Carla Bley (1936-2023)

[Roger Farbey]

10 hours ago, JSngry said:

I guess this would be her last public musical statement? 

 

Thanks! That was so funny. Never seen it before. Humour was another vital element of her work.  

Edited October 18, 2023 by Roger Farbey
Illiteracy

[mjazzg]

Shame, shame, shame.

Everything she did was worth a listen at the very least and so much of it was worth close acquaintance.

She cancelled a Ronnie's appearance a couple of years ago due to illness. I'd seen the trio there previously, very special. And I shall treasure the two times I saw LMO

Edited October 18, 2023 by mjazzg

[Teasing the Korean]

Anyone remember the name of the track that mimics a needle on a record getting stuck and repeating?

[sambrasa]

14 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:

Anyone remember the name of the track that mimics a needle on a record getting stuck and repeating?

...And It's Again, last track of Escalator Over The Hill, vinyl version. It has locked groove, which repeats endlessly.

Edited October 18, 2023 by sambrasa
addition

[Teasing the Korean]

31 minutes ago, sambrasa said:

...And It's Again, last track of Escalator Over The Hill, vinyl version. It has locked groove, which repeats endlessly.

I don't think that's the one.  The one I'm thinking of has the musicians playing to replicate the sound of a stuck needle, and eventually, they get past the scratch and continue.

[Rabshakeh]

Among her other achievements, she is responsible for probably the only genuinely great Christmas album out there.

[Teasing the Korean]

57 minutes ago, sambrasa said:

...And It's Again, last track of Escalator Over The Hill, vinyl version. It has locked groove, which repeats endlessly.

I think the track I'm thinking of is "Musique Mechanique 3."

[Rabshakeh]

Oddly underwhelming obits. I don't know what I was expecting, but I had wrongly assumed her life would be widely celebrated. She seems to have far less recognition than other recent jazz deaths.

Alternatively, maybe there is just a lot going on.

[Mark Stryker]

50 minutes ago, Rabshakeh said:

Oddly underwhelming obits. I don't know what I was expecting, but I had wrongly assumed her life would be widely celebrated. She seems to have far less recognition than other recent jazz deaths.

Alternatively, maybe there is just a lot going on.

I don't understand the complaint. Are you referring to the reaction among board member or attention in the wider media landscape? The NYT had a substantial obit posted quickly that had obviously been pre-written -- a sign of the respect with which she was held. Here's a list of obits via Google. Not all are in depth but it's a different media environment than 25 years ago.

 

 https://www.google.com/searchsca_esv=574459239&sxsrf=AM9HkKkUVH41WW1jK0Db100vpq09qX3kuw:1697639242331&q=carla+bley&tbm=nws&source=lnms&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=2ahUKEwjj2_r_5v-BAxUVtYkEHQMzAroQ0pQJegQIExAB&biw=1536&bih=707&dpr=1.25

Edited October 18, 2023 by Mark Stryker

[Rabshakeh]

1 hour ago, Mark Stryker said:

I don't understand the complaint. Are you referring to the reaction among board member or attention in the wider media landscape? The NYT had a substantial obit posted quickly that had obviously been pre-written -- a sign of the respect with which she was held. Here's a list of obits via Google. Not all are in depth but it's a different media environment than 25 years ago.

 

 https://www.google.com/searchsca_esv=574459239&sxsrf=AM9HkKkUVH41WW1jK0Db100vpq09qX3kuw:1697639242331&q=carla+bley&tbm=nws&source=lnms&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=2ahUKEwjj2_r_5v-BAxUVtYkEHQMzAroQ0pQJegQIExAB&biw=1536&bih=707&dpr=1.25

In newspapers. I expected that she would receive much more substantial attention. Many of the obituaries are quite perfunctory.

[clifford_thornton]

The NYT obit is pretty strong. Nate Chinen got it pretty well, though there's a lot more to the Jazz Composers Guild (no mention of Dixon & Taylor?). One reason among many that it dissolved was Sun Ra's opposition to a woman being in the Guild. But that's maybe a discussion for another day and another article.

Glad to have recently heard the early trio music with Bill Folwell and Steve Swallow. She was always an innovator even when she may not have thought so!

