Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra - Liberation Music Orchestra (1970 Japanese Impulse! Gatefold LP)

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Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra, Arrangements By Carla Bley - Liberation Music Orchestra Vinyl LP - Original US Pressing Exported for Japanese Market, Gatefold

One of the most politically engaged and musically ambitious recordings in jazz history, Liberation Music Orchestra represents bassist Charlie Haden's passionate response to the social and political upheavals of the late 1960s. Featuring arrangements by the visionary composer and pianist Carla Bley and an extraordinary ensemble of avant-garde jazz musicians, this album combines Spanish Civil War songs, revolutionary anthems, and free jazz expression into a powerful statement about liberation, resistance, and human dignity. This rare 1970 Japanese market copy represents an original US pressing with black and red rim Impulse! labels bearing the "NY 10019" address, exported for Japan and including an LP-sized insert.

The album opens with "The Introduction / Song Of The United Front", immediately establishing the recording's political commitment through text from Bertolt Brecht and Hanns Eisler's workers' anthem. The extended second track weaves together three Spanish Civil War songs, moving seamlessly between "El Quinto Regimento", "Los Cuatro Generales", and "Viva La Quince Brigada". Bley's arrangements are remarkable for their ability to honour the original melodies' folk simplicity while incorporating the harmonic sophistication and improvisational freedom of free jazz.

The ensemble Haden assembled reads like a who's who of late 1960s avant-garde jazz. Don Cherry's cornet and exotic flutes add colour and emotional depth, particularly on the gorgeous "Song For Chè", a tribute to Che Guevara. Gato Barbieri's passionate tenor saxophone brings Latin American fire, while Dewey Redman's equally intense playing represents the Ornette Coleman school of free jazz. Roswell Rudd's trombone, Perry Robinson's clarinet, and Michael Mantler's trumpet create a rich and varied horn section. The rhythm section features Paul Motian's sensitive drumming and Sam Brown's guitar textures, with Haden's bass providing both harmonic foundation and melodic voice.

"War Orphans" is devastating in its portrayal of civilian suffering, while "The Interlude (Drinking Music)" provides a moment of dark humour before the explosive "Circus '68 '69" responds to the violence at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. The album closes with "We Shall Overcome", the civil rights anthem transformed into a collective prayer for liberation worldwide.

Carla Bley's arrangements are the album's structural genius, balancing composition and improvisation, written melodies and free blowing, political message and musical adventure. Her piano playing throughout adds both harmonic sophistication and percussive energy. Produced by Bob Thiele for Flying Dutchman Productions and engineered by Dave Greene with remix engineering by Bob Arnold, the recording captures both the intimacy of individual voices and the power of collective expression.

This gatefold edition includes Charlie Haden's cover design featuring the ensemble with Carla Bley's banner, Charles Stewart's cover and liner photos, and the LP-sized insert with additional information. The original US pressing quality with Japanese market export makes this a particularly desirable edition for collectors.