Carla Bley (b 1936)

Donald Macleod and guest, Kevin Le Gendre follow the jazz adventures of Carla Bley

One of the most original voices in jazz, composer, arranger, performer and band-leader Carla Bley has been determinedly pursuing her own musical path for more than sixty years. Her back catalogue of some fifty plus recordings tell the story of a musician who's responded in her own unique style to all the current trends, from free and experimental jazz in the 60s and 70s to 80s soul, blues and R&B. In later decades, she's written for and created big bands recalling the musical landscapes of Count Basie and the Duke and in the last 20 years, she's refined a distilled, intimate style for smaller chamber ensembles, in particular performing in a Trio with her life partner, bassist Steve Swallow and the British saxophonist Andy Sheppard. Little wonder then, her fellow musicians affectionately call Bley 'Countess Bleysie' and 'Bleythoven'. Featuring a selection of recordings suggested by Carla Bley, Donald Macleod and Kevin Le Gendre follow Bley's musical adventuring from her early days writing for Paul Bley and Gary Burton, to her latest album for the Carla Bley Trio, released in 2020.

Music Featured:

King Korn Carla Bley/Paul Bley: Ictus Donkey Ida Lupino Escalator Over the Hill (Hotel Overture; Why; Little pony soldier) Walking Batterie Woman Dreams so Real Blunt Object Silent Spring Reactionary Tango in 3 parts Song sung Long Útviklingssang Walking Batteriewoman (vers. for piano and bass) Wildlife (Horns; Paws without Claws; Sex with Birds) The Girl Who Cried Champagne Lawns The Girl Who Cried Champagne ( Part 1) Fleur Carnivore Strange Arrangement Who Will Rescue You? On The Stage In Cages Doctor Wrong Key Donkey And then one Day Vashkar Wildlife

Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Johannah Smith for BBC Cymru Wales

For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Carla Bley (b 1936) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0011lmc

And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z