[Dixielandjazz] Charlie Hayden was Chet Baker

[Steve Barbone]

Gluetje1 at aol.com  . . . Ginny wrote (polite snip)

> And the Nov. '87, a close second favorite. (Steve snip: "The next to  last
> one is with my avant garde bassist buddy, Charlie Hayden.
> You'd expect  it to be far out, but it isn't.")


Reason I said that is circa 1960, a then young Charlie Hayden played at the
Five Spot on Cooper Square in NYC with Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry. I
went there to hear this new, free jazz, music, with bassist Chuck Traeger
who was my best gig buddy at the time and house bassist at Nicks.

Place was packed. Every jazz player in NYC who wasn't gigging that night was
there to hear Hayden and Ornette Coleman play a free form jazz where whom
ever was soloing dictated what chord patterns, and/or melodic line would be
played. Also in the audience were teachers from Juilliard, various classical
musicians and a few modern artist painters and beat poets.

Traeger introduced me to Hayden who was petrified at seeing all these great
musicians, but that didn't affect his playing. He was superb. He kept his
eyes tightly closed in concentration most of the time.

During his solo portion of a tune when he was responsible for the tune's
direction, he opened an eye to see a gentlemen up on the stand with him. The
guy was bending over and had his ear to the F hole on the bass.

Hayden said to Ornette: "Hey Ornette, what the hell is this?  Get this shit
head off the band stand."

Ornette broke up and replied: "You idiot, that Leonard Bernstein."

What they played was very far out . . . still is. I neither liked nor
understood it then and told Traeger that. He said: "Maybe your ears aren't
ready for it yet." Interesting way of looking at it.

My ears aren't ready for it now either, but at least I understand it. I also
realize that the group in the Five Spot that night was the most "together"
group I ever heard. They really listened to each other, perhaps because they
had to in order to figure out where the tune was going.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone