Michael Brecker’s tenor saxophone, amongst its declamatory pronouncements as well as keening high notes, commands attending throughout American Dreams, but Haden’s bass is at the bottom of the dreamy feeling that pervades all but 1 track.
Haden’s championship composition opens the album amongst the bassist playing a folk song-like tune over strings arranged inwards rich layers yesteryear Alan Broadbent. As the strings fade, pianist Brad Mehldau introduces a 2d melody. Haden interacts amongst Mehldau. Brian Blade skips brushes across drums as well as cymbals, crystal strokes against fourth dimension that’s every bit soft every bit the mood. Just a marking higher upwards silence, the strings sideslip inwards nether the trio, swelling every bit Haden industrial plant his agency dorsum into the rootage subject as well as concludes a functioning of corking simplicity as well as beauty.
The orchestral writing on vi pieces arranged yesteryear Broadbent as well as 3 yesteryear Jeremy Lubbock is ripe amongst harmonic interest; on the 2 yesteryear Vince Mendoza sounds are to a greater extent than purely functional. Highlights include Broadbent’s scoring for violins as well as cellos on “America the Beautiful,” his paraphrase of the tune inwards back upwards of Haden’s solo on “Young as well as Foolish” as well as Lubbock’s piece of job amongst 2 ballads written yesteryear Dave Grusin amongst Alan as well as Marilyn Bergman. Lubbock’s mysterious ending on a 6th chord had me going dorsum several times to the determination of “It Might Be You.”
Accommodating himself to the strings, Mehldau minimizes the role of his left paw and, for the most part, plays sparely. He turns a span of finger-bobble lemons into lemonade. Mehldau has satisfying solos on Don Sebesky’s “Bittersweet” (formerly called “You Can’t Go Home Again”) as well as Ornette Coleman’s “Bird Food.” The Coleman piece, a spell of neobop, is the solely uptempo quartet functioning on an album of reflective music but, somehow, it fits amongst the others-a fleck of Haden magic.
This quartet-plus-strings session is Charlie Haden's paean to an ideal America, made during a fourth dimension that was ripe for such reflections. The band, amongst Haden on bass, Michael Brecker on tenor, Brad Mehldau on piano, as well as Brian Blade on drums, is unassailably strong. But listeners could get got lived without the ear-candy sheen provided yesteryear the 34-piece orchestra, arranged primarily yesteryear Alan Broadbent, amongst additional contributions from Jeremy Lubbock as well as Vince Mendoza. (Broadbent as well as Mendoza every bit good penned charts for Jane Monheit's In the Sun, released 2 weeks earlier.) Aside from outright banalities similar "America the Beautiful" as well as "It Might Be You" (yes, the Stephen Bishop lite-radio hit), in that place are around saving graces, similar Keith Jarrett's "Prism" as well as "No Lonely Nights," Mehldau's "Ron's Place," as well as Haden's 2 originals, "American Dreams" as well as "Nightfall." But Pat Metheny's "Travels" goes soggy without its Midwestern guitar twang, as well as Ornette Coleman's "Bird Food," 1 of solely 3 tracks non to characteristic the orchestra, is hence wildly out of house that its deport upon is somehow diminished -- nevertheless a bright pedal-point interlude nearly vi minutes in.
American Dreams is an add-on to Verve Records' collection of ..."with Strings" sessions pioneered yesteryear legedary producer Norman Granz. Charlie Parker, Ben Webster, Harry Carney as well as others gave this genre a shot for Verve. Something nearly the grit of the sax audio inwards forepart of the orchestral string washes that jazz fans appear to either dear or hate.
The strongest impression several listenings of of American Dreams leaves is: What a corking quartet. "Charlie Haden amongst Michael Brecker" the label proclaims, but it could simply every bit good tell The New Charlie Haden Quartet. Pianist Brad Mehldau as well as drummer Brian Blade circular out the total quartet, as well as the unit of measurement achieves a rare aeroplane of cohesion. Maybe it's the bassman, Charlie Haden; a really corking bassist brings everyone upwards a notch or two. He did it on bluesman James Cotton's '96 CD, "Deep inwards the Blues"; he does it amongst his ain Quartet West.
Mehldau benefits the most here. His conversations amongst Brecker's sax are intimate as well as precise, his soloing inventive as well as restrained; as well as his "Ron's Place," done amongst simply the quartet, is a pensive gem.
Songs yesteryear Pat Metheny, Keith Jarrett, Haden's old running mate Ornette Coleman, an unexpectedly beautiful get got on the unlikely "America the Beautiful," deft string arrangements, a few quartet takes to interruption the pacing upwards as well as conk on it interesting
An essential CD for fans of the Verve ..with Strings genre.
Track listing:
All compositions yesteryear Charlie Haden except every bit indicated
01 "American Dreams" - 4:52
02 "Travels" (Lyle Mays, Pat Metheny) - 6:46
03 "No Lonely Nights" (Keith Jarrett) - 5:18
04 "It Might Be You" (Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Dave Grusin) - 4:55
05 "Prism" (Jarrett) - 5:21
06 "America the Beautiful" (Katharine Lee Bates, Samuel A. Ward) - 5:23
07 "Nightfall" - 5:07
08 "Ron's Place" (Brad Mehldau) - 7:30
09 "Bittersweet" (Don Sebesky) - 6:46
10 "Young as well as Foolish" (Albert Hague, Arnold B. Horwitt) - 5:38
xi "Bird Food" (Ornette Coleman) - 7:31
12 "Sotto Voce" (Vince Mendoza) - 5:12
xiii "Love Like Ours" (Bergman, Bergman Grusin) - 4:25
Recorded at Signet Soundelux inwards Los Angeles, California on May 14–17, 2002
Personnel:
Charlie Haden — bass
Michael Brecker — tenor saxophone
Brad Mehldau — piano
Brian Blade — drums
Unidentified String Orchestra
Alan Broadbent (tracks 1, 3, 6, 9, & 10), Jeremy Lubbock (tracks 4, seven & 13), Vince Mendoza (tracks 2 & 12) — arranger, conductor.
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