The Watt Works Family Album

Having now traversed the entire WATT and XtraWATT catalogs, I feel it’s only appropriate to take a step back and admire the sheer variety of fish caught in this musical net. Thankfully, label owners Michael Mantler and Carla Bley assembled this compilation album to give us a representative selection. As noted in the CD booklet, WATT grew well beyond its nominal status as a record label into “a complete support system dedicated to the independent production of their music without compromise.” And while it may have been released on April 1, 1990, The Watt Works Family Album is no joke, but rather the thoughtful state of a union unlike any other.

Key artists from both labels are equitably represented. Bley gets first blush in her ravishing “Fleur Carnivore.” This 11-minute seduction isn’t without its elbows to the ribs, and pays worthy respect to her work for larger ensembles. “Walking Batteriewoman” jumps goes intimate in a duo version with bassist Steve Swallow, showing the breadth of her palette. Somewhere between the two in scope is the moonlit walk of “Talking Hearts,” left behind like a memory we hope will never end once the cringe of “I Hate To Sing” (from the brilliant vaudevillian album of the same name) takes over. “Ad Infinitum” (as it appears on 1977’s Dinner Music) expands Bley’s sound into even warmer climates, where the spirit of the age glows in our remembrance. The final Bley selection is “Funnybird Song,” which features a seven-year-old Karen Mantler. Fourteen years after that first appearance on record, she would make her leader debut, My Cat Arnold, from which we are treated to “Best Of Friends,” a delightful song about her love for mother Carla. As for father Michael, we are given deep, dark glimpses into a world of text and incidental soundtracks quite unlike anything else out there. From the genuine voices of Robert Wyatt in “A L’Abattoir” and Jack Bruce in “When I Run” to the orchestrally inflected powerhouses of “Twenty” and “Movie Six”—passing through Part 2 of Alien, which pairs Mantler’s trumpet with the synths of Don Preston, along the way—one can feel the stories aching to be told, even when no words are being sung. The two standalones are Swallow’s “Crab Alley” (a master class in fuzak) and Steve Weisberg’s “I Can’t Stand Another Night Alone (In Bed With You),” which for me is the sleeper hit of the XtraWatt portfolio.

After the pleasure of journeying through both labels, I can only thank you for joining me. I hope you took some pictures along the way.

Carla Bley
Carla’s Christmas Carols

Carla Bley piano, celeste
Steve Swallow bass, chimes
Tobias Weidinger trumpet, flugelhorn (lead), glockenspiel
Axel Schlosser trumpet, flugelhorn (soloist), chimes
Christine Chapman horn
Adrian Mears trombone
Ed Partyka bass trombone, tuba
Recorded December 8/9, 2008 and mixed and mastered at La Buissonne Studio, Pernes Les Fontaines
Engineers: Gérard de Haro and Nicolas Baillard
“O Holy Night” and “Joy To The World” recorded live in Berlin on December 4 by Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg
Produced by Carla Bley and Steve Swallow
Release date: November 6, 2009

It seems altogether fitting, given Carla Bley’s religious jumping of ship, to come full circle in their biographical tendencies with this utterly reverent collection of well-known Christmas music. Joined by Steve Swallow and the Partyka Brass Quintet, Bley offers an album of original arrangements that speak to the heart of every song while drawing out something long-concealed by the artifice of commercialization.

The staples one would expect in such an assortment are all there. From the nostalgic uplift of “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” and “Jingle Bells” to the sincere gratitude of “The Christmas Song,” there’s plenty of spice to mull your cider. More interesting, however, are the splashes of rum to spike your egg nog. These come in the form of Bley’s clever harmonization of “O Tannenbaum,” in the addition of celeste of “Away In A Manger,” and in the soulful trombone of Adrian Mears in “Ring Christmas Bells.” Like those pops of air from logs settling in a fireplace, such moments court our attention in unforeseen directions while abiding by the comforts of the familiar. Axel Schlosser in “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” is another noteworthy soloist, by his flugelhorn lighting the set’s brightest candle.

Bley contributes two tunes of her own: the jauntier “Hell’s Bells” (replete with sarcastic allusion to “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” and, of course, the sound of jingle bells) and the processional “Jesus Maria,” which Swallow reads prayerfully through the bass. Moreover, we get two bonuses—“O Holy Night” and “Joy To The World”—recorded live in Berlin during the tour from which the band broke to make this album. The end effect is of childhood unwrapped like a present beneath the tree.

