Nocturne by Charlie Haden & Gonzalo Rubalcaba Umvd Labels

Product Description: Charlie Haden has a long-standing interest in Cuban music, first touched on with his Liberation Music Orchestra over 30 years ago. Nocturne expands on that affinity and on the bassist's relationship with Cuban piano virtuoso Gonzalo Rubalcaba, who introduced Haden to the tradition of the Cuban ballad, or bolero. The result is this very unusual mix of slow- to medium-tempo pieces, limpid, sometimes almost somber songs that are filled with yearning romanticism, wistful lyricism, and an inner light. The program includes five Cuban ballads, including "Tres Palabras," almost a jazz standard after recordings by Coleman Hawkins and Joe Henderson, and four from Mexico, among them Arturo Castro's beautiful "Yo Sin Ti." To this, Haden has added two originals and Rubalcaba one, and they're perfectly continuous with the traditional material. Rubalcaba is clearly devoted to these melodies, his usual pyrotechnic flights replaced by subtle harmonic shadings that enrich the original tunes. Haden seems to sculpt these songs anew in his lower register, while drummer Ignacio Berroa adds varied and lilting percussion patterns.

The music is enhanced by a series of superb guest spots. Joe Lovano adds a Getz-like, lyric transparency to four of the songs (and they're all songs, whether they have words or not), while David Sanchez adds his weightier tone to two. Pat Metheny's acoustic guitar makes "Noche de Ronda" a moonlit reverie, while Uruguayan violinist Federico Britos Ruiz adds his own sweetly idiomatic touch to three tracks. Three pieces also gain increasingly dark hues from Rubalcaba's cello-thick string arrangements. Something of a departure for both Haden and Rubalcaba, Nocturne is true to its origins while creating its own ineffable moods. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews

5 stars every single note is perfect!
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!

5 stars Haden + Rubalcaba = Jazz Fidelity to Latin Roots
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.

2 stars Don't buy it!
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".

5 stars Only a few words to explain.
Imagine: you're driving on the highway late at night.There is no traffic and nobody is waiting for you at home.
Imagine: Charlie Haden, bass Gonzalo Rubalcaba, piano.
This should do it.

5 stars More lovely playing from Metheny/Haden
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 !!

If the page does not return any products or product details please click here or refresh the page.
If only page numbers are returned on the page please choose a sub category (left side of this message).