Episode 161, Discovering Carla Bley

Carla Bley, at the age of 85, was just voted onto Downbeat Magazine’s Hall of Fame. There is an article in the August 2021 issue where she talks about having found her ‘voice’—a voice that has endured through all the twists and turns.

In this episode we explore that voice, playing recordings from 1957 to 2020. She is a prolific composer and arranger, as well as a fine pianist.

I play some of her compositions as interpreted by Canadian pianist Paull Bley, Gary Burton, The Liberation Music Orchestra, The George Russell Quintet, and Toronto’s Jane Bunnett. There are also a few by groups she leads, as well as a bit of her jazz opera, Escalator Over The Hill. That opera, by the way, was released on a 6-sided album, and Stylus Magazine referred to it as “the greatest record ever made”.