Paul Bley

Thankfully, there is finally a definitive Jaco Pastorius anthology that offers an accurate portrait of the breadth and depth of his innovative artistry beyond what his contributions to Weather Report and his own Word of Mouth and Trio of Doom (which many would argue are sufficient in and of themselves) would suggest. This two-CD, 28-track collection ranges across the fretless bass inventor's earliest recordings, documented by a live appearance with Wayne Cochran's C.C. Riders and home playing the Cochran standard "Amelia," to his work with underground R&B act Little Beaver and such artists as Pat Metheny, Mike Stern, Joni Mitchell in and out of the studio, Paul Bley, Airto and Flora Purim, Michel Columbier, Brian Melvin, and his diverse projects.

Carla Bley - Escalator Over The Hill (1971) {2CD Set, JCOA Records–ECM Records 839 310-2 rel 1998}
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© 1971, 1998 JCOA Records / ECM Records | JCOA / EOTH 839 310-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Experimental Big Band / Avant-Garde Jazz

This two-hour-plus opus is billed as "a chronotransduction." With music by Carla Bley and lyrics/text are by Paul Haines, the project was recorded over nearly three years (1968-1971) in several locations and with nearly a hundred people involved in one way or another (musicians, singers, speakers). Those involved included a veritable who's who of the jazz world at that time (from Don Cherry to John McLaughlin) along with such unexpected combinations of singers as Linda Ronstadt and Jack Bruce.

Carla Bley - Night-Glo (1985) {Watt-ECM WATT16-827 640-2 rel 2000}
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© 1985, 2000 Watt Works / ECM Records | WATT/16 / 827 640-2
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Post Bop

Though Heavy Heart was supposedly the "mellow, sensual" album Carla Bley had in mind, Night-Glo is more like it – a relaxed, easygoing, easy-listening series of compositions that nearly spills over into fuzak. Writing for a basic sextet with an added five-man horn section, most effectively when one color melts gently into another, Bley permits the lazy pina-colada mood to amble undisturbed from track to track.

Carla Bley - Andando el Tiempo (2016) {ECM 2487}
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© 2016 ECM Records | ECM 2487 / 4779711
Jazz / Modern Creative / Modern Jazz / Piano / Saxophone / Bass

Andando el Tiempo features new music of wide emotional compass by Carla Bley, and underlines her originality and resourcefulness as a jazz composer. “Saints Alive!” sets up animated conversations between the participants with striking statements from Steve Swallow’s bass guitar and Andy Sheppard’s soprano sax. The stately “Naked Bridges/Diving Brides” draws inspiration from Mendelssohn and the poetry of Paul Haines. And the powerful three part title composition – which addresses the trials and tribulations of recovery from addiction - moves through sorrow to hopefulness and joy.

One of the outlets for bassist Charlie Haden's multifarious musical interests is the politically charged, progressive Liberation Music Orchestra. In July 1992, the Orchestra - a powerhouse of some of the top names in jazz - brought the collaborative sound of their album Dream Keeper to the Montreal International Jazz Festival. The African National Congress anthem, 'Nkosi Sikelel'I Afrika,' opens the program and sets the tone, with a blistering solo from the alto sax of Makanda Ken McIntyre and a more reflective one by tenor giant Joe Lovano.

Jimmy Giuffre - The Complete Remastered Recordings On Black Saint & Soul Note (2012) {4CD Set Cam London BXS 1016 rec 1983-93}
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© 1983-93, 2012 CAM London / Black Saint / Soul Note | BXS 1016
Jazz / Cool / Avant-Garde Jazz

The closely affiliated Black Saint and Soul Note labels were established in the 1970s by Italian jazz lover Giacomo Pellicciotti, and together they released some of the most forward-thinking jazz recordings on the market during their four decades of independent existence (both labels were acquired by another company in 2008). In 2011, the labels' new owner began releasing a series of budget-priced box sets documenting the complete output of particular artists, each individual disc housed in an LP-style cardboard sleeve. This one features four albums by reedman and noted avant-cool composer Jimmy Giuffre. The box offers three albums (Dragonfly, Quasar, and Liquid Dancers) by the Jimmy Giuffre 4, which included keyboardist Pete Levin, bassist Bob Nieske, and drummer Randy Kaye.

Noir jazz meets midnight blues in the music of Twin Danger an intriguing new group formed by Vanessa Bley and Stuart Matthewman, whose self titled, co-produced and co-written debut album is set for June 2015 release by Decca/Universal Music Classics. Twin Danger updates a classic sound in a contemporary style with such captivating Bley/Matthewman originals as Pointless Satisfaction, Just Because, Sailor, and Coldest Kind of Heart. The album sessions also yielded one surprising cover song, a distinctively different interpretation of the hard rock track No One Knows by Queens of the Stone Age. The core of Twin Danger is Bley and Matthewman, however on-stage for their sultry live performances the band expands with a tight-knit outfit of five musicians.