06025447984807 CHARLIE HADEN LIBERATION

06025447984807CHARLIE HADEN LIBERATION MUSIC ORCHESTRA(Song forthe Whalesand OtherBeings)ARRANGEMENTS BY CARLABLEY

1.blue in green 8:15(Miles Davis) Jazz Horn Music Corporation / BMISoloists: Michael Rodriguez, Charlie Haden, Chris Cheek2. time/life 14:18CHARLIE HADENLIBERATION MUSIC ORCHESTRA(Carla Bley) Alrac Music / BMISoloists: Tony Malaby, Matt Wilson, Carla Bley, Steve Cardenas,Steve Swallow, Chris Cheek, Michael Rodriguez, Curtis Fowlkes,Vincent Chancey, Seneca Black, Loren Stillman, Joseph Daley3. silent spring 11:41(Carla Bley) Alrac Music / BMISoloists: Chris Cheek, Michael Rodriguez4. útviklingssang 7:54(song for the whales and other beings)(Carla Bley) Alrac Music / BMISoloists: Loren Stillman, Curtis Fowlkes5. song for the whales 11:44(Charlie Haden) Liberation Music Co. / BMISoloists: Charlie Haden, Tony MalabyBass performed by CharlieHaden and Steve SwallowCarla BleyArranged and conducted by

in memory of1937 – 2014Charlie HadenLos Angeles1958 Chuck BeachCharlie Haden

By RuthCameron HadenCharlie founded the Liberation MusicOrchestra in 1969. It was his musical reactionto the injustices he saw occurring in the worldat that time, most notably the Vietnam Warthat had just spread to Cambodia. He askedhis friend, composer and arranger Carla Bley toarrange music he had chosen, some he composed,some Carla composed, and some songs from theSpanish Civil War that inspired him. He assembled astellar line-up of improvising musicians includingDon Cherry, Dewey Redman, Paul Motian, GatoBarbieri, Sam Brown, and other greats, andrecorded his first album. It garnered many awardsand accolades, and the band began to tour.Charlie was not only deeply passionate aboutbeautiful music and harmonies, but also aboutsocial justice, thus, with each subsequent decade,Charlie felt the need to reunite the band to produceanother recording addressing the issues of theday which concerned him: the US involvement inthe Salvadoran Civil War (The Ballad of the Fallen),Racism (Dream Keeper), the invasion of Iraq(Not In Our Name).Over the years, he recorded four LiberationMusic Orchestra albums in the studio, along withone live album of a performance at the 1989Montreal Jazz Festival.The inspiration for Charlie to make this newalbum was his observation of the increasinglydisastrous state of our environment, and howunconsciously we humans are treating eachother, our planet, as well as all living beings onthis earth. Loss of livable habitat for all forms oflife, a result of sheer human greed and ignorance, istearing away at the very essence of our existence.This had been concerning both Charlie and I formany years. In fact, Charlie wrote “Song Forthe Whales” in 1979.We began to solidify the concept of this newalbum in 2007, but we were committed to severalother projects before we could begin work onthe new Orchestra album.Finally, in August, 2011, we were presented witha fortuitous opportunity to have the Orchestraperform at the Jazz Middelheim Festival inAntwerp, Belgium. The festival director, BertrandFlamang, wanted his festival to focus on theenvironment which gave Charlie the impetushe needed to ask Carla to arrange two tuneswhich we would present at the festival, “Blue inGreen” which, to Charlie at least, had an evocativeconnection to the environment, (besides, heloved the tune!), and “Song for the Whales”. Wethen began to prepare in earnest for the futurerecording. The performance at the festivalwas overwhelmingly beautiful. Luckily, the twotracks were recorded by Belgium Public Radiofor only one local airing. Although we couldnot know that this would be the only recordingCharlie would make of these two tunes. One canominously hear as he introduces the band, thedifficulty he was already experiencing in speakingand swallowing. We’re nevertheless so fortunateto have recorded his message to the world abouthaving reverence for life.In 2012, Charlie’s health took a sudden downturn,and we were no longer able to focus on the futurealbum. My entire energy was to do everything tofind a solution for Charlie’s worsening post-poliosyndrome that was increasingly debilitating him.We remained hopeful, however, that Charlie wouldimprove thus we continued to have severaldiscussions with Carla about additional tunes. Wewanted to record her composition “Silent Spring”that she had written in 1960’s. Carla reworked itfor the Orchestra as it is now more timely thanever. Carla suggested “Utviklingssang” whichshe had written in the 1970’s in response to oneof Norway’s many development scandals whenthe Norwegian government planned to developa series of dams in the far north to generateelectricity for the big cities; the dams wouldhave a negative impact on the local people,animals and fish.Upon hearing of Charlie’s death, Carla giftedme a new composition “Time/Life” that shehad written to honor her long-time friend, andI asked her if she would write an arrangementof it for the Orchestra as it’s such an appropriateway to honor Charlie.I also asked her if she would co-produce thisfinal Liberation Music Orchestra album with me.Carla said yes!I then took my case to our long-time friendand supporter, the visionary producer JeanPhilippe Allard. I knew how much Charlie loved

