Haden's Tender Hymns with Hank Jones
Two old friends trading quiet hymns at the piano and bass, unhurried and unshowy.
Come Sunday is a quiet, unhurried record. Charlie Haden's bass sits low and warm, and Hank Jones's piano moves through familiar hymns and spirituals with a patient, almost conversational touch. There is little drama here, no swing-for-the-fences solos, just two players who clearly know each other's habits and let the melodies breathe. The tempos stay close to walking pace, and the mood is reflective rather than festive.
This is the second time Haden and Jones made an album like this, following Steal Away from 1994, and the familiarity shows. Thom Jurek at AllMusic called the record at its best "lovely, elegant, and even stirring," though he also felt it might have worked better with more hymns and fewer carols, which he found a bit staid. That seems fair. The best moments are the sincere, stripped-down readings of the hymns themselves.
Come Sunday was recorded only a few months before Jones died in May 2010, which gives it a quiet weight without making it morbid. It reached number 4 on Billboard's Top Jazz Albums chart and charted well on the Christian and gospel lists, so it found a real audience beyond jazz listeners. If you want Haden in a gentler, more devotional mode, this is a good place to hear it. If you are new to either player, start with their more adventurous work first.
Who's playing
Charlie Hadenbass
Lee Konitzalto saxophone
Where next?
More by Charlie Haden
All 44 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
