Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast, we are talking to musician Rachel Haden. A go-to musician and singe in her own right, we learned from our interview, Rachel is part of a musical tradition that frankly, we had no idea the depths of until we started talking about it with her for this episode. Her father, bassist Charlie Haden was one of one of the greatest bassists of all-time. Spoken about in hushed tones next to greats like Charles Mingus, Jaco Pastorius and Ron Carter, Charlie is perhaps best known for his time in Ornette Coleman’s ‘free jazz’ Quartet in 1960 that literally helped revolutionize jazz. The free jazz movement pushed the boundaries of what jazz was and what it would become.
Now if that were all Charlie Haden ever did, he’d still be a legendary figure if his career ended there. However ever the next 50 years, Charlie Haden worked with everyone from Keith Jarrett, and Ginger Baker, to Elvis Costello, and Hank Mobley and even son-in-Jack Black. Born into a musical family in the 1930s, Charlie Haden grew up with country and American folk music as part of his roots. The Haden Family, much like The Carter Family, were songwriters and performers and even had their own radio show in Iowa in the 1940s. Their musical traditions were passed down in handmade books, much like a family bible, that still exist today. Which is why talking to Rachel is so much fun. Along with her sisters Petra and Tanya, The Haden Triplets have recorded two full-length albums based on the music of their grandparents while covering classic American country and folk music. Their debut was produced by Ry Cooder on Jack White’s Third Man Records and their 2020 sophomore follow-up called The Family Songbook, was a bucket list project that brings their family musical legacy full circle.
A bass player/singer/keyboardist herself, Rachel Haden co-founded the band That Dog in the 1990s with her sister Petra and performed & recorded with a veritable who in music including Weezer, Todd Rundgren, Beck, Brendan Perry, Jimmy Eat World, Neil Hamburger, The Rentals, The Martini’s and more. Her older brother, Josh Haden is also a musician, having founded the late 80s SST punk rock band Treacherous Jaywalkers and later, the band Spain. So what was it like growing up with the preeminent jazz bassist for a dad, an older brother bass player following in his dads footsteps and sisters Petra on the violin & Tanya on the cello? We’ll find out, on this episode of the Rarified Heir Podcast.
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Wikipedia has Tanya being married to Jack Black. An unusual interview. Thank you for introducing me to great music.