Paul Bley
Encyclopedia
Paul Bley, CM
(born November 10, 1932) is a pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing.
, Canada
, his parents were Betty Marcovitch, an immigrant from Romania
, and Joe Bley, owner of an embroidery factory. Bley has been a long-time resident of the United States
. His music characteristically features strong senses both of melodic voicing and space.
In the 1950s he founded the Jazz Workshop in Montreal, performing and recording there with Charlie Parker
. He also performed with Lester Young
and Ben Webster
at that time.
In 1953 he conducted for Charles Mingus
on the Charles Mingus and his Orchestra album and the same year Mingus produced the Introducing Paul Bley album with Mingus and Art Blakey
.
In 1960 Bley recorded on piano with the Charles Mingus Group.
In 1958, he hired Don Cherry
, Ornette Coleman
, Charlie Haden
and Billy Higgins
to play at the Hillcrest Club in California
.
In the early 1960s he was part of the Jimmy Giuffre
3, a clarinet, piano and bass trio with bassist Steve Swallow
. The quiet understatement of this music makes it possible to overlook its degree of innovation. As well as a repertoire introducing compositions by his ex-wife Carla Bley
, the group's music moved towards free improvisation
based on close empathy.
During the same period Bley was touring and recording with Sonny Rollins
, which culminated with the RCA Victor album, Sonny Meets Hawk! with Coleman Hawkins
.
In 1964 Bley was instrumental in the formation of the Jazz Composers Guild - a co-operative organisation which brought together many free jazz
musicians in New York
: Roswell Rudd, Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp, his ex-wife Carla Bley
, Michael Mantler, Sun Ra, among others. The guild organized weekly concerts and created a forum for the "jazz revolution" of 1964.
Bley had long been interested in expanding the palette of his music using unconventional sounds (such as playing directly on the piano-strings). It was therefore consistent that he took an interest in new electronic possibilities appearing in the late 1960s. He pioneered the use of Moog synthesizer
s, performing with them before a live audience for the first time at Philharmonic Hall
in New York City on Dec. 26, 1969.
This led into a period of the "Bley-Peacock Synthesizer Show", a group where he worked with songwriter Annette Peacock
.
Subsequently Bley returned to a predominant focus on the piano itself.
During the 1970s, Bley, in partnership with videographer Carol Goss, was responsible for an important multi-media initiative, Improvising Artists
which issued LPs and videos documenting the solo piano recordings by Sun Ra
and other works of free jazz
with Jimmy Giuffre
, Lee Konitz
, Gary Peacock
, Lester Bowie
, John Gilmore (musician)
, Jaco Pastorius
, Pat Metheny
, Steve Lacy
and others.
Bley and Goss are credited in a Billboard Magazine cover story with the first "music video
" as a result of the recorded and live performance collaborations they produced with jazz musicians and video artists.
Bley was featured in the 1981 documentary film
Imagine the Sound
, in which he performs and discusses the history of his music.
Bley has continued to tour internationally and record prodigiously, with well over a hundred CDs released. In 1999 his autobiography, Stopping Time: Paul Bley and the Transformation of Jazz was published. In 2003 Time Will Tell: Conversations with Paul Bley was published. And in 2004 Paul Bley: la logica del caso (Paul Bley: the logic of chance) was published in Italian. In 2008, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada
.
(Bley's own label)
SteepleChase Records
ECM Records
Justin Time Records
Soul Note
America Records
Postcards Records
Freedom
Other labels
With John Surman
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(born November 10, 1932) is a pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing.
Biography
Paul Bley was born in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, his parents were Betty Marcovitch, an immigrant from Romania
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
, and Joe Bley, owner of an embroidery factory. Bley has been a long-time resident of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. His music characteristically features strong senses both of melodic voicing and space.
In the 1950s he founded the Jazz Workshop in Montreal, performing and recording there with Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
. He also performed with Lester Young
Lester Young
Lester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
and Ben Webster
Ben Webster
Benjamin Francis Webster , a.k.a. "The Brute" or "Frog," was an influential American jazz tenor saxophonist. Webster, born in Kansas City, Missouri, was considered one of the three most important "swing tenors" along with Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young...
at that time.
In 1953 he conducted for 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...
on the Charles Mingus and his Orchestra album and the same year Mingus produced the Introducing Paul Bley album with Mingus and Art Blakey
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
.
