Charlie Haden

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Charlie Haden plays a solo rendition of Ornette Coleman’s “Lonely Woman” during a concert in Portugal.

Born and raised on a farm in Shenandoah, Iowa started out singing on his families radio program but suffered partial paralysis to his throat muscles as the result of polio when he was fourteen.

He began playing double bass and moved to Los Angles in 1957 in search of pianist Hampton Hawes.

Charlie would cut his first records that year with Paul Bley and went on to work with Art Pepper and eventually Hampton Hawes from 1958 to 1959.

In 1959 Charlie Haden move to New York with Ornette Coleman’s Quartet shortly after he joined the group.

After starting a family Haden resumed his career in 1964 working with Archie Shepp and John Handy’s trio.

He was a member of Keith Jarrett’s Trio and ‘American Quartet’ with Paul Motian and Dewey Redman from 1967 to 1976, and began leading his own “Liberation Music Orchestra” during the 1970s.

After spending his final years suffering from effects of post-polio syndrome, Charlie Haden died in Los Angeles on July 11, 2014.

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