Sweet Basil was located at 88 7th Avenue South in Greenwich Village. It opened in 1974. Ron Carter, McCoy Tyner, Jim Hall, Gil Evans, Art Blakey, Paul Bley, to name a few, recorded live albums there.
In 1985, Old and New Dreams, the band consisting of Ornette Coleman alumni Don Cherry, Dewey Redman, my father Charlie Haden, and Ed Blackwell, played at Sweet Basil for four nights, between Thursday, January 17, and Sunday, January 20. Admission was $10. Their most recent release was 1981’s Playing.
Someone recorded all three sets on the night of January 18th. I don’t know who. I believe this posting is the first appearance of this tape anywhere.
Sweet Basil closed in 2001. The building has been refurbished and currently houses a late-night pasta restaurant. I’ll post side two next week. 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.com.
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