Charlie Haden

I've heard Charlie Haden in varied contexts for many years - usually jazz, sometimes off-beat projects such as his contributions to Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill. But like many others, I had no idea that he grew up in one of those 1930's small town country radio families. It's like learning that Jozef Zawinul is the lost Louvin Brother or that Johnny Cash's band was the Tennessee Three before Dave Brubeck left.

In Rambling Boy, Charlie Haden makes a nostalgic, wistful and joyful return to the old-time country and gospel music he grew up playing. And he brings the whole family. The Haden Triplets (Petra, Rachel & Tanya - all better known in very different styles of music) deliver terrific 3-part harmonies, appropriately chirpy on the musically upbeat/lyrically downbeat "Single Girl, Married Girl." Son-in-law Jack Black begged his way onto the album for a suitably rambunctious "Old Joe Clark." It probably will not reappear on his next Tenacious D project.

Rambling may well be the operative term here. Much of the material sounds like the Soggy Bottom Boys repertoire from "O Brother Where Art Thou" (especially on the tracks where George Clooney's movie voice, Dan Tyminski, sings) but Haden pal Pat Metheny helps take the project into areas familiar to those who know Metheny's jazz CDs. Some times it works - the solos by Metheny and Jerry Douglas rescue "The Fields of Athenry" from getting cloying and clichéd. But sometimes, he sounds like he's just on the wrong album. And the album really did not need his instrumental "Is This America? (Katrina 2005)" - even if I agree with the sentiment behind it. He's not on most of the album, so no real harm done. Bruce Hornsby chimes in with an uncharacteristically ominous and effective 20/20 Vision. Elvis Costello once again reminds us of the injustice of his being born in England by singing the Hank Williams classic "You Win Again."

In any event, this album is so packed in its 19 tracks that many different sets can be gleaned from the album with judicious deletions from your iPod or skipping a few tracks with your remote control. There are a few songs that are just too earnest for my tastes, and I suspect most folks will bring the 19 tracks down to a more manageable and cohesive album to their liking. It's well worth the effort.

So much talent, so much shear musical joy is given in this CD. Crying, laughing, joy and pain enough to tear you apart and put you back together again. Thanks to all the fine performers and their musical gifts they present to us.

Highly recommend!!

By now, you undoubtedly know the back story. In the 1940's Carl Haden, Sr. was the patriarch of the singing Haden family. They hosted a radio show from their hometown of Shenandoah, Iowa. This was the midwestern counterpart to "The Grand Ol' Opry." The Haden family sang country folk songs, and the Haden counterpart to Michael of the Jackson family or Donny of the Osmond family was 2 year old yodelin' "Cowboy Charles."

But 10 years or so later, Charlie Haden had gravitated to jazz, and by 1958, he was the bassist in one of the most revolutionary recordings in jazz history, Ornette Coleman's "The Shape of Jazz To Come." That recording sounded 20 years ahead of its time - and still does. At that point, Charlie Haden was a 21-year-old wunderkind.

However, as the years rolled on, Mr. Haden proved that he was more than "just" a musician "searching for the notes outside of the chord." He expanded his horizons, including a beautiful 1994 recording with the legendary pianist, Hank Jones, of Negro spirituals.

And now, as a senior citizen, Charlie Haden has come full circle. As the new patriarch of the singing Haden family (featuring his triplet daughters, Petra, Tanya and Rachel; his son, Josh; his wife, Ruth; and his son-in-law, actor Jack Black), he has recreated the Haden family radio show - with 21st century sound.

And perhaps as a tribute to his greatness and his influence, Charlie Haden has recruited the most interesting gaggle of musicians to help the family. From the jazz world, we have the legendary guitarist, Pat Metheny; from the jazz cum rock world, we have the legendary pianist, Bruce Hornsby; from the country world, we have the legendary Ricky Skaggs and Vince Gill; we have the crackerjack country/bluegrass sidemen, Jerry Douglas, Bryan Sutton, Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, and mouth harpist Buddy Greene; and joining the festivities for a song are the legendary Rosanne Cash and the peripatetic Elvis Costello.

This is not a "jazz-country" album. The two genres don't mix well, and there are precious few such recordings to choose from. (The best one I can think of is Chet Atkins and Les Paul, "Chester & Lester," ca. 1978)

Instead, it is a single-minded attempt by a number of gifted musicians from different genres to re-create the best sounding folk-country album imaginable. And they succeed.

