Since We Should/Must Stay Inside, Make The Best of It!

Viewing & Listening Tips for those who need to learn patience (and soon):

1) - Fred Hersch is posting a video everyday at 1 pm on his Facebook and then it is archived––check it out.

www.facebook.com/fredherschmusic/.

You can tune in at 1 p.m. or find the link to his daily mini-concert.

Plus, you should follow the link to "The Ballad of Fred Hersch" – created by the team of Charlotte LaGarde and Carrie Lozano, the documentary was released in 2016 and, like his 2017 autobiography "Good Things Happen Slowly: A Life In and Out of Jazz" (Crown Archetype), paints a honest picture of the pianist's life , his coming-to-terms with AIDS, and the coma that nearly claimed his life in 2008. The movie contains a number of long musical performances plus shows the composers hard at work at recovering and creating "My Coma Dreams", his 2014 jazz/theater piece only available on DVD.

Here's the link:
https://vimeo.com/145825359

2) - Just discovered this morning that, for the next two weeks (through 4/7/20), you can view for free "Rambling Boy", the 2009 Charlie Haden documentary created by Reto Caduff. Haden was the essence of "Speak softly but carry a big stick" in that he had a a quite voice but his bass and music stood up against tyranny at home (the United States) and and the world world.  Haden left many legacies including his musical family, his work with Ornette Coleman, Pat Metheny, Keith Jarrett, Old & New Dreams as well as the Liberation Music Orchestra.

Here's the link to the movie:
https://vimeo.com/399832399

3) – The number of music documentaries, concerts, and daily musical interludes on YouTube, Amazon Prime, Netflix, NPR.org, etc is amazing. Jazz at Lincoln Center announced they'll post free videos every week starting today with the JALC's shows about Miles Davis, South African Music, and a Family Concert: "Who is Chick Corea?"  Go to https://www.jazz.org for more information.

4) - Podcasts: While you're hanging about or out for a walk/jog/run, there are a slew of podcasts (seemingly more everyday) for your distraction/entertainment. Check out my friend Jason Crane (you'll see links in the right-hand corner of this blog page) plus the often-brilliant "A Noise From the Deep" (trumpeter Dave Douglas's monthly conversations with modern musicians/creators––go to https://greenleafmusic.com/podcasts/). Make time for Leo Sidran's "The Third Story"podcast to be found at www.third-story.com as well as trombonist/label owner Nick Finzer's "Outside In Music Podcast" at www.outsideinmusic.com/podcast. Of course, there are a ton more––if you have a favorite, send me a link at richard_b_kamins@snet.net.

Stay safe!

Charlie Haden

Just as I published my previous post, news of Charlie Haden's passing was coursing around Twitter, Facebook and the internet.

He'd been suffering for the past several years, had stopped playing in public and in the recording studio.

I never met him but he certainly had an impact on my opinions about the role of musicians in the modern world.  Mr Haden used his music to speak his mind about the foibles of democracy, about revolution, the rights of every person to live his or her life in freedom and the hypocrisy all around us.  Those beliefs certainly rubbed some people the wrong way but....

His music never lied, whether it was the raucous in-your-face-and-ears approach of the Liberation Music Orchestra or the film noir approach of Quartet West, Charlie Haden was honest.  The work he did with Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry in the 1950s and 60s (and the various reunions), his interactions with Keith Jarrett in his 1970's Impulse and ECM groups, Old & New Dreams (pictured left) in the 1980s, the trio with Geri Allen and Paul Motian and so much more, all stood out for its strong music and lack of compromise.

Then, of course, the love he had for his family stands out in a world where relationships can be as disposable as paper cups.  He started out singing and playing with his family's country & western band in the late 1940s and, in 2008, gathered his children, wife and friends to create a new musical experience along those lines for his "Rambling Boy" record.

Charlie Haden walked tall in good times and persevered in bad times, pushing music and ideas out from the rhythm section, not afraid to tell the truth as he saw it.  He played with substance, not speed, a full tone and articulated notes, not settling into the background (unless called for).

Many Jewish people believe in "tikkun olam", that we are on this earth to promote healing, to help repair what lies broken around us.  Though not a Jew, Charlie Haden, through his music and his activism, was just that kind of "repairman" and we were quite lucky to have him in our midst.