More Carla Bley Live!
February 10, 2017 8:37 AM   Subscribe

It's been a few years since we last had a Carla Bley post, so why not warm up your wintery days with some fiery, insightful, and fun live performances posted since then? Begin with The Steve Swallow Quintet during their European tour of 2013, with Heineken Jazzaldia (Part 2) [~1h total] and Jazz A Junes [1h10m].

In 2015, Carla composed a lengthy piece "Andando El Tiempo" for the Carla Bley Trio, a three part piece about addiction and recovery [31m]. [This piece is included as the title piece for the Trio's 2016 album release.]

And finally, for her 80th birthday year in 2016, Carla led a performance of her mini jazz opera "La Leçon Française" with the NDR Bigband and the Neuen Knabenchor Hamburg [1h].
posted by hippybear (7 comments total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
I'm increasingly convinced all the musicians that really matter are no more than a degree or two from Anton Fier's Golden Palominos. Bley appears on several of their albums. Here she is, with Michael Stipe, on Alive And Living Now.
posted by bassomatic at 9:11 AM on February 10, 2017


I'm increasingly convinced all the musicians that really matter are no more than a degree or two from Anton Fier's Golden Palominos

I was in a band that opened for them a couple of times (due to some mysterious wheeling and dealing that someone did, since we were nobodies), so, thanks!

But Steve Swallow reminds me that I missed the John Scofield show the other night (not that he's touring with Scofield now, but he's a noted collaborator) and that makes this post a wash for me, psychic-pain-wise.
posted by thelonius at 9:30 AM on February 10, 2017


I was in a band that opened for them a couple of times... Cool! Which incarnation? I greatly regret not getting into the city a few years ago to see their reunion of sorts at City Winery.

And thanks for this post, hippybear. Until now I knew Carla Bley only as a credit on some favorite, fairly obscure albums. I didn't know anything about this part of her career.
posted by bassomatic at 11:18 AM on February 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


It was about 1986....Syd Straw, iirc, was singing
posted by thelonius at 11:51 AM on February 10, 2017


Until now I knew Carla Bley only as a credit on some favorite, fairly obscure albums. I didn't know anything about this part of her career.

She was one of the 2015 recipients of the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award. You can watch the 2 hour ceremony and concert if you want. [Bley doesn't make a live appearance, but there's material she's written or is associated with being played, etc.]

There's also a 2016 interview with her done by NYU jazz studies professor Dr. David Schroeder [1h] that is interesting to watch, but a bit painful. Either she is REALLY painfully shy, or her 80 years are catching up with her a bit, or a bit of both. Still, she tells some pretty great stories during the hour.
posted by hippybear at 1:29 PM on February 10, 2017 [2 favorites]


Four words: Escalator Over The Hill
posted by Dean358 at 6:04 PM on February 10, 2017 [3 favorites]


I love her website, where you can find scores of most of her tunes, but also Steve swallow's. That's also another instantiation of her wonderful sense of humor. Thanks for the links !
posted by nicolin at 4:28 AM on February 11, 2017 [2 favorites]


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