Bassist Charlie Haden, who died July 11, formed the Liberation Music Orchestra with pianist Carla Bley at the height of the Vietnam War in 1969 after hearing songs from the Spanish Civil War. The LMO performed and recorded throughout the 1970s and was arranged largely by Bley, with a focus on political folk music, free jazz and experimental forms. Throughout his career, Haden was a kind soul and a humanist who, like many artists, identified with the powerless and hoped his music would enrich and inspire them. Deeply troubled by the war in Iraq, Haden and Bley reunited in 2004 with the New Liberation Music Orchestra and performed in France during the Jazz in Marciac Festival, which was taped by French TV. Here's the entire performance, with a special thanks to Jimi Mentis in Athens for sending along the link...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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