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Carla Bley: Life Goes On
by Mike Jurkovic
After decades of illuminating and revealing work, reveling in and breaking free of shadows, it is those same shadows that still inspire and inform Carla Bley. Which perhaps explains why the title track of Life Goes On rolls in on the 12-bar like a music obsessed, post-bop cigarette girl absorbing Count Basie at Birdland in the 1950s. So let's take a brief moment to be thankful for the odd, out of time quirks that have brought us to this same ...
Continue ReadingCarla Bley / Andy Sheppard / Steve Swallow: Life Goes On
by Karl Ackermann
Coming off a recent illness, the legendary composer-pianist Carla Bley has her sense of humor and political instincts intact on Life Goes On. The trio album with saxophonist Andy Sheppard and bassist Steve Swallow completes a trilogy which began with Trios in 2013 but the three have been recording together since 1994 with their first album Songs With Legs (WATT/ECM, 1995). In a 2019 interview with German magazine Kaput Bley spoke about the synergy that makes her trio work so ...
Continue ReadingCarla Bley: Life Goes On
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist / composer Carla Bley is an inspiring woman. Pianist Paul Bley was inspired to marry her, and record a full album of her compositions: Barrage (ESP-Disk, 1965), in addition to including four of her originals on Open, To Love (ECM Records, 1973). George Russell included her “Bent Eagle" on his Stratusfunk (Riverside Records, 1960). Jimmy Giuffre presented his version of her “Ictus" on his album Thesis (Verve, 1961). And if these examples date the influence of Carla Bley, consider ...
Continue ReadingFamous Jazz Mothers And Their Young
by Mary Foster Conklin
The Mothers Day broadcast included new releases from Molly Hammer, Mary Stallings, Vivian Sessoms and Lisa Maxwell, with birthday shout outs to Carla Bley in the first hour, Mary Lou Williams in the second hour, plus vocalists Judi Silvano, John Proulx, Barb Jungr and trumpeter Nadje Noordhuis, among others, plus cuts from some famous jazz mothers and their musical offspring. Playlist Champian Fulton “Blues Etude" from The Stylings of Champian (Champian Records) 00:00 Molly Hammer “New Blowtop Blues" ...
Continue ReadingCarla Bley's Trio at the Jazz Standard
by Akinfe Fatou
Carla Bley's Trio Jazz Standard New York, NY March 19, 2019 Carla Bley is extraordinary, savvy, and enigmatic. The Guggenheim Fellow (1972), German Jazz Trophy winner ("A Life of Jazz"—2009), 5-time GRAMMY-nominee and NEA Jazz Master (2015) was joined by her spouse Steve Swallow on electric bass and Andy Sheppard on saxophone at the Jazz Standard for an evening of transfigurations, reinvigorated ensembles, and recherche improvisations underscored by fascinating idiosyncracies. A renowned bandleader, ...
Continue ReadingCarla Bley Trio at Dazzle
by Geoff Anderson
Carla Bley Trio Dazzle Denver, CO March 24, 2019 At age 82, Carla Bley has been around. But not everywhere. Remarkably, her two nights at Dazzle last weekend marked her first appearances in Colorado as a performer. Still, the depth and scope of her past music-making is unmatched by most musicians on the scene today. She thinks of herself primarily as a composer and in that role has written for big band, ...
Continue ReadingCarla Bley Trio at Dazzle Jazz
by Tyran Grillo
Carla Bley Trio Dazzle Jazz Denver, Colorado March 24, 2019 Pianist Carla Bley drew an equilateral triangle with electric bassist Steve Swallow and saxophonist Andy Sheppard at Dazzle Jazz in Denver. The trio showed the true meaning of democracy, unafraid to temper every glint of brightness with a hint of shadow. As within a handcrafted watch, each gear and spring worked in concert: remove one part and the whole mechanism would cease to ...
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