Impulse! Charlie Haden - Liberation Music Orchestra

1970

Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Dewey Redman
Bass [Bass Violin] – Charlie Haden
Clarinet – Perry Robinson
Cornet, Flute – Don Cherry
French Horn, Wood Block, Bells, Whistle – Bob Northern
Guitar, Thumb Piano – Sam Brown
Percussion – Andrew Cyrille, Paul Motian
Piano, Tambourine – Carla Bley
Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet – Gato Barbieri
Trombone – Roswell Rudd
Trumpet – Mike Mantler
Tuba – Howard Johnson

Impulse! ‎– AS-9183

A fascinating reissue that comfortably straddles the lines of jazz, folk, and world music, working up a storm by way of a jazz protest album that points toward the Spanish Civil War in particular and the Vietnam War in passing. Haden leads the charge and contributes material, but the real star here may in fact be Carla Bley, who arranged numbers, wrote several, and contributed typically brilliant piano work. Also of particular note in a particularly talented crew is guitarist Sam Brown, the standout of “El Quinto Regimiento/Los Cuatro Generales/Viva la Quince Brigada,” a 21-minute marathon. (AllMusic.com)

A legendary album and rightfully so, Charlie Haden's 1969 protest piece, "Liberation Music Orchestra", is one of the essential pieces of music of his era. Assembling an extended cast of musicians to support the music with arrangements by the versatile Carla Bley, the music blends free jazz with folk traditions from the United States and Europe. Along the way, a series of fantastic individual performances underscore just how brilliant the record is.

The record, as all LPs were, was originally two sides, and Bley took advantage of this in the arranging, with the two sides being very different-- opening with a passionate theme (titled just "The Introduction") featuring superb alto playing from Dewey Redman-- this quickly descends into the first folk piece, the Eastern European "Song of the United Front" before moving into a medley of Spanish folk forms. Standout performances from guitarist Sam Brown (who is positively brilliant throuhgout the extended suite) and Don Cherry (whose cornet solo is totally brilliant) threaten to hide the brilliant arrangement-- Bley cleverly interweaves Spanish themes over an "oom-pa-pa" beat implying an Eastern European waltz in the middle of the piece-- the effect is nothing short of stunning. Eventually, her introduction is reprised, again performed with enormous passion and power, leaving one having experienced something stunning and noteworthy. [Amazon]