[Joe]

26 minutes ago, clifford_thornton said:

The NYT obit is pretty strong. Nate Chinen got it pretty well, though there's a lot more to the Jazz Composers Guild (no mention of Dixon & Taylor?). One reason among many that it dissolved was Sun Ra's opposition to a woman being in the Guild. But that's maybe a discussion for another day and another article.

Glad to have recently heard the early trio music with Bill Folwell and Steve Swallow. She was always an innovator even when she may not have thought so!

I am guessing said recordings are not available for general consumption?

Agree about the importance of the Guild and her role in it.

 

[Jason Bivins]

Such a huge loss, but what a legacy.

[clifford_thornton]

36 minutes ago, Joe said:

I am guessing said recordings are not available for general consumption?

WPI jazz history zoom -- definitely worth getting on the list for that. They play all kinds of unissued material (and some issued).

https://www.jazzhistorydatabase.com/index.php

[Rabshakeh]

1 hour ago, clifford_thornton said:

One reason among many that it dissolved was Sun Ra's opposition to a woman being in the Guild. 

I didn't know that. Where did you hear that from?

[Rooster_Ties]

https://www.npr.org/2023/10/17/1206659408/carla-bley-obituary

Last paragraph is particularly nice…

"I'm trying to stretch my harmonic palette to a few notes that don't belong," Bley said. "In the piece I wrote for Charlie Haden, there's one note that's really wrong. That's the wrongest note I ever wrote. And I made it right."

[clifford_thornton]

1 hour ago, Rabshakeh said:

I didn't know that. Where did you hear that from?

It's been documented in a few places, happy to dig that up.

[T.D.]

10 minutes ago, clifford_thornton said:

It's been documented in a few places, happy to dig that up.

I've also seen that in several places. Not at home, else I'd check Szwed. Gotta be online too, but I'll leave it for the OP to google.

[Teasing the Korean]

2 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

In newspapers. I expected that she would receive much more substantial attention. Many of the obituaries are quite perfunctory.

That may say more about the state of newspapers - digital or otherwise - in 2023 than it does about Carla Bley specifically or jazz in general.

A renowned jazz artist who lived locally and died a few years back didn't even get an obit in our local newspaper, which is or was one of the most highly respected newspapers in the US.

[Rabshakeh]

1 minute ago, Teasing the Korean said:

That may say more about the state of newspapers - digital or otherwise - in 2023 than it does about Carla Bley specifically or jazz in general.

A renowned jazz artist who lived locally and died a few years back didn't even get an obit in our local newspaper, which is or was one of the most highly respected newspapers in the US.

Lots of jazz deaths get big obits. Wayne Shorter, Jaimie Branch and Pharaoh Sanders got generous and well-researched articles across the press. Whilst I accept that Wayne Shorter is a substantially bigger name, I was surprised that Bley didn't get what the latter two did at least.

The article in the Guardian in particular was pretty cursory.

[clifford_thornton]

18 minutes ago, T.D. said:

I've also seen that in several places. Not at home, else I'd check Szwed. Gotta be online too, but I'll leave it for the OP to google.

I believe it's also in Wilmer and in Dixonia.

[T.D.]

2 minutes ago, clifford_thornton said:

I believe it's also in Wilmer and in Dixonia.

And widespread online per Google.

[Teasing the Korean]

8 minutes ago, Rabshakeh said:

Lots of jazz deaths get big obits. Wayne Shorter, Jaimie Branch and Pharaoh Sanders got generous and well-researched articles across the press. Whilst I accept that Wayne Shorter is a substantially bigger name, I was surprised that Bley didn't get what the latter two did at least.

The article in the Guardian in particular was pretty cursory.

That may be true, but I have seen drop-offs in all kinds of coverage in mainstream newspapers. 

[clifford_thornton]

Sexism + Ra's inherent strangeness = friction

[adh1907]

The Quietus article posted earlier in this thread by TD ( which I found fascinating, thanks TD) goes into the Sun Ra/ Carla Bley conflict in some detail. Here it is again:

 

https://thequietus.com/articles/29717-carla-bley-interview

Anthony

London