Charlie Haden Quartet West - Haunted Heart

Bassist Charlie Haden was already an avant-garde titan through his role in Ornette Coleman's empire-rattling '60s quartet, an avatar for politically-committed jazz through his Liberation Music Orchestra, and a first-call star thanks to associations with Keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny, and countless other pathfinders. But Haden was, and is, an omnivorous listener and fan with an openly romantic vein, and this sophomore project for his own mainstream quartet celebrates his love of classic pop and film noir. Opening with the Warner Bros. fanfare that introduced John Huston's classic 1941 realization of The Maltese Falcon, this programmatic gem shifts from '40s covers to sympathetic originals evoking the smoky demimonde of noir classics, and underlined by their allusive titles ("Hello My Lovely," "Lady in the Lake," and "The Long Goodbye" are the obvious Chandlerian connections). Interpolating luminous vocal recordings from the '40s by Jo Stafford (the title song), Jeri Southern, and Billie Holiday, Haunted Heart is cinematic in the best sense, its elegant acoustic jazz looking affectionately back across the decades, yet still in the moment emotionally. --Sam Sutherland Amazon.com

The 1 CD I'd take to a tropical isle

This is among my favorite of all CDs I've listened to. The instrumentals are beautiful and run the spectrum of many different moods but all evocative of 1940s movies and Hollywood itself. Rather than being distracting , the vocal pieces are at first jarring but then you sense how they fit into the bigger piece and add a reality and history to the one being recreated by this great group of musicians. July 27, 2008

Alan Broadbent and Ernie Watts are good.

His music is the good music which reminds the old good United States. August 12, 2006

new music in an old mode, with better pictures

I heard Bob Belden's "Black Dahlia" earlier and only heard this recently. Maybe this is where Belden got his idea for a soundtrack of the mind, using late 40's early 50's themes. And a Raymond Chandler gumshoe, chantueses and smoky LA nightclubs.

This one is quite different than Belden's, Black Dahlia is edgier and more orchestrated, and more like a film track. Haunted Heart contains mostly quartet arrangements: swing songs, bebop, ballads, a little latin jazz. And also original period ballad recordings by Jo Stafford, Billie Holliday, Jeri Southern. The recordings from the period, some of the better known songs, are dark with great depth. Like Hayden's "Moonlight Serenade". I was deep in the song before I recognized the melody. Haden and group maintain the mood, the noir darkness and a sense of romantic nostalgia, while making new music in a late 40's mold. It's like a memory of a failed love affair.

As is said elsewhere, there are also dark, little played moody songs by famous vocalists of the period. This help the mood.

Recommended. The more you hear, the more you like it. Someone once said they "liked radio, because the pictures are better"! February 17, 2004

Surprisingly good, accessible, moody, intimate jazz...

I have a slightly different take on this disc than the seven reviewers who posted before me, and I urge you to read them all. To me, the only weak parts of the project are the three brief vintage vocals by Jo, Jeri and Billie. Respected singers all, for sure, but the Quartet West plays so strongly, the solos are so beautiful, the swinging parts are so much fun, that the vocals seem distracting to me. This is my first experience of Haden and QW, but I love it. For a 1990's group to capture the feel of '40's movies and '50's jazz as well as they do is remarkable. If you like traditional small-group jazz, this is an hour you shouldn't miss. January 31, 2004

Already a classic

And it may well be for you too. Beautifully conceived, marvelously played. A gem. January 25, 2002

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