Looking for America
Encyclopedia
Looking for America is an album by American composer, bandleader and keyboardist Carla Bley
recorded in 2002 and released on the Watt/ECM
label in 2003.
review by Harvey Siders said "Inevitably, sardonic wit pervades her search on Looking for America as fragments of "The Star-Spangled Banner
" materialize-dreamlike, impressionistically and, above all, whimsically-throughout the CD". The Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded it 3⅓ stars stating "As an exploration of Americana, this is a fine and fun album".
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 2002 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 2003.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4 stars and stated "Looking for America is a fun, innovative, and indefatigable album by one of the true geniuses in modern jazz". The JazzTimesJazzTimes
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 Harvey Siders said "Inevitably, sardonic wit pervades her search on Looking for America as fragments of "The Star-Spangled Banner
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...
" materialize-dreamlike, impressionistically and, above all, whimsically-throughout the CD". The Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded it 3⅓ stars stating "As an exploration of Americana, this is a fine and fun album".
Track listing
- All compositions by Carla Bley except as indicated
- "Grand Mother" - 0:53
- "The National Anthem: OG Can UC?/Flags/Whose Broad Stripes?/Anthem/Keep It Spangled" - 21:49
- "Step Mother" - 3:18
- "Fast Lane" - 5:17
- "Los Cocineros" - 10:57
- "Your Mother" - 1:41
- "Tijuana Traffic" - 8:05
- "God Mother" - 1:27
- "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" (Traditional) - 6:15
- Recorded at Avatar StudiosAvatar StudiosAvatar Studios, formerly known as The Power Station, is a recording studio at 441 West 53rd Street in Manhattan, New York City.The building was originally a Consolidated Edison power plant; but after a period of vacancy, it was used as a sound stage for the television game show Let's Make a Deal...
, New York, NY on October 7 & 8, 2002.
- Recorded at Avatar Studios
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...
, conductor - 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...
, Byron Stripling, Giampaolo Casati - 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... - Robert Routch - french horn (tracks 1, 3, 6 & 8)
- Jim PughJames E. PughJames Edward Pugh is a trombonist, composer, and educator. He is noted as the lead trombonist with Woody Herman's Thundering Herd and Chick Corea's Return to Forever Band . For 25 years, he worked as a freelance trombonist in New York City...
, 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....
, Dave BargeronDave BargeronDavid 'Dave' W Bargeron is an American trombonist and tuba player from Athol, Massachusetts, most famous for playing with the jazz-rock group Blood, Sweat, and Tears. He joined the group in 1970, after Jerry Hyman departed, and first appeared on the album Blood, Sweat & Tears 4...
- 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... - David Taylor - bass trombone
- Lawrence Feldman - 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...
, 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...
, 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,...
- 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... - Gary SmulyanGary SmulyanGary Smulyan is a jazz musician who plays baritone saxophone. He studied at SUNY before working with Woody Herman...
- 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, glockenspielGlockenspielA glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone... - 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 .... - Don AliasDon AliasCharles 'Don' Alias was an American jazz percussionist.Alias was best known for playing congas and other hand drums...
- percussion