2008 was bookended by two remarkable albums: Otis Taylor's "Recapturing the Banjo" at year's beginning, and this one at year's end. American music is alive and very well. RC

I have long been a fan of Charlie Haden's jazz recordings. This recording is interesting and worth having, although I continue to prefer his jazz work.

I heard Mr. Haden on Terry Grosse being interviewed and I had to have this great CD.
It is full of years of talent, and a good variety of styles. I play it more than any CD I have right now.
Highly recommend this album.

This was nice, but I think I was expecting a bit more, still very nice.

a purified and refined beauty; this is controlled technique, and takes a skilled, yet patient ear to understand how rare this sound is.

An intimate, sometimes haunting, always soothing compilation of melodious tracks by two masters. The focus is introspective yet sophisticated; it is a subtle, lyrical synthesis of dreamy acoustic guitar and bass.

Haden's bass lines twine and insinuate through the familiar Metheny guitar work; this is real mellow winding-down music, better than evening cocktails.

These tracks are only vaguely jazz-like; really, this music is genre transcending. Great stuff as background music to read or write by. If only more of reality was this smooth . . .

Highly recommended.

Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts

reading & music go together like wine & cheese at my house. since most of my reading is done later in the evening, i am always looking for great music on the quieter side (the stooges, husker du, etc... will not do at midnight). this is one of my favorite late night recordings. I can't recommend it highly enough. Metheny's guitar & Haden's bass work up perfection on these melodies. Each track is a gem. Can't wait to give it yet another listen.

I often return to this recording. It's simply sublime. The interplay between the players is beyond words, and the last song "Spiritual" is just that. Gives me goose bumbs everytime I hear it. A great record for falling asleep to, or having a quiet evening with someone you love. I can't recommend it enough. I'm not a huge fan of Pat's 80's new agey sounding stuff, but "Beyond the Missouri Sky" is amazing. I've enjoyed several Charile Haden records as well. I can't believe that this record is buried as cd #38 on amazon when one types in Pat Metheny. To me it should be the first one up, even before his first three records.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

I've heard Charlie Haden in varied contexts for many years - usually jazz, sometimes off-beat projects such as his contributions to Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill. But like many others, I had no idea that he grew up in one of those 1930's small town country radio families. It's like learning that Jozef Zawinul is the lost Louvin Brother or that Johnny Cash's band was the Tennessee Three before Dave Brubeck left.

In Rambling Boy, Charlie Haden makes a nostalgic, wistful and joyful return to the old-time country and gospel music he grew up playing. And he brings the whole family. The Haden Triplets (Petra, Rachel & Tanya - all better known in very different styles of music) deliver terrific 3-part harmonies, appropriately chirpy on the musically upbeat/lyrically downbeat "Single Girl, Married Girl." Son-in-law Jack Black begged his way onto the album for a suitably rambunctious "Old Joe Clark." It probably will not reappear on his next Tenacious D project.

Rambling may well be the operative term here. Much of the material sounds like the Soggy Bottom Boys repertoire from "O Brother Where Art Thou" (especially on the tracks where George Clooney's movie voice, Dan Tyminski, sings) but Haden pal Pat Metheny helps take the project into areas familiar to those who know Metheny's jazz CDs. Some times it works - the solos by Metheny and Jerry Douglas rescue "The Fields of Athenry" from getting cloying and clichéd. But sometimes, he sounds like he's just on the wrong album. And the album really did not need his instrumental "Is This America? (Katrina 2005)" - even if I agree with the sentiment behind it. He's not on most of the album, so no real harm done. Bruce Hornsby chimes in with an uncharacteristically ominous and effective 20/20 Vision. Elvis Costello once again reminds us of the injustice of his being born in England by singing the Hank Williams classic "You Win Again."

In any event, this album is so packed in its 19 tracks that many different sets can be gleaned from the album with judicious deletions from your iPod or skipping a few tracks with your remote control. There are a few songs that are just too earnest for my tastes, and I suspect most folks will bring the 19 tracks down to a more manageable and cohesive album to their liking. It's well worth the effort.

