1. Greasy Gravy
2. Awful Cpoffee
3. Appearing Nightly at the Black Orchid -
40 On/20 Off
- Second Round
- What Would You
Like to Hear?
- Last Call
4. Someone to Watch
5. I Hadn't Anyone Till You
Earl Gardner, Lew Soloff, Giampaolo Casati,
Florian Esch - Trumpets
Beppe Calamosca, Gary Valente, Gigi Grata,
Richard Henry - Trombones
Roger Jannotta - Soprano and alto saxes, flute
Wolfgang Puschnig - Alto sax, flute
Andy Sheppard, Christophe Panzani - Tenor
saxes
Julian Arguelles - Baritone sax
Carla Bley - Piano, conductor
Karen Mantler - Organ
Steve Swallow - Bass
Billy Drummond - Drums
When she was young, Carla
Bley worked as a cigarette girl at Birdland
and a cloakroom attendant at Basin Street
and the Jazz Gallery, so that she could hear
the big bands playing there. The nightclubs
of the 1950s inspired Carla's compositions
on this new album, which actually came together
in a rather haphazard manner.
The title-track was originally
composed by Carla for the 2005 Monterey Jazz
Festival. Its four parts reflect Carla's job
as a lounge pianist at the Black Orchid, a
Monterey nightclub. Carla wrote the first
two tracks on the CD to fulfil a commission
from a Sardinian orchestra (which wanted music
connected with food), and the last two were
inspired by tunes written respectively by
George Gershwin and Ray Noble (hence their
titles). All the pieces were eventually recorded
over two nights at the New Morning venue in
Paris.
The result is a constantly
intriguing album. Some of Carla's music may
be discordant but even the noisier moments
are rendered listenable by the continual shafts
of humour - even disrespect. The opening Greasy
Gravy, for instance, sounds suspiciously
like Pretty Baby (a resemblance which
is underlined in Carla's piano solo) but it
also contains an unexpected quotation from
April in Paris as well as a sax solo
with touches of wit. Like Duke Ellington,
Carla Bley chooses musicians with their own
individual voices, which she uses to good
effect. The most notable example in her recent
groups is trombonist Gary Valente, whose unbridled
rasping tone is unmistakable in Greasy
Gravy and elsewhere. It can sound threatening
or joyous and, when it is at its most outlandish,
reminds me of the way that George Chisholm
used to turn the trombone into a purveyor
of comedy.
Responding to the request
from the Orchestra Jazz della Sardegna for
a piece with references to food, Carla's Awful
Coffee contains references to such tunes
as Salt Peanuts, Watermelon Man
and Tea for Two as well as an
imitation of a cock crowing. It also has a
lissom baritone sax solo by Julian Argelles
and a growling trumpet solo from Lew Soloff
- plus a reference to that old piano favourite,
Chopsticks!
The 25-minute Appearing
Nightly at the Black Orchid starts with
Carla at the piano playing everything from
My Foolish Heart to Sweet and Lovely.
After this there are several well-orchestrated
ensembles, a fine drum solo by Billy Drummond
(who seems to quote from Louie Bellson at
one point), some more outspoken Valente and
extrovert trumpet from Soloff.
Someone to Watch is
an up-tempo swinger with the saxophones working
in counterpoint, followed by lots of lithe
sax soloing. Only at the end do we hear a
brief quotation from Gershwin's Someone
To Watch Over Me. I Hadn't Anyone Till
You gives us much more of Ray Noble's
original: in fact it is an arrangement of
his composition, but in quirky Carla Bley
style. Wolfgang Puschnig contributes a spirited
alto-sax solo; Gary Valente and Lew Soloff
come in again on full power; and the ensemble
takes the tune out in an appropriately big-band
manner.
However, this isn't a conventional
big band - and it is the better for it. In
a world of conformists, Carla Bley is her
own woman. This individuality makes for a
unique sound - and a style which keeps the
listener listening intently. Marvellous!
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Watt 172 5516
