Charlie Haden Quartet West - Now Is the Hour

Truly Inspiring

Quartet West is simply one of the most creative and listenable groups in jazz. This time to add to the already stellar line-up, Alan Broadbent contributes some beautiful string arrangements. The strings here are by no means window dressing but an integral part of this music. Ernie Watts has become one of my favorite tenor saxophonists and his playing here is so emotional and heart-wrenching. The real draw here is the simplicity of the material and how the quartet (plus strings) expounds and expands each selection into a masterpiece. There are a few stringless offerings which are equally as swinging and engaging. I love this group!! November 13, 2007

Fascinating Album

The first time listeners of the Jazz should start with this albume. I think, this is the one I have ever heard to make pepole love jazz. February 11, 2006

If you play accoustic bass, you should listen to this album...

Charlie Haden has a very subtle but I feel profound concept of time, which is artfully displayed on this album. Being a tenor sax player, this is one of those albums that sounds very easy to play, until you really get into breaking it down and looking at what each part/player is doing.

One of the reasons jazz and classical music fares so poorly with listeners nowadays is that you pretty much have to be a player or understand music above 'I took recorder for a year in 1st grade' to really appreciate all of the subtle timings and years of formulation to arrive at the ability to form a concept for a piece and then see it through to fruition.

The 2nd track, for example, should be a must for aspiring bass players, as the sense of time and rythme is superb.

I wouldve given this 5 stars, but alas, being a tenor player in the coltrane/chris potter school, I am not the biggest fan of Ernie Watts' sound (I think his ideas are sound, but that, at times, his sound could use some new ideas!!!)

In saying that, if you are a bass player, you should own this album, if nothing more than to study how to play slowly, its harder than you think. January 1, 2006

An alternative soundtrack to 'Saving Private Ryan'

If the makers of 'Saving Private Ryan' had decided, like the producers of 'Forrest Gump', to include the sort of songs that soldiers would have listened to, then this is it. This is an approximation to the music that the American forces in Europe brought to England.

This album is sandwiched between the scintillating 'Always Say Goodbye' and the vocally-dominated 'Art of Song', and illustrates the problems of changing the band's style. Those who discover Quartet West through 'Art of Song' are upset at the scarcity of vocals in the rest of the band's back-catalogue. And those who loved 'Always Say Goodbye' for its exquisite blending of old recordings with new versions may be disappointed that there is none of that here.

There are four compositions by band members here, and once again it is Haden himself who provides the best new tunes: 'Here's Looking at You' and the achingly beautiful 'There in a dream', which just oozes good taste. For me, that is the pace that I feel Quartet West performs best at -- I'm less keen on the jerky rhythms of say, 'Marable's Parable'.

I feel it's time for Quartet West to produce a 'greatest hits' CD. I started compiling one from the five CDs of theirs that I own, but quickly ran out of the 74-minute limit before I arrived at this album. Quartet West have written so many outstanding tracks in their time, but as with most bands, these are scattered across their output, and surrounded by slightly less enticing compositions. Like the recent Beatles' '1', a Quartet West Greatest Hits CD would top the jazz charts for many weeks, and maybe even displace 'Kind of Blue' for a while! May 10, 2001

Schmaltz galore

If you like a large string section in your jazz music, this is the CD for you. It is schmaltzy beyond belief, unabashed even in its inclusion of the theme of The Girl from Ipanema. Charlie Haden is an excellent musician, but this CD was clearly meant for "the masses". He's done better. January 28, 2001

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