In 1960 Bley recorded on piano with the Charles Mingus Group.
In 1958, he hired Don Cherry
Don Cherry (jazz)
Donald Eugene Cherry was an innovative African-American jazz cornetist whose career began with a long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. He went on to live in many parts of the world and work with a wide variety of musicians.-Biography:Cherry was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and...
, Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
, Charlie Haden
Charlie Haden
Charles Edward Haden is an American jazz musician. He is a double bassist, probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman...
and Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, beginning in 1958...
to play at the Hillcrest Club in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
In the early 1960s he was part of the Jimmy Giuffre
Jimmy Giuffre
James Peter Giuffre was an American jazz clarinet and saxophone player, composer and arranger. He is notable for his development of forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating forms of free improvisation.-Biography:Born in Dallas, Texas, of Italian ancestry,...
3, a clarinet, piano and bass trio with bassist Steve Swallow
Steve Swallow
Steve 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...
. The quiet understatement of this music makes it possible to overlook its degree of innovation. As well as a repertoire introducing compositions by his ex-wife 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...
, the group's music moved towards free improvisation
Free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right....
based on close empathy.
During the same period Bley was touring and recording with Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
, which culminated with the RCA Victor album, Sonny Meets Hawk! with Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Hawkins was one of the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument. As Joachim E. Berendt explained, "there were some tenor players before him, but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn"...
.
In 1964 Bley was instrumental in the formation of the Jazz Composers Guild - a co-operative organisation which brought together many free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
musicians in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
: Roswell Rudd, Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp, his ex-wife 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...
, Michael Mantler, Sun Ra, among others. The guild organized weekly concerts and created a forum for the "jazz revolution" of 1964.
Bley had long been interested in expanding the palette of his music using unconventional sounds (such as playing directly on the piano-strings). It was therefore consistent that he took an interest in new electronic possibilities appearing in the late 1960s. He pioneered the use of Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
s, performing with them before a live audience for the first time at Philharmonic Hall
Avery Fisher Hall
Avery Fisher Hall is a concert hall, in New York City and is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, with a capacity of 2,738 seats.-History:...
in New York City on Dec. 26, 1969.
This led into a period of the "Bley-Peacock Synthesizer Show", a group where he worked with songwriter Annette Peacock
Annette Peacock
- Biography :Annette Peacock began composing at the age of four. Her mother was a violist in the San Diego and Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestras....
.
Subsequently Bley returned to a predominant focus on the piano itself.
During the 1970s, Bley, in partnership with videographer Carol Goss, was responsible for an important multi-media initiative, Improvising Artists
Improvising Artists
-Discography:...
which issued LPs and videos documenting the solo piano recordings by Sun Ra
Sun Ra
Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
and other works of free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
with Jimmy Giuffre
Jimmy Giuffre
James Peter Giuffre was an American jazz clarinet and saxophone player, composer and arranger. He is notable for his development of forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating forms of free improvisation.-Biography:Born in Dallas, Texas, of Italian ancestry,...
, Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois.Generally considered one of the driving forces of Cool Jazz, Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings...
, Gary Peacock
Gary Peacock
Gary Peacock is an American jazz double-bassist.-Biography:After military service in Germany, in the early sixties he worked on the west coast with Barney Kessel, Bud Shank, Paul Bley and Art Pepper, then moved to New York. He worked there with Bley, the Bill Evans trio , and Albert Ayler's trio...
, Lester Bowie
Lester Bowie
Lester Bowie was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the AACM, and cofounded the Art Ensemble of Chicago.-Biography:...
, John Gilmore (musician)
John Gilmore (musician)
John Gilmore was an American jazz tenor saxophone player best-known for his long tenure as a member of Sun Ra's Arkestra...
, Jaco Pastorius
Jaco Pastorius
John Francis Anthony Pastorius III , known as Jaco Pastorius, was an American jazz musician and composer widely acknowledged as a virtuoso electric bass player....
, Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...
, Steve Lacy
Steve Lacy
Steve Lacy , born Steven Norman Lackritz in New York City, was a jazz saxophonist and composer recognized as one of the important players of soprano saxophone....
and others.
Bley and Goss are credited in a Billboard Magazine cover story with the first "music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
" as a result of the recorded and live performance collaborations they produced with jazz musicians and video artists.