So much talent, so much shear musical joy is given in this CD. Crying, laughing, joy and pain enough to tear you apart and put you back together again. Thanks to all the fine performers and their musical gifts they present to us.

Highly recommend!!

By now, you undoubtedly know the back story. In the 1940's Carl Haden, Sr. was the patriarch of the singing Haden family. They hosted a radio show from their hometown of Shenandoah, Iowa. This was the midwestern counterpart to "The Grand Ol' Opry." The Haden family sang country folk songs, and the Haden counterpart to Michael of the Jackson family or Donny of the Osmond family was 2 year old yodelin' "Cowboy Charles."

But 10 years or so later, Charlie Haden had gravitated to jazz, and by 1958, he was the bassist in one of the most revolutionary recordings in jazz history, Ornette Coleman's "The Shape of Jazz To Come." That recording sounded 20 years ahead of its time - and still does. At that point, Charlie Haden was a 21-year-old wunderkind.

However, as the years rolled on, Mr. Haden proved that he was more than "just" a musician "searching for the notes outside of the chord." He expanded his horizons, including a beautiful 1994 recording with the legendary pianist, Hank Jones, of Negro spirituals.

And now, as a senior citizen, Charlie Haden has come full circle. As the new patriarch of the singing Haden family (featuring his triplet daughters, Petra, Tanya and Rachel; his son, Josh; his wife, Ruth; and his son-in-law, actor Jack Black), he has recreated the Haden family radio show - with 21st century sound.

And perhaps as a tribute to his greatness and his influence, Charlie Haden has recruited the most interesting gaggle of musicians to help the family. From the jazz world, we have the legendary guitarist, Pat Metheny; from the jazz cum rock world, we have the legendary pianist, Bruce Hornsby; from the country world, we have the legendary Ricky Skaggs and Vince Gill; we have the crackerjack country/bluegrass sidemen, Jerry Douglas, Bryan Sutton, Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, and mouth harpist Buddy Greene; and joining the festivities for a song are the legendary Rosanne Cash and the peripatetic Elvis Costello.

This is not a "jazz-country" album. The two genres don't mix well, and there are precious few such recordings to choose from. (The best one I can think of is Chet Atkins and Les Paul, "Chester & Lester," ca. 1978)

Instead, it is a single-minded attempt by a number of gifted musicians from different genres to re-create the best sounding folk-country album imaginable. And they succeed.

2008 was bookended by two remarkable albums: Otis Taylor's "Recapturing the Banjo" at year's beginning, and this one at year's end. American music is alive and very well. RC

I have long been a fan of Charlie Haden's jazz recordings. This recording is interesting and worth having, although I continue to prefer his jazz work.

I heard Mr. Haden on Terry Grosse being interviewed and I had to have this great CD.
It is full of years of talent, and a good variety of styles. I play it more than any CD I have right now.
Highly recommend this album.

Nocturne is a wonderful mix of Latin rhythms that both peaks your interest and soothes your soul. The hallmark for me is the use of different instruments (e.g. violin, tenor sax, acoustic guitar) that support the very solid bass - piano superstructure.

last month i experienced some horror in my life that was worthy of a stephen king novel. i wanted to listen to charlie haden's sublime album "nocturne," and i couldn't find it! it was not there where it should be amongst my other charlie haden cds! fear overtook me at once and i began turning the house upside down in my frantic search for this gem. nowhere was it to be found. my heart raced and beads of sweat formed on my forehead. i felt sick. well, amazon.com came to my rescue. i jumped online and ordered me another copy pronto. and now i have this gorgeous recording back in my home. seriously, i have over 700 jazz albums, and this one is in my top 25. like the miles davis slice of heaven "kind of blue," this charlie haden album is perfect. every second. every note. perfect and beautiful. gonazlo rubalcaba's piano work is stunning, as is the saxophone work of joe lovano and david sanchez. federico ruiz violin playing adds another great dimension here. and, of course, mr haden's bass is sublime, as always. cuban jazz for late nights, this is quiet, contemplative music at its best. may you find yourself a copy and never misplace it. i'm sure my original copy will turn up someday beneath a butter dish or amongst the dog's toy chest. that'll be great. then i will have two copies. as long as i never have to go through another day of life without this near at hand for when the mood is right!

