
Bassist Charlie Haden was there at the very beginning of this thing we call "free" jazz. He played on Ornette Coleman's seminal The Shape of Jazz to Come in 1959. Live at Birdland (released this June) shows the other side of what "free" can mean. Saxophonist Lee Konitz, pianist Brad Mehldau, drummer Paul Motian, and Haden present beautiful deconstructions of some classic jazz standards (including "Lover Man" made famous by Billie Holiday, "I Fall in Love Too Easily" sung by Frank Sinatra, and "Oleo" by Sonny Rollins). This performance shows four great improvisers exploring the limits [...]