Charlie Haden and Fred Hersch "Speak Low"

In 1985, music visionary Hal Willner produced an star-studded tribute to the composer Kurt Weill. Over two dozen artists from across the tonal spectrum were assembled to create versions of “Mack The Knife”, “Alabama Song”, “September Song”, and others. My father, along with Liberation Music Orchestra member Ahnee Sharon Freeman, recorded “Speak Low”. The resulting album, Lost In The Stars: The Music Of Kurt Weill, was a big success.In 1994, film director Larry Weinstein tapped Willner to produce a kind of music video follow-up to Lost In The Stars. Several of the artists from the album were invited to re-record their tracks and perform them in choreographed dramatic visual skits. Some new artists were added. Nick Cave performed “Mack The Knife. PJ Harvey sang “Ballad Of The Soldier’s Wife”. Elvis Costello played “Lost In The Stars”. My father reprised his version of “Speak Low”, this time with piano and arrangements by Fred Hersch. The final product, September Songs: The Music Of Kurt Weill, aired on PBS’ Great Performances. It was nominated for a 1995 Emmy Award. The soundtrack CD was released in 1997. This unlabeled cassette from “Box Of Important CD’s [sic]” contains two mixes of the September Songs version of “Speak Low”. The one I’m posting here is not on the album. Solid, Jackson.In this Substack podcast I listen to albums and cassettes from the collection of my father, the late jazz bassist Charlie Haden. If you like what you hear, please consider subscribing. I’m writing a book of Memoires about life, death, jazz, slowcore, and survival. The address is joshhaden.substack.comAll words & images © 2024 Josh Haden, except where noted.Josh Haden's Mémoire is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshhaden.substack.com/subscribe