This is my favorite jazz record purchase of the last ten years. Once again Haden generously finds a more dominant instrument (piano) with which to match his own tasteful accompaniment and arrangments. The album truly retains the original Latin flavor of the seelctions yet is bona fide jazz. For me only the great jazz recordings of the "Concierto de Aranjuez" (Jim Hall; the MJQ; and Miles Davis) reach so faithfully and so successfully back to Spanish or Latin American traditional music or boleros but within the medium of jazz.

Now this is a real disappointment, and I even bought it a full price. I saw it on the list of Down Beat's Album of the Year and bought it without thinking twice about it. A far cry from "Always Say Goodbye", which is in a similar laid-back style. And an even farer cry from his duo record with Kenny Barron, "Night and the City".

I Love this album. Great playing - great sound.

I took it to the local Audiophile HiFi store to test out a valve amp that I wanted to buy. It got the attention of everyone in the store - their jaws just dropped. It sounds amazing. I bought the amp. And the speakers !!

Kenny Barron established a personal landmark as sax player. He was not so sober like Coltrane but in many works, he explored with major amplitude the most diverse ranges of the musical shape, with original sonorities and enraptured mood. And this album with Charlie Haden is a winner.

By far, one of my six aces of the sax.

Many of us have been there......you're in a strange city on a business assignment and you've been puting in a lot of hours . You leave the downtown building well after dark, the streets are no longer crowded and while not exactly foggy, there's a heavy mist that seems to muffle the sounds. You don't really look forward to going back to the hotel room and as you walk you spot a sign proclaiming live jazz music. You think to yourself it might be a good idea to have a drink and unwind so you go down the stairs. The place has a nice ambiance and you notice it has a fair sized patronage considering it's the middle of the week and the weather. You sit down at a table and order a Blanton's on the rocks as the musicians, a bass/piano duo, break into a tune that you immediately recognize as one of your personal favorites by Ray Noble, "The Very Thought of You". As you listen to the music, it becomes apparent to you that you will be here until they are finished playing for the evening or the club runs out of good bourbon.

Yes, that may seem like a bit of fantasy and I would certainly not make it as a writer............however, these are the visions that cropped up in my own mind the first time I heard this cd. While not being a particular fan of duos (although my collection has a number of them), this one holds my interest from begining to end because of the lyricism expressed on these ballads by a pianist whom I thought was always under rated and a bassist whom I had only previously known by reputation. What a listening gold mine!! If it doesn't rank as the top piano album, it wouldn't take long to call the roll!

When you want to unwind, listen to this cd. It's jazz and it's beautifully expressed, sensitive and relaxing.

This album well expresses the romantic aspect of night and my personal favorite track is "Waltz for Ruth" which romantically expresses love combined with sentimental longing I would highly recommend this album to those who want to fully enjoy the feel of night, this is one of them.

If you are looking for an audiophile piano recording, this one is outstanding. The piano is close miked, and and you can clearly hear the striking of the keys. The sound is beautiful, and is probably as good of a piano recording as I have heard. The bass background resonates in club and there are no wasted notes. The music is best characterized as soft jazz, and one can imagine listening to this in a posh restaurant / night club. This is one outstading recording deserving of 5 stars.

Shortly after I bought this CD I saw Sphere Live at the Vanguard, and commented to Kenny That this had to be his best, and probably one of the best Jazz Recordings ever, destined to enter the history books, this is a "must have".

Just buy it, and sit back and listen, as I have time and again.

After you will lissen this cd, the music not be tha same.
MUST HAVE!!!

Ok c'est arrivé en bon état. Délai d'attente un peu long mais c'est loin l'Amérique!

This might be a five star disc except that the producer, Hal Willner, had already created Lost in the Stars, with some of the same people (Lou Reed, Charlie Haden). This follow-up is a little less adventurous, and the choices are more obvious. Basically, this is a soundtrack from a film project, and camera presence was a factor in choosing singers. Elvis Costello is remarkable on the song 'Lost in the Stars' and the gospel arrangement of 'Oh, Heavenly Salvation' also stands out. Lou Reed does the same song that he did on the earlier disc ('September Song') but this second take on it isn't as moving.

Go ahead and buy this if you can't get the other one, but this is the second choice.