And with that, we come to what is (as of this writing) our final stop on the WATT train. We’ve been through a lot together, in terms of space and time, traversing cultures and even galaxies as easily as opening our ears. But let us never downplay the unquantifiable amount of energy and sacrifice Carla Bley has given to the world of sound in order to refashion it in her own image.

Carla Bley Big Band
Appearing Nightly

Earl Gardner, Lew Soloff, Giampaolo Casati, Florian Esch trumpets
Beppe Calamosca, Gary Valente, Gigi Grata, Richard Henry trombones
Roger Jannotta soprano and alto saxophones, flute
Wolfgang Puschnig alto saxophone, flute
Andy Sheppard tenor saxophone
Christophe Panzani tenor saxophone
Julian Argüelles baritone saxophone
Carla Bley piano, conductor
Karen Mantler organ
Steve Swallow bass
Billy Drummond drums
Recorded live at The New Morning, Paris, July 17 & 18, 2006 by La Buissonne Studio with BorderLive Studio
Engineers: Gérard de Haro, Sylvain Thévenard, and Mikol Seminatore
Mixed and mastered at La Buissonne Studio, Pernes Les Fontaines, August 18 & 19, 2006
Engineers: Gérard de Haro and Nicolas Baillard
Produced by Carla Bley and Steve Swallow
Release date: August 22, 2008

In her first (nominal) big band recording since 1996’s Goes To Church, Appearing Nightly comes to us by way of a two-night residency at The New Morning (Paris) in July of 2006. Despite the characteristically high levels of musicianship, composing, and arranging, I find myself relatively underwhelmed by these performances on the whole. Both “Greasy Gravy” and “Awful Coffee,” which open the album, were commissioned by Orchestra Jazz della Sardegna. The latter is the better of the two, with its compelling upswing and protein-rich baritone saxophone, courtesy of Julian Argüelles. But for some reason I struggle to fit myself into the surroundings. Having said that, as is the case with even her least essential albums, there’s always that one masterpiece that keeps its bead from falling off the string. In this case, it’s the 25-minute “Appearing Nightly At The Black Orchid.” Commissioned by the Monterey Jazz Festival and conceived as an homage to the 1950s, this fourfold suite gives the widest berth for musicians and listeners alike to stretch their limbs. What opens with subtle grit from the horns against the smooth groundwork laid by bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Billy Drummond opens into a prolific showcase for its soloists, including the ever-incisive Lew Soloff on trumpet, Wolfgang Puschnig on alto, and Gary Valente on trombone. Down a rung but still holding firmly on to the ladder of greatness is “Someone To Watch,” for which Swallow and Drummond (for me the stars of the entire recording) establish a superlative groove while reserving enough spotlight for Roger Jannotta’s soprano. Only in the final stretch of Ray Noble’s “I Hadn’t Anyone Till You,” however, does a certain lyrical beauty take hold of the proceedings.

Commendable as this effort is, I wouldn’t start here if you’re new to Bley, as its subtleties may be lost on those who don’t know her work already. More of a grower than a shower, Appearing Nightly is an album that reveals itself upon repeated listening, so consistent in its focus that we must labor more to uncover what lies beneath.

The Lost Chords

Carla Bley piano
Andy Sheppard soprano and tenor saxophones
Steve Swallow bass
Billy Drummond drums
Recorded October 2003 on tour in Europe
Engineer: Bill Strode
Mixed November 2003 by Tom Mark and Steve Swallow at The Make Believe Ballroom, West Shokan, New York
Produced by Steve Swallow
Release date: June 7, 2004

The Lost Chords marks the birth of a marvelous quartet comprised of Carla Bley on piano, Andy Sheppard on soprano and tenor saxophones, Steve Swallow on electric bass, and Billy Drummond on drums. Culled from a European tour in October of 2003, the set presented for our listening pleasure is one of chameleonic moods and methods.

“3 Blind Mice” adlibs on the nursery rhyme with a comic genius that is uniquely Bley. What at first abides by a rigorous sense of rhythm soon gives way to childlike wonder, and perhaps clues us in on the seemingly inexhaustible creative well from which she and her bandmates draw. The middle section of this three-parter yields one of Sheppard’s most astonishing runs, breathing circularly through his soprano with an air of mystery. Swallow and Drummond retie the backdrop to ensure the integrity of every scene change, the drummer unleashing particular catharsis in the wake of Sheppard’s exhausting run. Drummond shines further on “Hip Hop,” which nods his head alongside Swallow’s funky stylings.