Bley was featured in the 1981 documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Imagine the Sound
Imagine the Sound
Imagine the Sound is a 1981 Canadian documentary film about free jazz, directed by Ron Mann. It features interviews with and musical and dramatic performances by pianist Cecil Taylor, saxophonist Archie Shepp, trumpeter Bill Dixon and pianist Paul Bley. The film has been digitally restored and was...
, in which he performs and discusses the history of his music.
Bley has continued to tour internationally and record prodigiously, with well over a hundred CDs released. In 1999 his autobiography, Stopping Time: Paul Bley and the Transformation of Jazz was published. In 2003 Time Will Tell: Conversations with Paul Bley was published. And in 2004 Paul Bley: la logica del caso (Paul Bley: the logic of chance) was published in Italian. In 2008, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
.
As leader
Improvising ArtistsImprovising Artists
-Discography:...
(Bley's own label)
- 1974: JacoJaco (album)Jaco is the unofficial later title of a 1974 LP album on Paul Bley's Improvising Artists Label. It is notable for being the first professional recording showcasing the talents of Jaco Pastorius and Pat Metheny...
- 1975: Quiet Song
- 1975: Alone, Again
- 1975: Turning Point (with John GilmoreJohn Gilmore (musician)John Gilmore was an American jazz tenor saxophone player best-known for his long tenure as a member of Sun Ra's Arkestra...
, Gary PeacockGary PeacockGary Peacock is an American jazz double-bassist.-Biography:After military service in Germany, in the early sixties he worked on the west coast with Barney Kessel, Bud Shank, Paul Bley and Art Pepper, then moved to New York. He worked there with Bley, the Bill Evans trio , and Albert Ayler's trio...
, Paul MotianPaul MotianStephen Paul Motian was an American jazz drummer, percussionist and composer of Armenian extraction.He first came to prominence in the late 1950s in the piano trio of Bill Evans, and later led several groups...
), orig. SavoySavoy RecordsSavoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part in popularizing bebop.Savoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part...
mono recordings, March 9, 1964 - 1976: Virtuosi
- 1977: Japan Suite
- 1977: Axis
- 1978: IAI Festival
- Coleman Classics
SteepleChase Records
SteepleChase Records
SteepleChase Records is a jazz record label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time...
- 1972: Solo Piano
- 1973: Paul Bley/NHØPPaul Bley/NHØPPaul Bley/NHØP is a jazz duet album by Paul Bley and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, released on SteepleChase Records in 1973. The album was recorded in Copenhagen, Denmark in June and July 1973, and primarily features Bley's compositions...
(with Niels-Henning Ørsted PedersenNiels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen- Discography :* My Name Is Albert Ayler 1963 * Kirk in Copenhagen 1963 * Ben Webster in Denmark 1965-1971 Live at Danish Radio studios, Jazzhus Montmartre and Odd Fellow Palæet - Universal Music Denmark*One Flight Up 1964 *Sunday Walk 1969 - Discography :* My Name Is Albert Ayler 1963 (with...
) - 1985: Questions
- 1985: My Standard
- 1986: Live & Live Again
- 1987: Indian Summer
- 1988: Solo Piano
- 1988: The Nearness of You
- 1989: Rejoicing
- 1989: Bebopbebopbebopbebop
- 1991: Plays Carla Bley
- 1992: Caravan Suite
- 1992: At Copenhagen Jazz House
- 1993: If We May
- 1994: Speachless
- 1995: Reality Check
- 1998: Notes on Ornette
ECM Records
- 1970: Paul Bley with Gary PeacockPaul Bley with Gary PeacockPaul Bley with Gary Peacock is an album by Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley with American bassist Gary Peacock recorded in 1964 and 1968 and released on the ECM label in 1970.-Reception:...
- 1971: BalladsBallads (Paul Bley album)Ballads is an album by Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley recorded in 1967 and released on the ECM label in 1971.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Eugene Chadbourne awarded the album 2½ stars stating "Ballads, which really seems to make ballads out of ballads, has been considered both worthy of...
- 1972: Open, to LoveOpen, to LoveOpen, to Love is a jazz album by Paul Bley. It features Bley performing seven solo piano pieces and is regarded to be not only one of his best albums, but a defining album in the history of the ECM record label. Three of the tracks were composed by ex-wife Carla Bley and another two by Bley's...