I like the spirit of this album, which is to let the music of Kurt Weill attach itself to the many worlds it came from. This was classical music that also used elements of popular music at the time, all with a very dark and almost mechanical tone. So it would seem fitting to have exquisite voices like Teresa Stratas rub elbows with darker elements like Nick Cave in this collection. There are also the jazz influences developed by Charlie Haden and Betty Carter.

In all, there are some brilliant interpretations of Weill here. I am a fan of Cave's "Mack the Knife" and David Johansen's "Alabama Song," and how can someone NOT like Lotte Lenya herself on "Pirate Jenny" and the drolling of the immortal William S. Burroughs talking through "What Keeps Mankind Alive?"

But other tracks feel to be just too short of brilliance. I love that Lou Reed tries to turn "September Song" into a kind of rock ballad, almost a VU "It Was a Pretty Good Year," but the rendition seems a little short of energy and falls flat after a while. Elvis Costello, though magnificent as an overall artist, just doesn't bring new life to "Lost in the Stars."

Perhaps the problem in the end that the choices were a little too much of the Top 40 Weill (if there really can be such a term). These are songs that have for a long time been regarded as the best of Weill, and it might have furthered the purpose of his music to find new gems and bring them into the sunlight.

This is a very biased review- I originally had much of Weill's work on cassette tape- way back in the olden days- before CD's- so I am already very partial to many of the tracks on this CD- I would recommend it not only to Kurt Weill fans, and the fans of the various artists featured, but I would also strongly recommend this to anyone who likes artsy, camp, fun burlesque, Bohemian European stuff. The record, even though performed by contemporary artists still retains much of it's zeitgeist, it evokes the era in which Weill was writing and it rounds out any great eclectic record collection. It's a great musical discovery for fans of all sorts of genres, and EVERYONE should own at least one recorded arrangement of "Mack The Knife". (You know, for parties and stuff!)

This is among my favorite of all CDs I've listened to. The instrumentals are beautiful and run the spectrum of many different moods but all evocative of 1940s movies and Hollywood itself. Rather than being distracting , the vocal pieces are at first jarring but then you sense how they fit into the bigger piece and add a reality and history to the one being recreated by this great group of musicians.

His music is the good music which reminds the old good United States.

I heard Bob Belden's "Black Dahlia" earlier and only heard this recently. Maybe this is where Belden got his idea for a soundtrack of the mind, using late 40's early 50's themes. And a Raymond Chandler gumshoe, chantueses and smoky LA nightclubs.

This one is quite different than Belden's, Black Dahlia is edgier and more orchestrated, and more like a film track. Haunted Heart contains mostly quartet arrangements: swing songs, bebop, ballads, a little latin jazz. And also original period ballad recordings by Jo Stafford, Billie Holliday, Jeri Southern. The recordings from the period, some of the better known songs, are dark with great depth. Like Hayden's "Moonlight Serenade". I was deep in the song before I recognized the melody. Haden and group maintain the mood, the noir darkness and a sense of romantic nostalgia, while making new music in a late 40's mold. It's like a memory of a failed love affair.

As is said elsewhere, there are also dark, little played moody songs by famous vocalists of the period. This help the mood.

Recommended. The more you hear, the more you like it. Someone once said they "liked radio, because the pictures are better"!

I have a slightly different take on this disc than the seven reviewers who posted before me, and I urge you to read them all. To me, the only weak parts of the project are the three brief vintage vocals by Jo, Jeri and Billie. Respected singers all, for sure, but the Quartet West plays so strongly, the solos are so beautiful, the swinging parts are so much fun, that the vocals seem distracting to me. This is my first experience of Haden and QW, but I love it. For a 1990's group to capture the feel of '40's movies and '50's jazz as well as they do is remarkable. If you like traditional small-group jazz, this is an hour you shouldn't miss.

And it may well be for you too. Beautifully conceived, marvelously played. A gem.

Oddly, they used to say Ornette's music was just noise. Yet, if you listen now, it's positively conservative. This CD pits two of Coleman's alums with Metheny for a program on which a Horace Silver composition is the best track. But Pat couldn't seem to resist ruining what is otherwise a great record with his 9-minute noise experiment, "The Calling." This is a pretty short CD at about 44 mins, so 9 of them are a waste. I'm betting he would never put this on a CD like this today. It disrupts the flow. Maybe we'll be saying this sounds conservative someday, too. But I doubt it.

