Going Large, and then Larger
Jazz composer Carla Bley creates her Very Big Band. With Donald Macleod and writer and jazz critic Kevin Le Gendre.
Jazz composer Carla Bley creates her Very Big Band.
With Donald Macleod and writer and jazz critic Kevin Le Gendre.
One of the most original voices in jazz, composer, arranger, performer and bandleader Carla Bley has been determinedly pursuing her own musical path for more than 60 years. Her back catalogue of some 50 plus recordings tell the story of a musician who's responded in her own unique style to all the current trends, from free and experimental jazz in the 60s and 70s to 80s soul, blues and R&B. In later decades, she's written for and created big bands recalling the musical landscapes of Count Basie and the Duke and in the last 20 years, she's refined a distilled, intimate style for smaller chamber ensembles, in particular performing in a trio with her life partner, bassist Steve Swallow and the British saxophonist Andy Sheppard. Little wonder then, her fellow musicians affectionately call Bley 'Countess Bleysie' and 'Bleythoven'. Featuring a selection of recordings suggested by Carla Bley, Donald Macleod and Kevin Le Gendre follow Bley's musical adventuring from her early days writing for Paul Bley and Gary Burton, to her latest album for the Carla Bley Trio, released in 2020.
After producing a series of softer toned albums for smaller ensembles in the 1980s, in the following decade Bley headed off in a totally different direction, writing and performing with some of her largest ensembles yet, to tour and produce a series of highly successful recordings, among them Fleur Carnivore and the Grammy Award-winning Big Band Theory.
The Girl Who Cried Champagne (Part 1)
Carla Bley, piano
Lew Soloff, trumpet
Jens Winther, trumpet
Frank Lacy, French Horn, flugelhorn
Gary Valente, trombone
Bob Stewart, tuba
Daniel Beaussier, oboe, piano
Wolfgang Puschnig, alto saxophone, flute
Andy Sheppard, tenor saxophone, clarinet
Christof Lauer, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone
Roberto Ottini, baritone saxophone, soprano saxophone
Karen Mantler, harmonica, organ, vibes, chimes
Steve Swallow, bass
Buddy Williams, drums
Don Alias, percussion
Fleur Carnivore
Carla Bley, piano
Lew Soloff, trumpet
Jens Winther, trumpet
Frank Lacy, French Horn, flugelhorn
Gary Valente, trombone
Bob Stewart, tuba
Daniel Beaussier, oboe, piano
Wolfgang Puschnig, alto saxophone, flute
Andy Sheppard, tenor saxophone, clarinet
Christof Lauer, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone
Roberto Ottini, baritone saxophone, soprano saxophone
Karen Mantler, harmonica, organ, vibes, chimes
Steve Swallow, bass
Buddy Williams, drums
Don Alias, percussion
Strange Arrangement
The Very Big Carla Bley Band
Ashley Slater,bass trombone
Roger Jannotta, oboe
Fayyaz Virji, trombone
Richard Edwards, trombone
Gary Valente, trombone)
Wolfgang Puschnig, alto saxophone
Andy Sheppard, tenor saxophone
Victor Lewis, drums
Don Alias, percussion
Karen Mantler, organ
Pablo Calogero, baritone saxophone
Pete Hurt, tenor saxophone
Steven Bernstein, trumpet
Claude Deppa, trumpet
Lew Soloff, trumpet
Guy Barker, trumpet
Steve Swallow, double bass
Carla Bley, piano
Who Will Rescue You?
The Carla Bley Big Band
Carla Bley, piano
Lew Soloff, trumpet
Guy Barker, trumpet
Claude Deppa, trumpet
Steve Waterman, trumpet
Gary Valente, trombone
Pete Beachill, trombone
Chris Dean, trombone
Richard Henry, bass trombone
Roger Jannotta, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, flute
Wolfgang Puschnig, alto saxophone
Andy Sheppard, tenor saxophone
Jerry Underwood, tenor saxophone
Julian Arg眉elles, baritone saxophone
Karen Mantler, organ, harmonica
Steve Swallow, bass
Dennis Mackrel, drums
On The Stage In Cages
Lew Soloff, trumpet
Gary Valente, trombone
Alexander Balanescu, violin
Andy Sheppard, tenor saxophone
Wolfgang Puschnig, alto saxophone
Steve Waterman, trumpet
Richard Edwards, trombone
Annie Whitehead, trombone
Julian Arg眉elles, baritone saxophone
Karen Mantler, organ
Dennis Mackrel, drums
Peter Hurt, tenor saxophone
Roger Jannotta, flute
Ashley Slater, bass trombone
Roger Jannotta, soprano saxophone
Claude Deppa, trumpet
Andy Sheppard, soprano saxophone
Steve Swallow, bass vocal
Carla Bley, piano
Wolfgang Puschnig, flute
Guy Barker, trumpet
Producer: Johannah Smith
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