Charlie Haden, Hank Jones - Steal Away

Charlie Haden has always had a penchant for roots music, including folk songs from varied traditions in the repertoire of his Liberation Music Orchestra. It's more than affectation; the bassist's musical roots are in Oklahoma, and his career began in early childhood with his family's country-music group. Those sources loom large in this inspired meeting with pianist Hank Jones over a program devoted largely to spirituals, with a few secular folk songs added in. The feelings communicated here arise from no simple reading of traditional material. It's Jones's unmatched harmonic sensitivity that often works the transformation, his close-voiced chords adding new resonance to summon the depths at which this material communicates. Haden, for his part, is as effective a soloist as he is an accompanist, spare and exacting and making full use of his huge, dark sound and powerful lower register. This is music by two masters, immersing themselves in a profound stream of American music. --Stuart Broomer Amazon.com

Absolutely amazing in its grace...

Led by Haden's bass and the piano talent of Mr. Jones, this CD gives you more than an hour of dignified jazz twists of familiar spirituals. Just offbeat enough to compel attention, but reverent and mostly quiet, this is simply wonderful. It is the third CD created by Charlie Haden that I purchased, and all three are superb, yet quite different. These two old pros clearly love this material, and put their souls into recording this project. The booklet is also grand. If I were to plan my own funeral, this CD would start playing in the chapel 30 minutes before the first guests were expected. August 8, 2007

Real Soul Music

If there is a more perfect album for relaxing or quiet time- I don't know what it is. These songs are played simply and with heart. I have bought ten to fifteen copies of this album over the past twelve years- it's just that good.

You can put it on for reading the Bible, praying or for peaceful music at dinnertime. It can be in the background or turned up without giving offense to those normally allergic to jazz. It's literally the spiritual version of Kind of Blue. I've even given it to new parents because it's just peaceful. April 4, 2006

Desert Island Essential

I have made a gift of this album to a number of my friends. If I had to pick only 10 pieces of music ever, this would be my first choice. Timeless, elegant, soulful, spiritual, dark, sad, silent! March 22, 2006

Music from your bone marrow

The other reviewers are spot-on exact about the loveliness of this music. I shall only add that I gave my copy away about 6 months ago but am only now replacing it -- the tunes are finally sounding a little worn and faded when I play them in my memory. This music accompanies YOU after a while. It is a quiet conversation with a much beloved friend, a silk scarf against the wind, a warm bowl of good soup on a damp chilly day. Enjoy. December 6, 2004

A TREASURE

Hank Jones on piano and Charlie Haden on bass take a journey through the last few hundred years of the music of the common man (and woman). Stripped of fancy finish and shiny veneer, these spirituals, hymns and folk songs are revealed in all their sublime natural glory.

Gospel, jazz and blues harmonies, applied with the confidence of a master's touch, highlight the homespun melodies in a way that's humble and pure. Imagine suddenly stumbling across a piece of driftwood that takes your breath away with its earthy beauty, or finding an agate that releases a small, blazing rainbow of colors in your hand. This music is just such a found treasure. April 19, 2004

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