Paul Bley RIP

[ghost of miles]

An unconfirmed report on the Jazz Programmer Listserv that he passed away yesterday.

Edited January 5, 2016 by ghost of miles

[clifford_thornton]

First I've heard of this, but he's not a young man and has been battling a variety of ailments in recent years.

did a quick Twitter search and came up with a few mentions of his possible departure, but all linked to Facebook posts that have been taken down. 

[AllenLowe]

oh, hope not. I like Paul. I did talk to him about a year ago and he sounded very weak.

[John L]

RIP.  He was quite an artist. 

[Chuck Nessa]

Beyond his musicianship, he was a fascinating individual. Many fond memories. RIP.

[Homefromtheforest]

If this is true then sad news indeed.  I own many of his recordings..a versatile musician much like some of my other favorites (Lacy, Wheeler, Waldron, Togashi, etc).

[Stereojack]

Apparently, this is a result of a "celebrity death hoax" and Paul is alive and well.

http://en.mediamass.net/people/paul-bley/deathhoax.html

In what universe is Paul Bley enough of a celebrity to warrant this?

 

[paul secor]

I've deleted my post. I should know by now to hold off on things like this.

[ghost of miles]

Here's the JPL post (from a list regular): "I've had a report from Toronto musician Glen Hall that he was informed by Paul Bley's wife Carol Goss that Paul passed away on Jan 3rd while listening to Memoirs - his recording with Charlie Haden and Paul Motian.  Very sad ... N"

Per another listserv member's suggestion, I'm going to email Tina Pelikan at ECM to see if she's received any official confirmation.     

EDIT: just checked Glen Hall's Facebook page. He posted last night that Bley passed away and that "the post that this is a hoax is, unfortunately, a hoax itself." 

I've listened to a fair amount of Bley's earlier recordings and just picked up the Black Saint/Soul Note box not too long ago... Judging from the old Paul Bley rec thread here on the board, there's a lot from his later decades that I need to check out. Glad that he was around long enough to leave us such an extensive recorded legacy.

 

 

Edited January 5, 2016 by ghost of miles

[Hardbopjazz]

RIP, Paul. Thanks for the music.

[fkimbrough]

I just got an email from Paul's daughter Vanessa confirming that he passed away yesterday, at home with his family. 

[clifford_thornton]

1 hour ago, Stereojack said:

Apparently, this is a result of a "celebrity death hoax" and Paul is alive and well.

http://en.mediamass.net/people/paul-bley/deathhoax.html

In what universe is Paul Bley enough of a celebrity to warrant this?

 

that site is an aggregator and not itself worth trusting. In other words, if you put in "Stereojack death hoax" it would come up with "Stereojack" in the place of "Paul Bley."

2 minutes ago, fkimbrough said:

I just got an email from Paul's daughter Vanessa confirming that he passed away yesterday, at home with his family. 

DAMN. Sad news.

[JSngry]

Much love for a legacy totally devoid of waste, abuse, or fraud.

RIP, and I hope to evolve to such a level somewhere along the way.

[Simon8]

A last salute to my hometown hero.
Ben Ratliff summed it up quite well:  

"In the final reckoning, PAUL BLEY's influence over the last 50 years of jazz - and it continues - will be enormous.... Deeply original and aesthetically agressive, Mr. Bley long ago found a way  to express his long, elegant, voluminous thoughts in a manner that implies complete autonomy from its given setting but isn't quite free jazz. The music runs on a mixture of deep historical knowledge and its own inviolable principles."

[Steve Reynolds]

Despite the awful news, thanks for confirming this Mr. Kimbrough

For me maybe the greatest pianist of the past 50 years despite the existence of Cecil Taylor. My biggest regret is not being able to see him live. The trio recording Not Two, Not One with Bley, Peacock and Motian is so great I sometimes had a hard time over the past 10 years listening to any other pianists in the classic piano trio format. At one time, I was listening to Paul Bley & Mal Waldron as far as post bop pianists, and no one else seemed to compare.

[Joe]

Not the way I would have liked to kick off 2016.

What a career, and what a life. Sui generis.

[clifford_thornton]

I saw Bley once with Marc Johnson and Lee Konitz. It wasn't the concert I was hoping for but it was the concert I got to see.

[alankin]

6 minutes ago, clifford_thornton said:

I saw Bley once with Marc Johnson and Lee Konitz. It wasn't the concert I was hoping for but it was the concert I got to see.

Sad news.  I saw Bley once and it wasn't the concert I expected but it was one I was glad to see.

[fkimbrough]

As Paul told me: If you know what's going to happen, there's no reason to go to the gig - you go to the gig to get lost.  We spent a lot of time together, and he was a tremendous influence, not just for his playing, but for the scope of his career, and for the incredibly interesting and engaging person he always was - perhaps the most thought-provoking person I've ever known.  We were talking about some imaginary project once, and he said (in the most positive manner) "think of all the ways we could FAIL!"  And Steve, I was at the "Not Two Not One" sessions - second day.  They had basically finished the session the first day, and when I arrived, Paul was eating pasta, Peacock was smoking and talking with the engineer, and Motian was running around saying "do you guys want to play, or what?" They did a few more takes, including a Peacock original that Paul pretended not to be able to read, which resulted in several false starts (they eventually bailed) and a crazy version of I Got Rhythm  where no one was sure whether they were playing the form. Motian was, but I'm not sure about Paul and Gary.  Most of what they played that day isn't on the CD, except Pigfoot.  A great day at Avatar...........

[alankin]

Thanks for that, Frank.

[B. Goren.]

This is a very sad news.

[GA Russell]

This, from ECM:

It is with deep regret that we share the news below from the family of the great Paul Bley:

Paul Bley, renowned jazz pianist, died January 3, 2016 at home with his family. Born November 10, 1932 in Montreal, QC, he began music studies at the age of five.  At 13, he formed the “Buzzy Bley Band.”  At 17, he took over for Oscar Peterson at the Alberta Lounge, invited Charlie Parker to play at the Montreal Jazz Workshop, which he co-founded, made a film with Stan Kenton and then headed to NYC to attend Julliard.

His international career has spanned seven decades.  He's played and recorded with Lester Young, Ben Webster, Sonny Rollins, Charles Mingus, Chet Baker, Jimmy Giuffre, Charlie Haden, Paul Motian, Lee Konitz, Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorious and many others. He is considered a master of the trio, but as exemplified by his solo piano albums, Paul Bley is preeminently a pianists' pianist.

He is survived by his wife of forty three years, Carol Goss, their daughters, Vanessa Bley and Angelica Palmer, grandchildren Felix and Zoletta Palmer, as well as daughter, Solo Peacock.  Private memorial services will be held in Stuart, FL, Cherry Valley, NY and wherever you play a Paul Bley record. 

[sidewinder]

Sad news, sorry to hear this - RIP.

[mjazzg]

What a long and great career. I can't think of a recording that doesn't merit close attention. Saw him once, solo. Unforgettable

Thank you Mr Bley

[A Lark Ascending]

Very sad. One of my favourite pianists. 

R.I.P.