- 1986: FragmentsFragments (album)Fragments is an album by Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley recorded in 1986 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Stephen Cook awarded the album 4 stars stating "this 1986 session ranks high among his many solo and group outings for the label.....
- 1987: The Paul Bley QuartetThe Paul Bley QuartetThe Paul Bley Quartet is an album by Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley recorded in 1987 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4 stars stating "While it's easy to argue that, with Manfred Eicher's icy, crystalline production, this was a stock date...
- 1991: In the Evenings Out ThereIn the Evenings Out ThereIn the Evenings Out There is an album by pianist Paul Bley, bassist Gary Peacock, drummer Tony Oxley and saxophonist John Surman recorded in 1991 and released on the ECM label in 1993.-Reception:...
- 1994: Time Will TellTime Will Tell (Paul Bley album)Time Will Tell is an album by pianist Paul Bley, bassist Barre Phillips, and saxophonist Evan Parker recorded in 1994 and released on the ECM label in 1995.-Reception:...
(with Evan ParkerEvan ParkerEvan Shaw Parker is a British free-improvising saxophone player from the European free jazz scene.Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free jazz and free improvisation, and has pioneered or substantially expanded...
and Barre PhillipsBarre PhillipsBarre Phillips is a jazz and free improvisation bassist. A professional musician since 1960, he migrated to New York City in 1962, then to Europe in 1967. Since 1972 he has been based in southern France....
) - 1999: Not Two, Not OneNot Two, Not OneNot Two, Not One is an album by Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley with American bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Paul Motian recorded in 1998 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:...
(with Gary PeacockGary PeacockGary Peacock is an American jazz double-bassist.-Biography:After military service in Germany, in the early sixties he worked on the west coast with Barney Kessel, Bud Shank, Paul Bley and Art Pepper, then moved to New York. He worked there with Bley, the Bill Evans trio , and Albert Ayler's trio...
and Paul MotianPaul MotianStephen Paul Motian was an American jazz drummer, percussionist and composer of Armenian extraction.He first came to prominence in the late 1950s in the piano trio of Bill Evans, and later led several groups...
) - 2000: Sankt GeroldSankt Gerold (album)Sankt Gerold is an album by pianist Paul Bley, bassist Barre Phillips, and saxophonist Evan Parker recorded in 1996 and released on the ECM label in 2000.-Reception:...
(with Evan ParkerEvan ParkerEvan Shaw Parker is a British free-improvising saxophone player from the European free jazz scene.Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free jazz and free improvisation, and has pioneered or substantially expanded...
and Barre PhillipsBarre PhillipsBarre Phillips is a jazz and free improvisation bassist. A professional musician since 1960, he migrated to New York City in 1962, then to Europe in 1967. Since 1972 he has been based in southern France....
) - 2007: Solo in MondseeSolo in MondseeSolo in Mondsee is a live album by pianist Paul Bley recorded in 2001 and released on the ECM label in 2007.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4½ stars stating "For anyone who has ever wondered about Bley and his amazing 60-year career in jazz, or for anyone interested...
Justin Time Records
Justin Time Records
Justin Time Records, Inc. is a Canadian independent record label based in Montreal. It was established in 1983 and specialises mostly in jazz and blues...
- 1987: Solo
- 1991: A Musing (with Jon BallantyneJon BallantyneJon Ballantyne is a Jazz musician, composer, artist, and piano player who now resides in New York City, USA.-Biography:...
) - 1993: Sweet Time
- 1993: Double Time
- 1993: Know Time
- 1994: Outside in
- 1996: Touche (with Kenny WheelerKenny WheelerKenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC is a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. since the 1950s....
) - 2001: Basics
- 2004: Nothing to Declare
- 2008: About Time
Soul Note
- 1983: Tango PalaceTango PalaceTango Palace is a solo album by Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley recorded in 1983 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Eugene Chadbourne awarded the album 3 stars stating "An alarm mechanism goes off at the sight of another solo album by this artist; the...
- 1983: SonorSonor (album)Sonor is an album by Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley recorded in 1983 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Eugene Chadbourne awarded the album 2½ stars stating "For Paul Bley to comment that this 1983 recording is the best collection of his music to emerge...
- 1985: HotHot (Paul Bley album)Hot is a live album by Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley recorded in 1985 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Ron Wynn awarded the album 2½ stars stating "Excellent playing by Bley keeps things moving on this '85 date...