This 1984 ECM recording is, to me, is a perfect example of how the guitar/bass/drum trio should work. Produced by Manfred Eicher, Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins' rhythm section is both solid and solidly behind Pat Metheny's guitar playing.

When I bought it a few years back, after a couple of listens, I was struck by how I responded to Metheny's different forms of guitar work. My response to his acoustic playing was purely emotional, whilst my response to his electric playing was intellectual. I still haven't figured out why that is. Needless to say, I enjoy both immensely, just differently and on "Story From A Stranger", he adds in a dose of his guitar synth. It doesn't work for me everywhere he uses it but this is one of the places it works very well indeed.

The CD seems to be some kind of homage; three of the eight songs are by Ornette Coleman and the opener is by Horace Silver. Charlie Haden writes one, Pat Metheny writes two and the final tune is written by both Haden and Metheny.

I like all the songs. Well, almost. I've tried hard but I just don't get "The Calling". I guess it's one of those songs that is said to be for a 'specialist' audience. I usually just press the fast forward button - the only Pat Metheny song ever, to make me do that.

Nevertheless, I still consider it a five star CD. I think it's absolutely brilliant.

I was really enjoying this album. I really was. Reading a magazine, clouds moving in, breezes in the palms...then came "The Calling". I admit I'm not a dissonance aficionado, but this ripped me from my revery. A live, real time evisceration. I would, I'm sure, enjoy as much following along behind the neighborhood trash truck Wednesday mornings for 10 minutes. I'm going to have to Ipod this album, because the rest of the musical text is great. One reviewer has suggested the number might be an acquired taste, I'll try! I gave the album a 4, because one song shouldn't jade what is otherwise a fine Metheny example. BTW, I love As Falls Wichita..., and to a lesser extent, "Silent Story".

1984's "Rejoicing" finds guitar great Pat Metheny teaming up with two of his musical heroes, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Billy Higgins (both of whom had played with legendary saxman Ornette Coleman). Together, this trio has created a standout classic that not only shows Metheny in his then-current prime but also points to what laid ahead for him musically.
The "Rejoicing" can be easily divided into two distinct halves. The first five tracks make up the straight-forward Jazz half. Metheny's interpretations of the three Ornette Coleman tunes (Humpty Dumpty, Tears Inside and the title track) are on the same par as the originals and show off amazing versitility from all three players. The opening cover of Horace Silver's "Lonely Woman" (not the same composition as Ornette's classic) is a rare piece of beauty with the goregous melody reinterpreted on acoustic guitar. Charlie Haden's original "Blues For Pat" is just that - a stellar blues piece in which Metheny really shines. Haden also delivers a muscular bass solo in this piece.
The remaining three pieces form the experimental half of the album. "Story From A Stranger" isn't too far removed from a Pat Metheny Group composition as it features a folk-like acoustic guitar melody and a horn-like lead-line played on the Roland guitar-synth. "The Calling" is a 10-minute free-form piece in which Pat showcases a near-dissonant melody from his guitar-synth while Haden compilments with haunting bowed bass drones and Higgins provides free fills across his drum kit. Halfway into the piece, it switches gears as Pat moves from the guitar-synth to distorted jagged electric guitar stabs. The overall style of this piece isn't too far removed from what he would accomplish on "Song X", his acclaimed collaboration with Ornette Coleman which was to come less than two years later. There is also a slight hint of '80s King Crimson heard in this piece. "The Calling" leads almost directly into the album's closing piece "Waiting For An Answer", a 2-minute atmospheric coda consisting of a low-drone from Haden and echoed guitar harmonics from Metheny.
Even after its release over 20 years ago, "Rejoicing" remains one of Pat Metheny's finest albums. Pat's work in a stripped-down setting gives plenty of room for improvisation and exploration. This album is no exception. The musicianship between Pat, Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins is remarkable on every track. This is definitely a must.

With Coleman's original "rhythm section" Metheny tackles 3 Coleman tunes, Silver's "Lonely Woman" (oh, i wish it were Coleman's) and a group of originals including the long sound exploration "The Calling" which features Metheny's Guitar synth. As a huge fan of the avant garde, it pains me to say that this cut is the weakest on the album, though still quite interesting. If you like this one, look into Song X.