Customer Reviews

Land of the Sun

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Longtime collaborators Haden and Rubalcaba have produced a recording of many delicious pleasures.

It's worth a short accounting of how this music came about (as rendered in the disc's liner notes). Charlie Haden, a man with deep affinities to Latin music, played a concert in 2003 in Austin, Texas. After the concert he was approached by Patricia Mendes, daughter of Mexican composer Jose Sabre Marroquin, whose song, "Nocturnal," Haden had recorded earlier. She wished to thank the artist for his beautiful rendition of the song, and to give him a folder of her father's compositions.

After carefully looking over these compositions, Haden showed them to Gonzalo Rubalcaba to see if the latter might be interested in working with him on an entire disc of Marroquin compositions. When Rubalcaba showed enthusiasm for the project, the two began to plan a recording session, which ended up with eight songs by Marroquin and one each by Mexican composers Agustin Lara and Armando Manzanero.

The result is this disc. In many ways, it is a recording of profound, although deceptive, simplicity. The musical materials comprise such commonplace elements as to lull the unwary listener into an almost tropically soporific stupor. A closer attending reveals subtleties of composition, arrangement, and playing that vault the proceedings out of seemingly merely generic pretty Latin music into the precincts of glorious felicity. The leader's bass playing has a lot to do with it. Charlie Haden, for years, has developed and cultivated a unique style on acoustic bass, combining a careful placement of notes, an individual, even idiosyncratic sense of timing, and a depth of sonority and gravitas seldom approached--let alone achieved--by any other player in the history of acoustic jazz bass playing. Often concentrating on the mid to lower registers of his instrument (in contradistinction to many of his contemporaries, who like to work the upper registers), he is in some ways a kind of throwback to earlier stylists, but his own harmonic and rhythmic sophistication makes him an innovator of the order. Rubalcaba's playing and arrangements also add mightily to the mix. What's he's done is penetrate to the melancholy, wistful heart of this music without sinking into sentimentality.

Add Joe Lovano on tenor sax, the up-and-coming Miguel Zenon on alto sax, Lionel Loueke on guitar (who greatly livened up Nicholas Payton's latest disc), and other players of note, and you've got a crew of master musicians making music that is not only beautiful but consequential.

Wonderfully evocative.

This is how I describe "Land of the Sun":
Soft, mellow and relaxing, without any musical instruments confusion; every note and every sound from these fine 10 musicians is so well heard and appreciated. The Bongo played by Juan De La Cruz is a beautiful sound addition on every track and the Stereo recording is very well distributed. Charlie Haden is not trying to show what a great player he is; he is simply making a great soft Jazz album full of taste and sweet melodies.
Pour yourself a glass of wine, put this album in your CD player and enjoy this beautiful relaxing jazz masterpiece of Charlie Haden. "Land of the Sun"

I came to Charlie Haden's music via Nocturne a couple of years ago. With much of the cast back for this recording I find it enjoyable, but a little disappointing. Nocturne seemed able to maintain a slight edge that allowed the music to be soft and deeply felt and didn't fall over the edge into background music. Land of the Sun doesn't quite pull that off. It really is quite beautiful and I love Gonzalo Rubalcaba's piano work, but the edge just isn't there this time out. If you don't have Nocturne let me guide you in that direction.

I agree with the amazon.com editorial review and with "Longboard Jazzer." Those who are only giving this album 1 star just aren't getting it. The emphasis in this album is on the songs themselves, which makes this album a little different from others. Every song is interesting and beautiful, in a subtle kind of way. With songs like this being the unifying factor of the album, the arrangements and solos should serve to complement them - and they do. Rubalcaba has some very fine arrangements that, again, are interesting in a very subtle kind of way. Really listen, and you'll get it. There is fine playing throughout that is very sensible and appropriate for the music. Rubalcaba's playing demonstrates these qualities throughout, and I must argue that Zenon's solo on the opening track is perhaps the best on the album. He is a player who has a lot of great things going for him. This is a must-have... but it warrants some serious, careful listening, or else you'll miss the importance of this album.

Charlie Haden's "Land Of The Sun" will take you on a journey into your inner soul, just sit back and close your eyes and listen to the fruit and juice of the music as it flows though you. It will put you into a state of relaxation like you haven't felt before. Each and every track of sound will leave your body in a very relaxed state. A must have sound for every one. Larry Hobson-Author- The Day Of The Rose

I received this as a gift. I'm not a huge fan of jazz, but I played this CD for the first time yesterday, and I have listened to it a half-dozen times since. It's absolutely wonderful! I ordered the earlier CD "Nocture" by these same two about an hour ago.

As the sun appears to brightly rise, move majestically across the sky, and slowly set in soft yet blazing colors, this music doesn't hurry. Buoyed by the deep bass, the pure clear horns, and crystalline piano, it shines with transcendent beauty. Sometimes too much speed can obscure the vividness of how things are, and quiet meditation is the path of awakening.

Ten relaxing and beautiful compositions from bassist Charlie Haden featuring pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba. Soft, slow and delicate, this disc makes a perfect choice for bedtime, but it's hard to imagine when else you'd want to play it. Track three is an actual lullaby, but that seems hardly necessary - my eyelids were already drooping just sixty seconds into the first track, and nothing that follows is likely to disturb your slumber. Truthfully, the only thing really wrong with this release is that it's being marketed as "jazz". To me that means it ain't got a thing if it ain't got that swing and this music definitely does not. What is does have is a quiet, soothing, contemplative quality featuring lots of woodwinds and the very gentlest piano playing, creating a sound that might be better marketed as `ambient'. Fans of such might consider this a terrific recording, but listeners like myself who prefer driving rhythms and explosive solos most certainly won't. The background music on the weather channel is far more invigorating. Not to be played while driving or operating heavy machinery.

I first heard this CD in Seattle while visiting some friends. This music was perfect for adding to the ambience -- was more than "just background" but less than dominating. Just good, interesting but non-instrusive jazz -- great music for socializing with a small group of friends.

is what it should have been called. Best in a hammock by a pleasant surf in the shade on a breeze afternoon in a caribbean beach. Dreams of peaceful nature with Charlie and Gonzalo and friends. Tutti frutti melodies in touch with the sea caressing the shore. The smell of a cigar in the distance with patio acacias. Tunes representing purity and endurance of the soul with a touch of grace and sorrow. Did i put you to sleep? or was it the stupor of the sound and smell combination i just described, i know, pure paradise...