Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Jazz Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 8-MAY-2001

Track Listing

1. En La Orilla Del Mundo (At The Edge Of The World)
2. Noche De Ronda (Night Of Wandering)
3. Nocturnal
4. Moonlight (Claro De Luna)
5. Yo Sin Ti (Me Without You)
6. No Te Empenes Mas (Don't Try Anymore)
7. Transparence
8. El Ciego (The Blind)
9. Nightfall
10. Tres Palabras (Three Words)
11. Contigo En La Distancia/En Nosotros (With You In The Distance/In Us)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #43621 in Music
• Brand: HADEN,CHARLIE
• Released on: 2001-05-08
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Charlie Haden has a long-standing interest in Cuban music, first touched on with his Liberation Music Orchestra over 30 years ago. Nocturne expands on that affinity and on the bassist's relationship with Cuban piano virtuoso Gonzalo Rubalcaba, who introduced Haden to the tradition of the Cuban ballad, or bolero. The result is this very unusual mix of slow- to medium-tempo pieces, limpid, sometimes almost somber songs that are filled with yearning romanticism, wistful lyricism, and an inner light. The program includes five Cuban ballads, including "Tres Palabras," almost a jazz standard after recordings by Coleman Hawkins and Joe Henderson, and four from Mexico, among them Arturo Castro's beautiful "Yo Sin Ti." To this, Haden has added two originals and Rubalcaba one, and they're perfectly continuous with the traditional material. Rubalcaba is clearly devoted to these melodies, his usual pyrotechnic flights replaced by subtle harmonic shadings that enrich the original tunes. Haden seems to sculpt these songs anew in his lower register, while drummer Ignacio Berroa adds varied and lilting percussion patterns.

The music is enhanced by a series of superb guest spots. Joe Lovano adds a Getz-like, lyric transparency to four of the songs (and they're all songs, whether they have words or not), while David Sanchez adds his weightier tone to two. Pat Metheny's acoustic guitar makes "Noche de Ronda" a moonlit reverie, while Uruguayan violinist Federico Britos Ruiz adds his own sweetly idiomatic touch to three tracks. Three pieces also gain increasingly dark hues from Rubalcaba's cello-thick string arrangements. Something of a departure for both Haden and Rubalcaba, Nocturne is true to its origins while creating its own ineffable moods. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews

Beautiful Music Beautifully Played - Sublime Musicality!
I'm going to "nail my colours to the mast" and say up-front that I love this disc as do all my friends who have heard it! Here's why..

"Nocturne" is an outstanding album of largely traditional Cuban and Mexican themes allied to great levels of musicality with strong production values. As the title suggests the music is generally down-tempo and lyrical and uses the jazz idiom but heavily infused with a voluptuous latin warmth. The two prime movers behind this exceptional undertaking are the Cuban Gonzalo Rubalcabo, piano, and Charlie Haden, double bass. In addition other musicians are brought in to play on several tracks each, Joe Lovano, Pat Metheny, David Sanchez and the violinist Federico Britos Ruiz.

Even given the strong material and outstanding musicians, the results surpass all expectations. This is largely due to Haden's musical manifesto which is to focus on expression as opposed to flashy technicalities. To say that he succeeds here is something of an understatement. Each instrument is perfectly placed in the arrangements and is sympathetic to the material. Of particular note is the use of Ruiz's violin which deserves a special mention for its lyrical phrasing. Overall, the lush fullness of the sound and the perfectly measured pace of the music create a vivid ambience.

This is an album where the musicians play so well together there is a rare magic in the result. The production is so charged and atmospheric that the emotion is almost tangible. What creates this effect is the way in which the musicians express the music together so beautifully, particularly Haden, Lovano and Ruiz. Their shared appreciation of the music and each other's skills has allowed this group of musicians to create something utterly sublime which transcends genres. I'm beginning to run out of superlatives here so to wrap up I'll leave you with one last thought: Check out how many five-star reviews there are here for this disc - have you ever seen such a level of unanimity for any other review? No? Then do yourself a favour and buy this very special disc!

"HEY, LUCI! I'M HOME!!!"
Another chapter in Haden's love affair with the jazz of the post-war late 1940's. This time with a distinct Latin/Cuban flavor. The sound is thick and at times lush-a sound I associate with film-noire. You can practically see gentlemen in expensive suits and fedora hats packing heat and glamorous women in lovely cocktail dresses drinking highballs and dancing before the orchestra late into the night.

Haden has assembled his band and arranged the music with loving care. You have to give him high marks for his devotion and vision. The downside is one tune tends to blend into the next to the point that it all sounds like one 65-minute melody. Plus there is the added sour note that I find this kind of music unintentionally depressing. Others may not care for the prominence of the jazz violin in many of these cuts or the over use of muted brass instruments this music seems to call for.

On the other hand, others may love the stylishness of the late 1940's as it calls forth pictures of classy tailoring, mature men and women, sophisticated romance and frank manners. The musicianship is impeccable while rarely calling special attention to individual players. Make no mistake; this music is very elegant and beautiful-belonging to a time lost and long ago.

Some years ago, in a matter of six months, I had laid my father and grandparents to rest. As I was driving home several weeks later, I suddenly realized that my parent's world--the world I had been born into--was gone. The neighborhoods, the concerns and the daily ways of life had been replaced by more modern ones. As the last of the "greatest generation" is slipping away from us, baby boomers are quietly gathering of pieces of their parents' lives and world. They are just pieces-remnants of a moment we barely caught sight of. This album is a small window on a very real world and a time lost long ago.

Too Good
The fact that I have this CD is a tribute to Amazon's cross referencing and suggestions. I picked up Andy Summer's Green Chimney's and somewhere along the way saw Nocturne as a recommendation. I liked Green Chimneys. It's a nice recording. I love Nocturne. I imagined there was jazz music like this, but my limited exposure hadn't led me to the right spot. I'm no technical expert, but I know I could listen to this all day long. Have since picked up Beyond The Missouri Sky (good, but not as good as Nocturne; and to be fair a different sort of recording) and the first Quartet West CD (just getting into it, but very good). My impression of Haden is that he is a romantic with a strong sense of place. While the Quartet West recordings seem to be anchored in film noir Los Angelas, this recording seems determined to evoke the Cuba that we get a glimpse of on the album cover. I kept thinking of the Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love as I listened, not for the style of music, but for the cultural milieu they both evoke. If you listen to the samples and like them, you will love this ambum.