Legendary bassist Charlie Haden (1937 - 2014) formed the Liberation Music Orchestra in 1969. A founding member of the revolutionary Ornette Coleman Quartet and first choice bassist for the likes of Keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny and Michael Brecker, Haden's solid tone, revolutionary harmonic sense and adventurous large ensembles made him one of the most influential figures in modern jazz. This engrossing live set, originally recorded and broadcast by WGBH Boston at the Somerville Theater, Somerville, Mass. U.S.A. on 14th March 1993, features soloists including Joe Lovano (sax), Tom Harrell (trumpet) and Amina Claudine Myers (piano). The concert begins with a coruscating version of Nkosi Sikhelel iAfrika the anthem of the African National Congress (and now the anthem of the post apartheid state of South Africa). Featuring breathtaking solos from Makanda Ken McIntyre on alto, Javon Jackson and Joe Lovano on tenors and Bill Stewart on drums, this is a special performance. Sandino opens with Haden's majestic statement accompanied by Mick Goodrick's spanish inflected guitar. Tom Harrell produces a typically intense flugelhorn solo followed Ray Anderson on trombone. On Tale of the Tornado Mick Goodrick's extended solo cadenza on spanish guitar sets the scene for an extended old-school Joe Lovano and Javon Jackson tenor chase. For Carla Bley's monumental Dream Keeper Suite original themes are interwoven with traditional songs from El Salvador, Venezuela and the spanish civil war. Haden's composition Spiritual, dedicated to Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers and Malcolm X ends the concert by featuring Joe Daley's virtuoso tuba playing. Charlie Haden: bass Javon Jackson, Joe Lovano: tenor sax Makanda Ken McIntyre: alto & soprano sax Tom Harrell, Earl Gardner, Tim Hagans: trumpet Ray Anderson: trombone Ahnee Sharon Freeman: french horn Joe Daley: tuba Amina Claudine Myers: piano, vocals Mick Goodrick: electric guitar Mark Burton: percussion Bill Stewart: drums
