R.I.P. Jazz Bass Legend Charlie Haden

From NPR: Haden’s death was announced by his record label, ECM Records, which noted that Ruth Cameron, his wife of 30 years, and his children Josh, Tanya, Rachel and Petra were all by his side at the time of his death, which the label attributed to a “prolonged illness.”

Born August 6, 1937 in Shenandoah, Iowa, and raised largely in Springfield, Missouri, Haden grew up in a family that hosted its own country-western music radio program. He sang on air in the family band from before the age of two. At age 15, however, he contracted polio; the disease paralyzed his vocal cords, and he turned to learning bass.

In 1957, Haden moved to Los Angeles, where he integrated himself quickly into the West Coast jazz community — including working with saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman. Their collaboration over decades, onstage and on record, not only anchored Coleman’s innovations in harmony and melody, but also generated new possibilities for his own instrument in group improvisation.