#Carla bley free#

If you Steely Dan fans ever wondered who Fagan and Becker were listening to when they were The only vocal per se is on Musique Mecanique ii (At Midnight). There are a few voices on this album but not many.

Is this Prog? If you like music that is adventurous and creative and experimental and innovative and has musicians locked in so tight with the material that the ensemble power of them at times gives you pause for happiness.if hearing music that you will hear nowhere else and catching the humor that is communicated through the sounds and hearing melodies and motifs that are relaxing and stimulating at the same time, then, Carla Bley's music is something you might want to check into at some point in your life. Released in 1979, you might well ask: Does the music hold up? To my ears, mind and nervous system the answer is affirmative. Posted Wednesday, Novem| Review this album | Report (Review #2055668) The All Music Guide rates it among her best ones at 4½ stars, but I was impressed Recommendable it is as a Carla Bley album. The brass-oriented arrangement is surely not up to my jazz taste, and I naturally can't say how I like the overall feel: temperate, intelligent, witty, gentlemanly and mildly Other hand it was also a bit duller than I expected. How did I like this album? First, it was less experimental or difficult than I was prepared to hear, which is positive. The final piece 'Walking Batteriewoman' has the fastest and edgiest melodies. If you know the Finnish jazz scene of the 70's, this music could beĬompared to Henrik Otto Donner. Here?' -manner but gets slightly livelier. 'Floater' starts cautiously in a 'where do we go from

'Valse Sinistre' isĪnother composition based on a dance rhythm, and it's not exactly sinister.

'Útviklingssang' (is that Norwegian?) is a moody piece in a slow tempo. Maybe there won't be much experimental twist on this album at all? Nor there Royalties' is also temperate and easy-going. Music seems closer in spirit to the early British jazz/fusion with some continental flavour than typical American jazz. Even the soprano sax solo remains rather restricted.īut towards the end it begins to feel more interesting as the organ makes me think of the early 70's Soft Machine. This harmlessly playful and mildly humorous compositionĪctually feels a bit too long since the changes along the way aren't very big. Structure forms the basis, on top of which the trumpet, trombone, saxes and other wind instruments play almost as in aĭialogue, with quick, little piano melodies thrown in here and there. The opener 'Reactionary Tango' (12:52) is the longest track other five tracks are between 4 and 7 minutes. Is accompanied by a rhythm section and six musicians playing various wind instruments. On Social Studies Carla Bley (organ, piano all compositions) Nor have I ever listened to a Bley album before whatĪn interesting starting point to review one of her numerous albums. Robert Wyatt, Jack BruceĪnd Nick Mason, whose Fictitious Sports album is in practice Bley's work. The artist bio tells that her music oftenĬontains experimentalism - which is not necessarily my cup of tea - and that she's worked with e.g.

#Carla bley free#

Frankly I don't know much about Carla Bley, American free jazz pianist and composer.