at the Five Spot, and began recording a series of influential albums, including The Shape of Jazz to Come and Change of the Century. In addition to his work with Coleman, the '60s saw Haden play with pianist Denny Zeitlin, saxophonist Archie Shepp, and trombonist Roswell Rudd. He formed his own big band, the Liberation Music Orchestra, which championed leftist causes. The band made a celebrated eponymously titled album in 1969 for Impulse!

In 1976, Haden joined with fellow Coleman alumni Cherry, Dewey Redman, and Ed Blackwell to form Old and New Dreams. Also that year, he recorded a series of duets with Hawes, Coleman, Shepp, and Cherry, which was released as The Golden Number (A&M). In 1982, a re-formed Liberation Music Orchestra released The Ballad of the Fallen (ECM). Haden helped found a university-level jazz education program at CalArts in the '80s. He continued to perform, both as a leader and sideman. In the '90s, his primary performing unit became the bop-oriented Quartet West, with tenor saxophonist Ernie Watts, pianist Alan Broadbent, and drummer Larance Marable. He would also reconstitute the Liberation Music Orchestra for occasional gigs. In 2000, Haden reunited with Coleman for a performance at the Bell Atlantic Jazz Festival in New York City. Throughout the 2000s, Haden remained prolific, working with Gonzalo Rubalcaba on Nocturne and Egberto Gismonti on In Montreal in 2001; collaborating with Brad Mehldau, Michael Brecker and Brian Blade on the following year's American Dreams and John Taylor on 2004's Nightfall. That year, Haden returned to Montreal for the Joe Henderson tribute The Montreal Tapes with Henderson and Joe Foster and teamed up with Rubalcaba again for Land of the Sun. The Liberation Orchestra reunited for 2005's Not in Our Name, which was arranged and conducted by Carla Bley, and Haden celebrated his 70th birthday with Heartplay, a date with guitarist Antonio Forcione. Helium Tears, a 1988 session with Jerry Granelli, Robben Ford and Ralph Towner, was released in 2006. In 2008, Haden revisited his country roots with the Decca album Family and Friends: Rambling Boy. Late that year, the album's "Is That America (Katrina 2005)" earned a Grammy nomination for Best Country Instrumental Performance. In 2009, Haden was showcased on pianist Laurence Hobgood's When the Heart Dances which also featured vocalist Kurt Elling. He returned in 2010 with Jasmine, a duo date with pianist Keith Jarrett recorded for a documentary film on his life. In 2011, Haden revisited his longtime noir project Quartet West with Sophisticated Ladies and appeared on the ECM date Live at Birdland (recorded in 2009) with saxophonist Lee Konitz, pianist Brad Mehldau and drummer Paul Motian. Chris Kelsey, Rovi

Der am 6. August 1937 in Shenandoah/Iowa geborene Charlie Haden unternahm seine ersten musikalischen Gehversuche schon im zarten Alter von 22 Monaten, als er singenderweise in der Country & Western-Radiosendung seiner Eltern auftrat. Als Teenager begann er dann Kontrabaß zu spielen. Nachdem er in Missouri die High-School abgeschlossen hatte, zog es ihn nach Los Angeles. "Als ich 1956 nach L.A. kam und Hampton Hawes kennenlernte, gab es dort jede Menge Jazzclubs und die Szene wimmelte vor großartigen Musikern. In dieser Hinsicht ähnelte L.A. damals New York - mitternächtliche Sessions waren an der Tagesordnung und man konnte spielen, bis einem die Finger wehtaten. Das waren definitiv aufregende Zeiten."

Haden spielte damals nicht nur mit Hampton Hawes, sondern auch mit Jazzlegenden wie Art Pepper, Dexter Gordon und Paul Bley, bevor er sich mit dem Altsaxophonisten Ornette Coleman, Trompeter Don Cherry und Schlagzeuger Billy Higgins für regelmäßige Auftritte im Hillcrest Club zusammenschloß. 1959 begab sich das ikonoklastische Quartett das erste Mal nach New York, erhielt ein festes Engagement im Five Spot und nahm eine Serie von bahnbrechenden Avantgarde-Alben auf - darunter "The Shape Of Jazz To Come" und "Change Of The Century" -, die den modernen Jazz revolutionierten. Haden beschränkte sich aber in den wilden 60ern nicht auf die Zusammenarbeit mit Ornette Coleman, sondern tauschte sich auch mit anderen progressiven Jazzgrößen wie John und Alice Coltrane, Archie Shepp oder Roswell Rudd aus.

