The late, great and much missed Carla Bley along with Steve Swallow and the HR Big Band, in performance at the Deutsches Jazzfestival in Frankfurt Germany on October 24, 1999.
One of the truly great voices in late 20th century Jazz, whose inventiveness and explorations became something of a benchmark for others to follow for decades. To me, Carla Bley was a show stopper and game-changer – every note, every phrase was something I found myself nodding in wild agreement to. Whether this feeling was shared to a lot of people, I’m not sure. Was Carla Bley well known and respected outside her peers? I don’t know. Clearly she’s left us with a vast reservoir of examples and touchstones from what was an extraordinary career – one which we’re fortunate to rely on, discover and learn from.
Was she discovered by the mainstream? Not so sure – but that’s not important. What IS important is that her work, her point of view and her message will be with us as long as there are recordings, like this one, to listen to and absorb.
Jazz folks know who Carla Bley is, and many I suspect are also fans. It’s the ones who are only coming to Jazz recently, or are getting their feet wet and making discoveries that this post is really directed to.
There are a lot of artists out there who have made incredible contributions to Music and they are all in great need of discovery – maybe not entirely for their points of view as much as the spiritual nourishment they bring with them. Carla Bley’s music has always left sighs of fulfillment after listening as well as a desire to listen again and again and listen to more.
We were lucky to have Carla Bley on the planet this time around – she made a huge contribution. It’s here to discover.
It’s Sunday – take 45 minutes out and press Play. It’s good food.
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