Appearing Nightly
Encyclopedia
Appearing Nightly is a live album
by American composer, bandleader and keyboardist Carla Bley
recorded in Paris in 2006 and released on the Watt/ECM
label in 2008. Bley's compositions and arrangements incorporate many references to big band
s and jazz standards from the swing era
. The album contains two compositions commissioned by the Jazz Orchestra of Sardinia
and a suite inspired by nightclubs and big bands of the 1950s commissioned for the Monterey Jazz Festival
.
The All About Jazz
review by C. Michael Bailey said that "Comparisons of Bley's big band talents to Ellington
and Charles Mingus
are not hyperbole. In a field crowded with every measure of big bands, Carla Bley's Big Band stands as one of the most inventive and unique ensembles" Another review by Budd Kopman stated "Bley has surely succeeded in musically incarnating her past and her love of that music with her ever-present wit and high spirits".
The JazzTimes
review by Mike Shanley said "Carla Bley’s humor shapes a good portion of her music, but it never becomes the main focus of a composition... A sly wink, musically speaking, can say so much... the mood ranges from lyrically sentimental to hard swinging on a harmonic area not normally associated with big bands".
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
by American composer, bandleader and keyboardist Carla Bley
Carla Bley
Carla Bley, née Borg, is an American jazz composer, pianist, organist and band leader. An important figure in the Free Jazz movement of the 1960s, she is perhaps best known for her jazz opera Escalator Over The Hill , as well as a book of compositions that have been performed by many other...
recorded in Paris in 2006 and released on the Watt/ECM
ECM (record label)
ECM is a record label founded in Munich, Germany, in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a wide variety of recordings, and ECM's artists often refuse to acknowledge boundaries between genres...
label in 2008. Bley's compositions and arrangements incorporate many references to big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
s and jazz standards from the swing era
Swing Era
The Swing era was the period of time when big band swing music was the most popular music in the United States. Though the music had been around since the late 1920s and early 1930s, being played by black bands led by such artists as Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, Benny Moten, Ella Fitzgerald,...
. The album contains two compositions commissioned by the Jazz Orchestra of Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
and a suite inspired by nightclubs and big bands of the 1950s commissioned for the Monterey Jazz Festival
Monterey Jazz Festival
The Monterey Jazz Festival is one of the longest consecutively running jazz festivals. It debuted on October 3, 1958 and was founded by San Francisco jazz radio broadcaster Jimmy Lyons.-History:...
.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4 stars and stated "Ultimately, this is a very enjoyable set, one that begs repeated playing and deeper listening to get all the referent points, at the very least. But the truth is that it is so enjoyable, you'll find yourself getting lost in the music so often you'll forget to check".The All About Jazz
All About Jazz
All About Jazz is a leading jazz music website for enthusiasts and industry professionals based in Philadelphia in the United States.Founded by Michael Ricci in 1995, the Web-Site is maintained by a volunteer staff of writers, editors, and musicians, and provides coverage of all genres of jazz from...
review by C. Michael Bailey said that "Comparisons of Bley's big band talents to Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
and Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
are not hyperbole. In a field crowded with every measure of big bands, Carla Bley's Big Band stands as one of the most inventive and unique ensembles" Another review by Budd Kopman stated "Bley has surely succeeded in musically incarnating her past and her love of that music with her ever-present wit and high spirits".
The JazzTimes
JazzTimes
JazzTimes is a magazine that dates back to Radio Free Jazz, a publication founded in 1970 by Ira Sabin when he was operating a record store in Washington, DC. It was originally a newsletter designed to update shoppers on the latest jazz releases and provide jazz radio programmers with a means of...
review by Mike Shanley said "Carla Bley’s humor shapes a good portion of her music, but it never becomes the main focus of a composition... A sly wink, musically speaking, can say so much... the mood ranges from lyrically sentimental to hard swinging on a harmonic area not normally associated with big bands".
Track listing
- All compositions by Carla Bley
- "Greasy Gravy" - 8:50
- "Awful Coffee" - 6:11
- "Appearing Nightly at the Black Orchid: 40 On-20 Off/Second Round/What Would You Like to Hear/Last Call" - 25:23
- "Someone to Watch" - 5:56
- "I Hadn't Anyone 'Till YouI Hadn't Anyone Till You"I Hadn't Anyone Till You" is a popular song written by Ray Noble in 1938.Tony Martin sang it with the Ray Noble band in 1938, reaching number four in the charts over a period of twelve weeks....
" (Ray NobleRay Noble (musician)Ray Noble was an English bandleader, composer, arranger and actor. Noble studied music at the Royal Academy of Music and became leader of the HMV Records studio band in 1929. The band, known as the New Mayfair Dance Orchestra, featured members of many of the top hotel orchestras of the day...
) - 7:38- Recorded live at New MorningNew Morning (club)New Morning is a Parisian music nightclub that opened in 1981, specialising in jazz and blues.Its concerts are often featured on Mezzo TV.-History:The first concert was given on 16 April 1981 by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers....
in Paris on July 17 & 18, 2006.
- Recorded live at New Morning
Personnel
- Carla BleyCarla BleyCarla Bley, née Borg, is an American jazz composer, pianist, organist and band leader. An important figure in the Free Jazz movement of the 1960s, she is perhaps best known for her jazz opera Escalator Over The Hill , as well as a book of compositions that have been performed by many other...
- pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Earl GardnerEarl GardnerEarl Barker Gardner was an American professional basketball player.A 6'3" forward from DePauw University, Gardner played one season in the Basketball Association of America as a member of the Minneapolis Lakers. He averaged 1.8 points per game and won a league championship.-External links:*...
, Lew SoloffLew SoloffLew Soloff is a jazz trumpeter, composer and actor. He studied trumpet at the Eastman School of Music and the Juilliard School. He is likely best known for his work with Blood, Sweat & Tears from 1968 to 1973...
, Florian Esch - trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Beppe Calamosca, Gary ValenteGary ValenteGary Valente is a notable jazz trombone player.Valente was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and studied at New England Conservatory of Music with John Coffey and Jaki Byard....
, Gigi Grata - tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... - Richard Henry - bass trombone
- Roger Jannotta - soprano saxophoneSoprano saxophoneThe soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...
, alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening... - Wolfgang Puschnig - alto saxophone, flute
- Andy SheppardAndy SheppardAndy Sheppard is a British jazz saxophonist and composer. He has been awarded several prizes at the British Jazz Awards, and has worked with some notable figures in contemporary jazz, including Gil Evans, Carla Bley, George Russell and Steve Swallow.-Biography:Sheppard was born in Warminster,...
, Christophe Panzani - tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Julian ArgüellesJulian ArgüellesJulian Argüelles is a saxophonist. He is currently a member of the HR Big Band in Frankfurt am Main, Germany....
- baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece... - Karen MantlerKaren MantlerKaren Mantler is an American jazz musician, harmonca player, singer and composer. She is the daughter of Carla Bley and Michael Mantler....
- organ - Steve SwallowSteve SwallowSteve Swallow is a jazz double bass and bass guitarist and composer born in Fair Lawn, New Jersey.One of the leading bassists in jazz, Swallow is noted for collaborations with Jimmy Giuffre, Gary Burton and Carla Bley...
- bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Billy DrummondBilly DrummondWillis Robert "Billy" Drummond, Jr. is an American jazz drummer.Drummond learned jazz from an early age from his father, who was a drummer and a jazz enthusiast and whose record collection included many recordings of Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Max Roach, Buddy Rich and Elvin Jones, among others...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....