1969 gründete Haden mit der Pianistin, Komponistin und Arrangeurin Carla Bley das Liberation Music Orchestra. Das Debütalbum dieses Orchesters war ein Meilenstein der modernen Musik und kombinierte experimentalen Big-Band-Jazz mit Volksliedern aus dem spanischen Bürgerkrieg. Von 1967 bis 1976 war Charlie Haden mit Schlagzeuger Paul Motian und Tenorsaxophonist Dewey Redman Mitglied diverser amerikanischer Ensembles des Pianisten Keith Jarrett. Dann feierte er mit Don Cherry, seinem alten Weggefährten aus der Zeit bei Ornette Coleman, in der Band Old And New Dreams eine Reunion. Aufsehen erregte er ein paar Jahre später auch als Mitglied von Pat Methenys 80/81-Band, in der außerdem noch Dewey Redman, Michael Brecker und Jack DeJohnette spielten.

1982 baute Charlie Haden das Jazzstudienprogramm für das California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles auf. Vier Jahre später gründete er mit Saxophonist Ernie Watts, Pianist Alan Broadbent und Schlagzeuger Larance Marable sein melodiebetontes Quartet West, das in den 90er Jahren zu einer weiteren Konstante in Hadens Karriere wurde. In den 90ern ging er darüber hinaus auch mit Pat Metheny, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, John Scofield, Tom Harrell, Hank Jones, Kenny Barron, Ginger Baker, Bill Frisell, Jack DeJohnette und Michael Brecker ins Studio und auf Tournee. Für seine Alben erhielt der Bassist im Laufe der Jahrzehnte zahlreiche Auszeichnungen, darunter auch drei Grammys. In jüngster Zeit arbeitete Haden mit arrivierten Jazzmusikern wie Lee Konitz, Brad Mehldau, Joe Lovano, Gonzalo Ruabalcaba und Alice Coltrane, aber auch mit Popstars wie Beck und dem Ex-Beatle Ringo Starr. Seiner Liebe zur Weltmusik verleiht er immer wieder im Zusammenspiel mit Musikern wie dem brasilianischen Gitarristen und Pianisten Egberto Gismonti, dem argentinischen Bandoneón-Virtuosen Dino Saluzzi oder dem 2004 verstorbenen portugiesischen Gitarrenmeister Carlos Paredes Ausdruck. In eine musikalische Schublade läßt sich Charlie Haden, wie man sieht, nach wie vor nicht stecken.

John Taylor - Piano
John Taylor was born in Manchester (25th September 1942) and first came to the attention of the jazz audience in 1969 when he partnered saxophonists Alan Skidmore and John Surman. He was later reunited with Surman in the short-lived group Morning Glory and in the 1980’s with Miroslav Vitous’s quartet. In the early 1970s he was accompanist to the singer Cleo Laine and started to compose for his own sextet. John also worked with many visiting artists at Ronnie Scott’s club and later became a member of Ronnie’s quintet.

In 1977 John formed the trio Azimuth, with Norma Winstone and Kenny Wheeler. The group was described by Richard Williams as “…one of the most imaginatively conceived and delicately balanced contemporary chamber-jazz groups’. The trio made several recordings for ECM Records and performed in Europe, the USA and Canada. The 1980s saw John working with groups led by Jan Garbarek, Enrico Rava, Gil Evans, Lee Konitz and Charlie Mariano as well as performing in duo contexts with Tony Coe and Steve Arguelles. Composing projects included a commission for the English choir Cantamus with Lee Konitz and Steve Arguelles and pieces for the Hannover Radio Orchestra with Stan Sulzmann. John is currently a member of Kenny Wheeler’s quartet and large ensemble and performs in duo and quartet settings with John Surman – their recording of ‘Ambleside Days’ on ahum won critical acclaim. In 1996 John played organ on John Surman's choral work 'Proverbs and Songs' from Salisbury Cathedral, later released on ECM Records. During the 1990s he made several recordings also for ECM with Peter Erskine's trio with Palle Danielsson on bass.

In 2000 John made a new collaboration with Azimuth and the Smith Quartet for the Weimer Festival. Also in that year he recorded 'Verso' with Maria Pia De Vito and Ralph Towner. John celebrated his 60th birthday year in 2002 with a Contemporary Music Network Tour in which he presented his new trio with the drummer Joey Baron and Marc Johnson on bass. The tour also featured the Creative Jazz Orchestra playing John's composition 'The Green Man Suite'. In July 2002 John received the BBC Jazz Award for 'Best New Work' for this suite.

His trio recording with Marc Johnson and Joey Baron was released early in 2003 and September 2003 saw the release of his solo CD 'Insight' on Sketch. In 2004 John recorded 'Where do we go from Here?' in duo with Kenny Wheeler and 'Nightfall' with bassist Charlie Haden. They subsequently performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival. Also that year John formed a new trio with Palle Danielsson and Martin France. They performed at the Vancouver Festival and recorded 'Angel of the Presence' for CAM Jazz. This recording was released in January 2006 to coincide with their UK tour and has received critical acclaim.

John has been professor of Jazz Piano at the Cologne College of Music since 1993 and became a Lecturer in jazz at York University in 2005.