(with John ScofieldJohn ScofieldJohn Scofield , often referred to as "Sco," is an American jazz guitarist and composer, who has played and collaborated with Miles Davis, Dave Liebman, Joe Henderson, Charles Mingus, Joey Defrancesco, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Pat Martino, Mavis Staples, Phil Lesh, Billy Cobham,...
) - 1987: NotesNotes (album)Notes is an album by Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley and American drummer Paul Motian recorded in 1987 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.-Reception:...
(with Paul MotianPaul MotianStephen Paul Motian was an American jazz drummer, percussionist and composer of Armenian extraction.He first came to prominence in the late 1950s in the piano trio of Bill Evans, and later led several groups...
) - 1988: Live at Sweet BasilLive at Sweet Basil (Paul Bley album)Live at Sweet Basil is a live album by Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley recorded in 1988 at the Sweet Basil Jazz Club and released on the Italian Soul Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 3 stars....
(with John AbercrombieJohn Abercrombie (guitarist)John Abercrombie is an American jazz guitarist, whose work often explores jazz fusion and post bop. Abercrombie has played with Billy Cobham, Jack DeJohnette, Michael Brecker and Randy Brecker...
) - 1990: MemoirsMemoirs (album)Memoirs is an album by pianist Paul Bley, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Paul Motian recorded in 1990 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.-Reception:...
(with Charlie HadenCharlie HadenCharles Edward Haden is an American jazz musician. He is a double bassist, probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman...
and Paul MotianPaul MotianStephen Paul Motian was an American jazz drummer, percussionist and composer of Armenian extraction.He first came to prominence in the late 1950s in the piano trio of Bill Evans, and later led several groups...
) - 1992: Mindset (with Gary PeacockGary PeacockGary Peacock is an American jazz double-bassist.-Biography:After military service in Germany, in the early sixties he worked on the west coast with Barney Kessel, Bud Shank, Paul Bley and Art Pepper, then moved to New York. He worked there with Bley, the Bill Evans trio , and Albert Ayler's trio...
) - 1994: Chaos
America Records
- The Fabulous Paul Bley Quintet
- Improvise
Postcards Records
Postcards Records
Postcards Records was an American jazz record label active during the 1990s, an imprint of Arkadia Jazz.-Discography:...
- Synth Thesis
- What If (Bruce DitmasBruce DitmasBruce Ditmas is an American jazz drummer and percussionist.Ditmas was born in Atlantic City but grew up in Miami; his father was a trumpeter in Miami big bands. He studied with Tony Crisetello and then with Stan Kenton at Indiana University and Michigan State University in the early 1960s...
with John AbercrombieJohn Abercrombie (guitarist)John Abercrombie is an American jazz guitarist, whose work often explores jazz fusion and post bop. Abercrombie has played with Billy Cobham, Jack DeJohnette, Michael Brecker and Randy Brecker...
, Sam RiversSam RiversSamuel Carthorne Rivers , is an American jazz musician and composer. He performs on soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, harmonica and piano....
, Dominic Richards) - Music for the Millennium (Ralph Simon with Gary PeacockGary PeacockGary Peacock is an American jazz double-bassist.-Biography:After military service in Germany, in the early sixties he worked on the west coast with Barney Kessel, Bud Shank, Paul Bley and Art Pepper, then moved to New York. He worked there with Bley, the Bill Evans trio , and Albert Ayler's trio...
, Julian PriesterJulian PriesterJulian Priester is an American jazz trombonist and composer.He has played with many artists including Sun Ra, Max Roach, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock.-Biography:...
)
Freedom
Freedom Records
Freedom Records was a jazz record label linked with the producer Alan Bates, as with his Black Lion Records.Individual recordings were distributed via Polydor Records and Transatlantic Records during the early 1970s before the company was bought by Arista Records.-Discography:*1000 Albert Ayler &...
- Copenhagen And Haarlem
- 1970: Dual Unity (with Annette PeacockAnnette Peacock- Biography :Annette Peacock began composing at the age of four. Her mother was a violist in the San Diego and Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestras....
, Han BenninkHan BenninkHan Bennink is a Dutch jazz drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured his playing on clarinet, violin, banjo and piano....
