It’s 1968, and the Democratic National Convention erupts into violence. Rejection of a plank
condemning the Vietnam War sparks protests on the streets of Chicago. Bassist Charlie Haden,
a vehement critic of the war, watches it all unfold. He is angry and disgusted, and he decide
that he must take action.
Haden forms the Liberation Music Orchestra, an ensemble of fellow activist-musicians,
including Carla Bley, Paul Motian, and Dewey Redman. Their repertoire includes “Circus ’68
’69,” a criticism of the convention violence. Haden considered jazz the “music of rebellion.” It
was his mission, he thought, to challenge the world through his jazz.
At a 1971 gig in Portugal, then under a fascist dictatorship, Haden dedicated his “Song For Che
(Guevara)” to revolutionaries in Portuguese-controlled African nations. He was arrested by the
Portuguese secret police, interrogated, and jailed. Haden never denounced his stance against
racist colonialism and Western empire-building, declaring it the root of social problems in
America.
Said Haden, “I want an America worthy of the dreams of Martin Luther King, and the majesty of
the Statue of Liberty. I always dreamed of a world without cruelty and greed, of a humanity
with the same creative brilliance of our solar system. Haden dedicated his music to those who
“still dream of a society with compassion, deep creative intelligence, and a respect for the
preciousness of life.”
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