Carla Bley - The Lost Chords Find Paolo Fresu

[GA Russell]

I started off the New Year yesterday by opening up Carla Bley's new album The Lost Chords Find Paolo Fresu. It was recorded just last May.

The Lost Chords are Bley's quartet with Bley on piano, Andy Sheppard on soprano and tenor sax, Steve Swallow on bass and Billy Drummond on drums. Paolo Presu plays trumpet and flugelhorn.

This is an ECM release, and like many of their issues it does not vary much in mood. The mood here is somewhat dark and sombre.

I recall there being a thread some time ago about music for film noir movies. Back in 1980 I read all of Ross MacDonald's novels with Mike Nock's In, Out and Around spinning in the background. This too would be great music to read hard-boiled detective stories by.

Fresu has a beautiful sound. I like his flugelhorn work especially.

All of the songs were written by Bley. There are interesting chords through the album. One song, Ad Infinitum, is very familiar but I can't place it.

You probably saw that Slate.com listed this as one of the year's top ten jazz releases. I'll be surprised if it isn't found pretty high up in the Readers Polls of Downbeat and Jazz Times next year.

If you like interesting music to relax to or read by, this is highly recommended.

[Nate Dorward]

All of the songs were written by Bley. There are interesting chords through the album. One song, Ad Infinitum, is very familiar but I can't place it.

It's a much older tune of hers; I think it's originally on Dinner Music.

[sidewinder]

Recall seeing Fresu on a Canadian tour about 15 years ago with his quartet. Very nice, in a 'Milesian ECM' sort of way - liked his flugel sound particularly.

[GARussell]

All of the songs were written by Bley. There are interesting chords through the album. One song, Ad Infinitum, is very familiar but I can't place it.

It's a much older tune of hers; I think it's originally on Dinner Music.

Nate, I don't have that one. I do have a couple of hers from twenty years ago, and maybe it is on one of those. I'll have to see if I can dig them up. I was thinking that it is on a Kenny Wheeler album I have, but it's not. It's on the tip of my tongue!

[jmjk]

Ad Infinitum was recorded for Dinner Music, and I think it was on another record, also (maybe not her own).

I like this new Lost Chords release. I find Carla's compositions very interesting, and this set of tunes benefits from Fresu's tone. Seemed to me to take a couple of track to catch a little fire, but it's enjoyable enough regardless.

[GA Russell]

jmjk, I've played this record more than any other this month, and I'm really digging it. Without a doubt my favorite new record in many months.

[jmjk]

jmjk, I've played this record more than any other this month, and I'm really digging it. Without a doubt my favorite new record in many months.

It's grown a lot on me too! Maybe it's time for BleyFest. I'm reaching for Escalator right now!

[jimi089]

Ms. Bley is a total blind spot in my collection. Maybe I should change that soon.

[king ubu]

This is an ECM release, and like many of their issues it does not vary much in mood. The mood here is somewhat dark and sombre.

As far as I understand the Bley/Swallow enterprise is Watt/XtraWatt and they have a distribution deal with ECM, but it's not actually ECM.

Also I wouldn't blame ECM in this case, as that lack of variation in mood (also a lack of change in volume, sort of a sameness in the recording levels or whatever it is) is to be found on most of the recent discs I have, like "Songs with Legs" (which is by the trio that with the addition of Drummond turned into The Lost Chords), "The Lost Chords", and Swallow's "Deconstructed" and "Always Put Your Uniform on Top".

I don't mean to put down these albums, I kind of like them all, but there's something that may have just as much (or more) to do with the technical stuff than the actual music that does bother me about them.

The new album with Fresu I've only heard on the radio, from live shows.