Carla outdid herself with the beauty ofmost of this music, and the musicians,comprised of our team from the album“Not In Our Name” and who over theyears became our family, played withsuch passion and reverence. Steve Swallowwho has known Charlie since the early1960’s, and whom Charlie admired somuch as a bass player and loved as afriend, was the obvious choice to performbass on this music. Carla was immediatelyreceptive to the idea, as she liked thefact that Steve would be playing electric bassin Charlie’s place, a different instrument thanCharlie’s. I wish to profoundly thank producers,Jean-Philippe Allard and Farida Bachir, andworking with Jean-Philippe and Farida on manyrecordings since the 1990’s. We are also so fortunateThank you Carla Bley and Steve Swallow andthe entire Liberation Music Orchestra musiciansfor your musical brilliance andloving support! I thank BertrandFlamang of Jazz MiddelheimRadio Belgium. I also wishto thank our tour manager,Albert Sun, and assistant, OwenCameron, for their hard work onthe road and at the recording.Although words cannot expressthe depth of my feelings, I willalways be grateful to my husbandand best friend, Charlie Haden,for his love, his music, and hisinspiration. Cheung Ching Mingthe music that the Orchestra had recorded atthe festival, and that he had imagined howthe recording would sound once allwas complete. I knew we had to finishthis project for him, and for the world,as the music is too beautiful to letlanguish in obscurity. Jean-Philippethought about it for, at least five minutes,discussed it with producer, Farida Bachir,and they agreed to go ahead with theproject.engineer, Jay Newland, who have worked tirelesslyon this project. We have had the good fortune ofto be able to work with Jay Newland one moretime. We have made over fifteen albums with him!Ruth Cameron Haden, 2016

By carlableyWhen Barack Obama was elected President ofthe United States in 2008, the musicians in theLiberation Music Orchestra thought they wereout of a job. Charlie had only felt moved to makealbums with the LMO when he was infuriatedwith the political system. But even with Obamain office he became more and more upsetabout ongoing crimes against the environment.Finally his wife Ruth pointed out that maybe heshould make another LMO album to protest themistreatment of the earth’s plants and animals.Charlie spoke to me about the idea and webegan to look for material that would makesense instrumentally. We decided on “Songfor the Whales” with Charlie’s evocative intro,and “Blue in Green” which just squeaked ontothe list because of it’s title, and because it wassuch a beautiful piece. The promoter of the JazzMiddelheim Festival in Belgium had asked Charlieto bring the Orchestra to perform at his festivalwhich was focusing on environmental issues, soCharlie asked me to write arrangements of thosetwo pieces for the occasion. Luckily, the BelgianRadio recorded the concert, and Charlie playedgreat. We didn’t realize at the time that wewould be able to include his only performanceof this music on an album we would completeafter he was gone.We went on to play in Oslo, where people werestill reeling from the massacre of 77 peopleby a madman. I thought that an arrangementof “Útviklingssang” would be an appropriatelymournful song to play at the concert. The titlereferred to the construction of dams in the farnorth of Norway, which would disrupt the livesof reindeer and salmon and the Sami people wholived there. That concert wasn’t recorded, butwe had another arrangement ready for a newLMO album.Unfortunately, Charlie’s health took a downturn.We decided to include “Silent Spring”, a piecethat I had written in the sixties which madereference to a pioneering book on the environmentby Rachel Carson, and I was working on anarrangement of it for the LMO, but we hadn’t yetthought of any other appropriate songs. Progresson the album slowed while Charlie and Ruthdealt with his increasing infirmity. When I finallygot the call from Ruth that Charlie had passedaway, all I could think to do was to write music.I sat at the piano and my hands played what Ithought would be a final chord. But it was thefirst chord of “Time/Life”, the piece that wouldbecome my goodbye to him. The piece was forCharlie and the band, but I dedicated it to Ruthwho had to be suffering the loss of his living selfmore than the rest of us. The idea for the titlecame as I remembered something that GeorgeRussell had pointed out to a friend who wasvisiting him at Belleview Hospital, where Georgewas being treated for bleeding ulcers and fearedhe might die. What he could see from his bednear the window was the top of the Time-LifeBuilding, an imposing skyscraper on 6th Avenue,with the disturbing words Time and Life flashingalternately. Who would have thought that thisalbum would only be finished after Charlie ranout of time?Ruth asked Jean-Philippe Allard, of ImpulseRecords in France, if still wanted to make thealbum, and he did, so we went into the studio fortwo days at the beginning of 2015 to completeit. Charlie had wanted Steve Swallow to be thebass player if he could no longer lead the bandand play, and that decision was accepted byeveryone. The musicians played with a level oflove and dedication that I had never experienced.Let us hope that this music will inspire awarenessof how beautiful the earth is, and how importantit is for us to take better care of it.Carla Bley, 2016

Cheung Ching MingThis album is dedicated to CHARLIE HADEN, FELICIA WILSON and WANDA DALEYwhose beautiful souls were taken from us much too earlyProduced by RUTH CAMERON HADEN & CARLA BLEYArranged & Conducted by CARLA BLEYPiano: CARLA BLEYBass on Tracks 1 and 5: CHARLIE HADENElectric Bass on Tracks 2, 3 and 4: STEVE SWALLOWTenor Sax: TONY MALABYTenor Sax: CHRIS CHEEKAlto Sax: LOREN STILLMANTrumpet: MICHAEL RODRIGUEZTrumpet: SENECA BLACKTrombone: CURTIS FOWLKESFrench Horn: VINCENT CHANCEYTuba: JOSEPH DALEYGuitar: STEVE CARDENASDrums: MATT WILSONCopyist : KAREN MANTLERCARLA BLEYSTEVE SWALLOWTONY MALABYCHRIS CHEEKLOREN STILLMANMICHAEL RODRIGUEZSENECA BLACKCURTIS FOWLKESVINCENT CHANCEYJOSEPH DALEYSTEVE CARDENASMATT WILSON