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Paul Bley: Basics
by AAJ Staff
Jazz enthuasiasts who value the true innovators of the music are fortunate that Paul Bley is still pushing its boundaries through the inventions of a single instrument. Bley's style is so explorative and idiosyncratic--as was Monk's--that his imagination seems to continually consider and savor ideas, as one would value a work of art. Once the consideration process is through, Bley embellishes even the simplest idea and makes it part of his broader body of thought. For example, “Told You So" ...
Continue ReadingPaul Bley: Notes On Ornette
by C. Andrew Hovan
These are the tunes that have become the stuff of legend. And don’t just take it from this reviewer, ask Pat Metheny and countless others who have found something to say in the early compositions of Ornette Coleman. Either because he was on the West Coast working with Coleman and Don Cherry at the time or because he sees their inherent greatness too, pianist Paul Bley has chosen from the Ornette canon pieces dating from the late ‘50s for this ...
Continue ReadingBruce Ditmas: What If
by Glenn Astarita
Drummer Bruce Ditmas’ wish list comes to fruition on the 1995 “Postcards” release titled, What If. Among the noteworthy crop of re-releases from Arkadia Records who now own the Postcards catalogue is this mind boggling work featuring a who’s who of modern jazz stylists such as pianist Paul Bley, bassist Dominic Richards, saxophonist Sam Rivers and guitarist John Abercrombie. According to the liners, Ditmas handed Postcards something similar to a Christmas want-list as they proceeded to round up these consummate ...
Continue ReadingRalph Simon and Magic Club: Music for the Millennium
by Glenn Astarita
Music for the Millennium is saxophonist/composer Ralph Simon’s second release for the Postcards label which in case you haven’t heard was an admirable early to mid 90’s jazz label featuring the creme de la creme of the jazz world. Thankfully, Arkadia Records has acquired the Postcards catalogue resulting in a venerable crop of reissues featuring the original artwork, and liners. Here Ralph Simon and “Magic Club” pursue an aggressive conceptual approach that articulates free-jazz, ethereal sonic soundscapes combined with ethnocentric ...
Continue ReadingPaul Bley: Chaos
by Larry Koenigsberg
There's a fashion on many contemporary jazz recordings, in which the players are variously combined for each track: all on some tracks, just a few on others, perhaps just one or two on the rest, and no grouping the same. While Chaos follows this formula, the results have a consistency which is often lacking in straight-ahead releases thus assembled. The explorations of Bley, Di Castri and Oxley are so strong on their solo tracks that when they play together, they ...
Continue ReadingPaul Bley: Chaos
by Glenn Astarita
Chaos is a new collaborative effort from experimentalists Paul Bley (p), Furio Di Castri (b) and drummer Tony Oxley. What we have here is a series of duets, solos and trio settings.The Bley composition “Poetic Justice” typifies some of the trio’s introspective pieces which generally reside within the free jazz realm. Bley provides the melodic interludes while Oxley and Di Castri explore various rhythmic structures. Oxley’s inventions on the kit are legendary. His arsenal of odd sounding percussion ...
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