Soon after, Haden was performing on the Grand Ole Opry. On November 17, 2009 he’s going to be putting on a very special concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in L.A. Presented by the LA Philharmonic, Haden will be performing with his family, including son-in-law funny man Jack Black, and some powerhouse bluegrass guests.

Dan Tyminski, Sam Bush, and Jerry Douglas will be joining the Haden clan for this show. It sound like a fun show.

Visit the LA Phil website for more information and ticketing info.

On Saturday, Feb 28, 2009, he performed the Opry with his father-in-law Charlie Haden. The pair were joined by bluegrass stars Sam Bush, Bryan Sutton, Jim Mills, Andy Hall, and Stuart Duncan. Haden, of course, played bass. Jack Black sang and, in part, acted out, the traditional tune Old Joe Clark. Here’s a fan recorded youtube video.

Be sure to check out the photo, while he was there, Black took the opportunity to get his photo taken with Del and Ronnie McCoury and Sam Bush.

Leading the two shows on the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium on February 28 are Opry members Ricky Skaggs and Del McCoury, together the winners of a total of 14 Grammy and 30 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) awards.

The show will also feature multiple IBMA award-winners The Infamous Stringdusters.

The Charlie Haden Family & Friends 2008 Grammy-nominated release and roots music-orientated Rambling Boy features appearances by Skaggs as well as a number of other great musicians, including Haden’s son-in-law, Golden Globe-nominated actor Jack Black.

Among others who both appear on Rambling Boy and are set to be part of the Haden Family Opry shows are renowned musicians Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, Mark Fain, Rob Ickes, Jim Mills and Bryan Sutton.

"Together, the exemplary artists confirmed for this show have amassed more than 30 Grammy awards and an amazing 50 plus awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association," said Opry Vice President and General Manager Pete Fisher. "We are looking forward to seeing these masters of their various instruments together on the Opry stage."

Del McCoury, Jesse McReynolds & The Virginia Boys and Bobby Osborne & Rocky Top X-Press will also perform on tonight’s Friday Opry show.

The Grand Ole Opry is broadcast live on WSM AM 650, on XM channel 11 (XM Nashville), and simulcast worldwide via online streaming at wsmonline.com.

The Tuesday Night Opry resumes on March 3.

Jack Black is a funny man for sure. He’s been through the School of Rock. Now he’s taken up an interest in bluegrass music.

Black’s father-in-law is jazz bass legend Charlie Haden. In September of 2008 Haden released a CD by the title Rambling Boy. The CD includes Haden’s family & friends, and is accordingly subtitled. The CD takes Haden back to his roots of bluegrass, folk, and old time country music. Featuring songs such as Single Girl, Married Girl, Wildwood Flower, A Tramp On The Street, and Shenandoah, the CD features all four of Haden’s children.

The original plan had not included any performance by son-in-law Black, but when he heard the mixes, he took an interest in the instrumental version of Old Joe Clark, asking if there were any lyrics to it. Soon enough, Black had laid down a vocal track to the tune that became part of the finished production.

I wasn’t sure what to expect because I haven’t recorded or really sung any old songs like that before, bluegrass style, but it came very naturally and I cranked it out in two takes.

There was something in the music that I think struck a chord in my DNA. I think I’ve got some hillbilly in my roots. … I’m already practising my square dancing if we play the Grand Ole Opry.

The “friends” part of the CD includes performances by Vince Gill, Dan Tyminski, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, and Ricky Skaggs.

In fact, the iTunes version of the disc includes an exclusive bonus track of Hold What Ya Got, recorded with Ricky Skaggs and his family, The Whites.

The mini-site for the project, hadenfamilyandfriends.com features audio samples and a video introduction to the project, including footage of Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Bryan Sutton, and of course Skaggs himself.

You can read more about Jack Black’s involvement at this link.

HT: The Australian Bluegrass Blog

Haden is a bass player known for his work with Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Keith Jarrett and Pat Metheny – as well as recordings with his own groups and under his name. His music has often been on the leading edge of experimental jazz forms, and his personal politics have infiltrated much of his recorded work.

Despite his hefty jazz credentials, Haden’s first musical experiences involved performing as a child with his parents and uncles as The Haden Family in the 1940s. He started joining the family on the radio when he was just two years old, billed as Little Cowboy Charlie, and continued with the group until he was 15 years old, when a bout with polio damaged his vocal chords.

Charlie continued playing bass, and after attending music school in Los Angeles for a short time, hooked up with some of the hottest west coast jazz players of the day, leading to his stint with Coleman, a move that cemented his standing as a musician.

Now, nearly 70 years since he debuted on the radio, Haden new release hearkens back to his earliest roots, singing the old songs with his family. Rambling Boy, from Charlie Haden, Family & Friends, has him singing with his daughters instead of his parents, along with some big names from all over the music world.

There are 19 tracks on the new project, on which Haden plays bass and sings with daughters, triplets Petra, Rachel and Tanya. Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Bryan Sutton, Russ Barenberg and Stuart Duncan anchor the old time and bluegrass rhythm section, with guest vocalists Ricky Skaggs, Dan Tyminski, Vince Gill, Bruce Hornsby, Roseanne Cash and Elvis Costello featured as well.

Jazz guitar master Pat Metheny also guests on several tracks.

Rachel’s husband, actor Jack Black, also offers a spirited vocal rendition of Old Joe Clark with B?©la Fleck on banjo. Other tracks include Jimmy Martin favorites 20/20 Vision sung by Hornsby, and Ocean Of Diamonds by Tyminski. Roseanne Cash offers a version of Wildwood Flower and Costello sings Hank Williams’ You Win Again.

The Haden girls contribute on the balance of the tracks, mostly traditional songs like Single Girl, Married Girl, Down By The Salley Gardens and He’s Gone Away.

Audio and video samples from Rambling Boy can be found online.

Haden sat for an interview recently with Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air about this new project, and you can listen to the piece at NPR.org.

Here’s a brief YouTube clip of the Haden Family in the studio.