29 January : Song of the United Front

Charlie Haden earned his spurs as bass player with Ornette Coleman. The Liberation Music Orchestra was his first outing as band leader and is a direct and explicit product of his political views. The music has its origins in his listening to songs from the Spanish Civil War, but passed through arrangements by Carla Bley and played by musicians from the jazz world, several with a background in free jazz.

Haden himself rejected any labelling of the music, telling Val Wilmer (Melody Maker w/e 31 January 1970) that it was a ‘totally free’ record. He said ‘there’s no label like jazz or avant garde for this music, it is simply creative music. And music, if it is true and if it comes from a life’s dedication, is without label or title.’

He had a supportive interviewer in Wilmer who starts the piece stating ‘as we go into the Seventies, America is still hardbent on acting as the world’s policeforce and oppressing the underprivileged at home and abroad.’ Haden wanted his music to ‘make a contribution to breaking some links in the chain of oppression.’ At the time of the interview, Haden had not experienced any backlash to the record, but this was to change.

In 1971, while on tour with the Ornette Coleman Quartet in Portugal (at the time under a fascist dictatorship), Haden dedicated a performance of his “Song for Che” to the anticolonialist revolutionaries in the Portuguese colonies of Mozambique, Angola, and Guinea. The following day, he was detained at Lisbon Airport, jailed, and interrogated by the DGS, the Portuguese secret police. He was only released after Ornette Coleman and others complained to the American cultural attaché, and he was later interviewed in the United States by the FBI about his choice of dedication.

(source: Wikipedia accessed 29 January 2020

Wilmer insisted that Anyone who cares about the future of the world should buy this record and listen–it’s that important. I like to think I care about the future of the world, so I did.

The first listen, I thought what the hell is this? as it teetered on the edge of cacophony.
The second, I thought it sounded like band practice interrupted by sporadic rioting in the streets.
The third time, I appreciated its charms, especially Haden’s string bass playing, but didn’t feel especially passionate about it. I’d listen to it again, but it isn’t a Keeper.

Here it is on Spotify.