, Mario PavoneMario PavoneMario Pavone is an American jazz bassist.He grew up in Waterbury, Connecticut and began performing in 1965. He was a member of Paul Bley's trio during 1968-72, and Bill Dixon's trio during the 1980s. He also performed with such musicians as Barry Altschul, Wadada Leo Smith, and Gerry Hemingway...
, Laurence Cook)
Other labels
- 1962: Footloose!
- 1964: Barrage (with Marshall AllenMarshall AllenMarshall Belford Allen is an American free jazz and avant-garde jazz alto saxophone player. He also performs on flute, oboe, piccolo, and EVI ....
, Dewey Johnson, Eddie GomezEddie GomezEdgar "Eddie" Gómez is a Puerto Rican jazz double bassist born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, perhaps most notable for his work done with the Bill Evans trio from 1966 to 1977.-Biography:...
, Milford GravesMilford GravesMilford Graves is an American jazz drummer and percussionist, most noteworthy for his early avant-garde contributions in the early 1960s with Paul Bley and the New York Art Quartet...
), ESP Disk - 1965: Closer (with Barry AltschulBarry AltschulBarry Altschul is a free jazz drummer who gained fame in the late 1960s with the pianists Paul Bley and Chick Corea.-Biography:...
, 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...
), ESP Disk - 1965: Touching (with Kent CarterKent CarterKent Carter is an American jazz bassist. He is the grandson of American artist, Rockwell Kent. He worked in Steve Lacy's group, played on the two Jazz Composer's Orchestra albums and also released albums for Emanem Records.-As leader:* Beauvais Cathedral * The Juillaguet Collection with Albrecht...
, Barry AltschulBarry AltschulBarry Altschul is a free jazz drummer who gained fame in the late 1960s with the pianists Paul Bley and Chick Corea.-Biography:...
), Black Lion RecordsBlack Lion RecordsBlack Lion Records was a jazz record label based in London, England.Black Lion was founded by Alan Bates in 1968. The label had two series of releases, one for British jazz musicians and one for international musicians... - 1968: Mr. Joy (with Gary PeacockGary PeacockGary Peacock is an American jazz double-bassist.-Biography:After military service in Germany, in the early sixties he worked on the west coast with Barney Kessel, Bud Shank, Paul Bley and Art Pepper, then moved to New York. He worked there with Bley, the Bill Evans trio , and Albert Ayler's trio...
, Billy Elgart), Mercury RecordsMercury RecordsMercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal... - 1973: Scorpio (with David Holland, Barry AltschulBarry AltschulBarry Altschul is a free jazz drummer who gained fame in the late 1960s with the pianists Paul Bley and Chick Corea.-Biography:...
), MilestoneMilestoneA milestone is one of a series of numbered markers placed along a road or boundary at intervals of one mile or occasionally, parts of a mile. They are typically located at the side of the road or in a median. They are alternatively known as mile markers, mileposts or mile posts... - 1983: Tears, Owl
- 1990: Partners (with Gary PeacockGary PeacockGary Peacock is an American jazz double-bassist.-Biography:After military service in Germany, in the early sixties he worked on the west coast with Barney Kessel, Bud Shank, Paul Bley and Art Pepper, then moved to New York. He worked there with Bley, the Bill Evans trio , and Albert Ayler's trio...
) - 1992: Homage to Carla
As sideman
With Jimmy GiuffreJimmy Giuffre
James Peter Giuffre was an American jazz clarinet and saxophone player, composer and arranger. He is notable for his development of forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating forms of free improvisation.-Biography:Born in Dallas, Texas, of Italian ancestry,...
- ThesisThesis (album)Thesis is a 1961 album by the Jimmy Giuffre 3.-Track listing:#"Ictus" #"That's True, That's True" #"Sonic" #"Whirrrr" #"Carla" #"Goodbye" #"Flight" #"The Gamut"...
(1961) - Free Fall (1962)
- Fusion (1962) all rereleased on ECM Records
- Emphasis & Flight 1961
- The Life of a Trio 2 volumes
- Fly away little bird
- Conversations with a Goose Owl records
With John Surman
John Surman
John Douglas Surman is an English jazz saxophone, bass clarinet and synthesizer player, and composer of free jazz and modal jazz, often using themes from folk music as a basis...
- Adventure PlaygroundAdventure Playground (album)Adventure Playground is an album by English saxophonist John Surman featuring Paul Bley, Gary Peacock and Tony Oxley recorded in 1991 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 4 stars....
(ECM, 1991)