Fred Hersch with Charlie Haden & Joey Baron - Sarabande

"In around 1984, I began to do some playing with Charlie Haden – first at the late, lamented duo club Bradley’s and then with soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom and Ed Blackwell on her album Mighty Lights. I also owned a recording studio in my loft in New York’s Soho district during that time. I had made a debut recording for the Concord label early in 1986 (with Marc Johnson and Joey Baron) and was looking to record my second project as a leader.

I knew that Charlie was in town in December, 1986 so I put together two days in my studio to record Sarabande. I had written the composition “Child’s Song” already as a dedication to Charlie; its major key, folk-song melody and open improvisation section seemed to be fitting. Of course we had to record something by Ornette Coleman – the way Charlie was able to create spontaneous harmony was a marvel. And I brought in two new tunes for the session. “Cadences” is a humorous take on the II-V-I progression that is so important to Western music.

The title track takes its name from the slow movements in all of the Bach keyboard suites; they are based on the Renaissance dance rhythm of the sarabande in a slow ¾ time signature. Though – unfortunately - this trio never played a live gig after the recording, I felt like the three of us danced through the music together in a very special way on this album. This re-issue is dedicated to Charlie Haden, one of the most important figures in jazz and a truly great artist." – Fred Hersch, May, 2015