Obituary
Several sources report that Carl Bley died yesterday aged 87 after complications from brain cancer. I have a few of her albums including the Duets album with Steve Swallow and one called Sextet that included Hiram Bullock on guitar. I liked her economical keyboard style very much and she had a knack of writing tunes that were quirky and catchy. I saw her just the once, 30 years ago when The Very Big Carla Bley Band played at RNCM, Manchester
Obit from the Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/oct/18/carla-bley-dead-aged-87-jazz-pianist-composer-dies
Mostly know her from her work on Nick Mason’s Fictitious Sports album which really was more her album than his.
It very much was her album.
Nick was contracted for a solo album and rather than cobble one together himself, basically gifted it to her knowing she’d make a good job of it.
Her compositions, her arrangements, her choice of musicians (possibly Robert Wyatt was on it at Nick’s suggestion) and Nick just played drums.
I’m really sad to hear she’s passed. Twice I had tickets for London trio shows that were cancelled due to ill health (Steve Swallow’s ill health). Later I had to pass on a UK show that was too far away and then finances just made it too expensive. A fantastic composer and arranger, not as appreciated as she ought to have been IMO.
Having fun duetting with her partner Steve Swallow.
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With Charlie Haden.
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Not her playing the piano but her tune and arrangement. She’s playing organ.
File under “I didn’t know that”. “But who would?”
While reading an old article about CB by composer/bassist Gavin Bryars, I discovered that the composition “Lawns” came about when pianist Larry Willis, who plays on it above, was playing random stuff in the studio and Carla liked a particular series of notes that he played. The resulting composition was then called “Lawns” because she heard Larry’s mother call him “Lawrence!” and, with her strong New York accent, it sounded like “Lawns!”.
As was often the case back in the Dark Ages, I bought Escalator Over The Hill on the strength of a glowing review (probably Rolling Stone). As was often the case in such circumstances I disliked it, – not for me. Many years later I saw her at a Vancouver Jazz Festival. Still not my kind of music but she was spellbinding. Travel safely.
By sheer chance, this morning I stumbled across Richard Williams’s blog and this obituary.
https://thebluemoment.com/2023/10/19/carla-bley-1936-2023/
What a remarkable person she was.
“In my copy of Escalator there’s a five-page letter written by Carla to me on yellow legal-pad paper in pencil — “We’re up at our farm in Maine for a rest and we don’t even have running water and electricity, much less typewriters and stationery” — early in 1972, soon after its release. She’d heard from Jack Bruce that the Melody Maker had made it jazz album of the year, or something like that, and she wanted to tell me about how it was now being distributed in the UK as part of a reciprocal arrangement with the saxophonist Evan Parker and the Incus label. Within months she and Mantler would set up the New Music Distribution Service, whose initial foreign partners included Incus and ECM, and which lasted until 1990, having helped disseminate the music of Laurie Anderson, Julius Hemphill, John Adams, David Murray, John Zorn and many others.”
On Sunday evening, @DuCo01, Mrs DuCool and myself were at the Fasching Jazz Club to see the Greg Foat Group. And very good they were too, as you will see from this freshly produced YT clip.
18 minutes into the clip above comes Greg’s beautiful version of the Carla Bley song, Lawns. It was one of the highlights of the set and is well worth a listen.
There were lot of younger people in the audience, and overall as many women as men!
In fact there more than a few attractive lasses in the house.
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Jazz is no longer just the watering hole for gnarled old blokes in berets who spend all evening stroking their goatees!
In the last few weeks I’ve been to to Fasching to see Jasmine Myra, the Espen Eriksen Trio with Andy Sheppard and now Greg Foat. Imaginative, vibrant, joyous music that should appeal to all ages.
It’s nice to see jazz poking it’s head out into the musical mainstream.
Which reminds me I should buy a ticket for an upcoming gig I noticed last week.
Tomorrow’s Warriors Youth Ensemble at Karamel in Wood Green, November 16th.
Loads of little club jazz gigs in London as well as the major venues, over the next 10 days as the EFG London Jazz Festival gets under way.