Charlie Haden, Liberation Music Orchestra (side A)

Liberation Music Orchestra always confuses me a bit. I'd expect a political statement to possibly make some populist attempt to reach an audience, or else perhaps to be an introspective, personal statement. Charlie Haden attempts neither here—the music is often blaring and extroverted, but it's also intellectually challenging, at times almost impenetrable. While it's a really compelling and fascinating listen, Haden's goals in creating it remain unclear to me. He enlisted a fabulous group for the cause, with Don Cherry, Roswell Rudd, Andrew Cyrille, and even Bob Northern (Brother Ah) among the many impressive talents who appear here. While it was released in 1973, the recording of Liberation Music Orchestra dates from 1970. It's unclear whether it was in front of an audience, but Judson Hall often serves as a live venue, and the recording is a bit murky from being in a large space that's not optimized for recording. The cover image and design are iconic and unforgettable.