Jazz Articles about Carla Bley

Carla Bley: Carla's Christmas Carols

by AAJ Italy Staff
March 24, 2010

Nella sua bella maturità Carla Bley ha forse perso qualcosa dell'asprigna e acidula irriverente secchezza che contraddistingueva i suoi lavori più originali, ma ha certamente acquistato una capacità di scrittura che sa riflettere con arguzia la sua raffinatezza in ambito armonico e la sua sottigliezza in campo ritmico. E' tradizione musicale anglosassone che, in prossimità del Natale, strumentisti e cantanti più o meno di fama rendano il loro omaggio alle festività: in questa affascinante incisione (parte in studio e parte ...

Carla Bley: Carla's Christmas Carols

by John Kelman
October 27, 2009

Carla's Christmas Carols? For many, the idea of their favorite jazz artist releasing an album of seasonal songs usually smells of crass commercialism or pure pandering, but leave it to pianist/composer/arranger Carla Bley to produce an album that's as reverentially in the spirit of the season as it gets, while being musically deep enough to fit within her substantial discography with complete relevance. And it is reverential. Accompanied by longtime partner, bassist Steve Swallow, and the German Partyka ...

Carla Bley Big Band: Appearing Nightly

by Budd Kopman
September 10, 2008

Appearing Nightly conflates four of the most delightful things in the world--being in a jazz club with white tablecloths and a martini listening to live music played but a few feet away, a big band cooking on stage, the music being played harkening back to jazz of the 1950s, and finally that music refracted through the mind of the inimitable pianist and composer Carla Bley. Anyone who was lucky enough to hear some of this music in ...

Carla Bley Big Band: Appearing Nightly

by John Kelman
September 4, 2008

It's been five years since Carla Bley last worked with a big band on the politically motivated Looking for America (Watt, 2003). In the intervening years, the composer/bandleader has focused on small ensemble work with The Lost Chords (2004), and a follow-up encounter with trumpeter Paolo Fresu on The Lost Chords Find Paolo Fresu (2007), both on her own Watt label. Appearing Nightly has a more benign purpose than Looking for America--a warm look back at the social but sophisticated ...

Carla Bley Big Band: Appearing Nightly

by C. Michael Bailey
September 2, 2008

Carla Bley Big Band Appearing Nightly WATT 2008

Bandleader and musical provocateur Carla Bley is the Hector Berlioz of jazz. Her command of her large ensembles is complete and potent. Her composition, arrangement, and adaptation are intelligent with a sophisticated sense of humor. A superb pianist, Bley's true talent lies in her ability to define and then guide an orchestra through her arrangements without veering off into parts unknown. Her relationship with ...

Songs With Legs: Carla Bley, Steve Swallow and Andy Sheppard At Birdland, NYC

by Budd Kopman
April 25, 2008

Carla Bley / Steve Swallow /Andy SheppardBirdlandNew York, NYApril 10, 2008 The Lost Chords is the name of the quartet led by pianist Carla Bley with her partner, bassist Steve Swallow, saxophonist Andy Sheppard and drummer Billy Drummond. The group has recorded The Lost Chords (Watt, 2004) and, with the addition of Italian trumpeter Paoloa Fresu, The Lost Chords Find Paolo Fresu (Watt, 2007). As a trio they've been performing since 1993 and recorded ...

Carla Bley: The Lost Chords Find Paolo Fresu

by Jim Santella
April 2, 2008

Founded in 2003, Carla Bley's quartet The Lost Chords interprets her music with emotional depth and superior musicianship. By adding guest trumpeter Paolo Fresu for this session, she has stumbled on a formula that emphasizes camaraderie and spirit-sharing. The five artists fuse well together through blues, ballads, lyrical arias and the occasional ruckus. Far from predictable, Bley's music engulfs the band as if in a cozy den with fireplace and library, where the walls are covered with tapestries that tell ...