Charlie Haden on why he took up the bass

NOW, A JAZZ MOMENT… MUSIC: Alone Together                         CD: The Best of Quartet West                         Universal Music Jazz France 2007 Charlie Haden:  When I was 15, I got polio – bulbar polio.  It paralyzed my throat and my vocal cords and I couldn’t sing anymore. NEA JAZZ MASTER CHARLIE HADEN BEGAN HIS MUSICAL LIFE AT THE AGE OF 22 MONTHS, WHEN HE SANG ON HIS PARENTS’ COUNTRY-WESTERN RADIO SHOW.  BUT POLIO REDIRECTED HIS MUSICAL EFFORTS TO THE BASS. Charlie Haden:  There are so many possibilities with the instrument, it can make everybody sound better and it can make everybody sound inspired.  And you know you need someone to anchor everything and you need someone that has vision and inspiration and a sense of innovation to make the bass speak out to its full potential.  MUSIC: punctuation THIS JAZZ MOMENT WITH BASSIST CHARLIE HADEN WAS CREATED BY THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS.