Charlie Haden & Quartet West

Festival International de Jazz de Montreal
Monument National
Montreal, Quebec
Canada

9 July 2004
6:00 PM

Charlie Haden - bass
Ernie Watts - tenor saxophone
Alan Broadbent - piano
Ronnie Green - drums

01. Track01 14:23
02. Track02 8:30
03. Track03 16:03
04. Body and Soul (Johnny Green, Edward Heyman, Robert Sour & Frank Eyton) 7:03
05. Track05 10:57

Total Time: 56:58

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Review:

JULY 9

Charlie Haden's last gig was with the famed Quartet West, featuring Ernie Watts on tenor, Alan Broadbent on piano, and Ronnie Green on drums. As soon as Broadbent counted off the first number Watts launched into a robust, fluent solo, frequently scraping the upper register. Broadbent provided a splendid foundation, and when Haden soloed Green accompanied him on the hi-hat (Green was a fine drummer but I was really looking forward to seeing Matt Wilson again). Watts was again splendid on a Latin-themed tune, building a long, intricate solo, dancing and contorting his body with every riff. The highlight of the show, however, was the quartet's rendition of Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman," which Haden had first played as a nineteen year-old whelp in Coleman's band. Broadbent laid out for a substantial portion of the tune, but Green thrashed, Haden plucked like a man possessed and Watts soared dramatically on the crescendoing classic.

When the group came back out for its encore, Haden joked that the title of the song would be "Hold the Plane Blues": the show began at 6pm and his plane was scheduled to leave at 10:30. What they actually played, though, was the second rendition of "Body And Soul" I'd heard in three days. It began as a duet between Haden and Broabent, then Green added tender brushstrokes, and Watts topped it off with a crisp, bluesy coda to conclude Haden's triumphant run. We gave him a rousing sendoff to catch his plane, bidding bon voyage to a musician whose proficiency on the bass, and skill as a leader, is exceeded only by his warmth.

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