Music Monday: Carla Bley (Plus Two Bonus Tracks)

Carla Bley passed last week and that gave me a chance to revisit some of her music. One of my favorite things about her career is that her music is so incredibly diverse and her attitude toward jazz was so … irreverent may be the right word. 

I knew that George Russell performed some of her tunes and particularly liked “Zig-Zag” recorded on his album The Outer View (1962) (and she contributed songs even to some of his earlier albums as well):

I first encountered Bley’s music though Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra (1969): 

I also knew that she composed the pieces on Gary Burton’s A Genuine Tong Funeral (1968):

I was less familiar with her later music. Over the weekend, I checked out her album Dinner Music (1977) and was drawn to her blend of rock, funk, and jazz. Apparently, the band on this was drawn from the jazz-funk band Stuff. I don’t know many of the musicians on the album (other than Eric Gale on guitar), but the music is good:

I also didn’t know her recent work with her partner Steve Swallow and Andy Shepherd, Life Goes On (2020)

One last track from Bley, on honor of the Phillies as they work to wrap up the NLCS:

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Two non-Bley related notes. First, Herbie Hancock’s Head Hunters turned 50 years old this week:

And Silver Jews’ American Water turned 25 this week: