A Tribute to Charlie Haden

One Bassist’s Reflection

It is heartening to see the myriad tributes to Charlie Haden since the news of his death. As a mostly retired bassist, I can only say that he was a tremendous influence on my sensibility as a musician.

Charlie Haden was not a flashy bassist. He was not funky. Other players had faster fingers and more virtuosic technique, but none had bigger ears. He was a Midwesterner who spent his childhood singing harmony with his family on the radio. Even when the music he performed was avant-garde, his deep grounding in country and gospel anchored his playing.

All great conversationalists are great listeners. Haden conversed with other players in a voice that was wholly his own. The defining characteristic of his sound was warmth. His tone was not bright—it was warm, dark, and woody—and it was as uniquely identifiable as Carlos Santana’s guitar or Miles Davis’s trumpet. Every note counted, and so did every silence between the notes.

The result was a profound sense of humility that poured out in his playing. As he said in an interview with NPR:

“I learned at a very young age that music teaches you about life. When you’re in the midst of improvisation, there is no yesterday and no tomorrow — there is just the moment that you are in. In that beautiful moment, you experience your true insignificance to the rest of the universe. It is then, and only then, that you can experience your true significance.”

The most beautiful moments in Charlie Haden’s music are simple and sublime at the same time. His music taught me about more than playing the bass—it taught me about life. For that I will always be grateful.

Thanks, Charlie.