After the 80s throwback of “Tropical Depression” (a lost track from Night-Glo, perhaps?) and the hipper inflections of “Red,” in which Bley follows Swallow’s tightrope walk from below with arms outstretched yet never needing to fear that he might stumble, the “Lost Chords” suite brushes our vision with pigments of twilight, followed by a boppish ride into the statelier conclusion that holds its final chord to the point of breathlessness.

At every turn, Bley calls upon her capacity for placing notes exactly where they belong, neither underselling nor exaggerating her role. As composer, she is the mastermind. As performer, she knows where she and her bandmates need to be, and allots their due accordingly.

The Carla Bley Big Band
Looking For America

Earl Gardner, Lew Soloff, Byron Stripling, Giampaolo Casati trumpets
Robert Routch French horn (“The Mothers”)
Jim Pugh, Gary Valente, Dave Bargeron trombones
David Taylor bass trombone
Lawrence Feldman alto and soprano saxophones, flute
Wolfgang Puschnig alto saxophone, flute
Andy Sheppard, Craig Handy tenor saxophones
Gary Smulyan baritone saxophone
Karen Mantler organ, glockenspiel
Carla Bley piano, conductor
Steve Swallow bass
Billy Drummond drums
Don Alias percussion
Recorded October 7 & 8, 2002 at Avatar Studios, New York
Engineer: Tom Mark
Assistants: Brian Montgomery and Josh Benezra
Mixed November 2002 by Tom Mark and Steve Swallow at The Make Believe Ballroom, West Shokan, New York
Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound
Produced by Steve Swallow
Release date: May 5, 2003

Looking For America is yet another milestone in Carla Bley’s discographic adventure as leader of a big band. In addition to being her first to be recorded in New York’s famed Avatar Studios, it’s also a backdoor introduction of one of my favorite drummers, Billy Drummond, into her gene pool. Add to that a twisted smile across the visage of modern politics, one so derisive that it prompted a disclaimer on the back page of the CD booklet exempting the musicians and label from the views expressed therein, and you have a cogent musical essay on the spirit of its age.

Starting and trail-marking the album are four maternal preludes: “Grand Mother,” “Step Mother,” “Your Mother,” and “God Mother.” These blushes of horns, cymbals, and bass are letters to ancestors that came before and those yet to be, each a torchbearer of memory and moral legacies that change with the times. An equally deep nod to adaptation is “Fast Lane,” which enchants by virtue of Wolfgang Puschnig’s superb alto playing. Drummond and bassist Steve Swallow are locked in and give the band a secure springboard off which to jump before deferring to a tangle of horns.

“The National Anthem” swears itself into office over the course of five parts that hinge on a funky bass line from Swallow. Drummond and percussionist Don Alias dig deep and, over the next 22 minutes, adapt their color schemes to suit the message of every given moment. Feelings of patriotism butt up against cynical revisionism, each depending on the other to keep the harmony of free speech alive. Despite kaleidoscopic effect, if not because of it, allusions to Americana become borderless in a larger mosaic of meaning.

Running crosswise to this nationalistic angle are the moody dances of “Los Cocineros” and “Tijuana Traffic,” the latter a hat tip to the Tijuana Brass that looks back on memories as if through a flipbook. Sunbursts from trombonist Gary Valente and trumpeter Lew Soloff spearhead downright orchestral textures on the whole. Tying it all together is Bley’s arrangement of “Old MacDonald Had A Farm.” Valente has tons of down-home fun with this staple, so thoroughly transplanted that it’s almost unrecognizable. Inspired to the last drop!

Carla Bley
4×4

Lew Soloff trumpet
Wolfgang Puschnig alto saxophone, flute
Andy Sheppard tenor saxophone
Gary Valente trombone
Carla Bley piano
Larry Goldings organ
Steve Swallow bass
Victor Lewis drums
Recorded July 1999 at Rainbow Studio, Oslo
Engineer: Jon Marius Aareskjold
Mixed and mastered at Grog Kill Studio, Willow, New York
Engineer: Tom Mark
General co-ordination: Ilene Mark
Produced by Carla Bley and Steve Swallow
Release date: September 25, 2000

While touring across Europe with a newly fashioned octet in July of 1999, Carla Bley and friends stepped into Oslo’s Rainbow Studio to record 4×4. The set opens its eyes as if waking from a bygone dream in “Blues In 12 Bars / Blues In 12 Other Bars.” These two mirrors are faced toward each other, so that an infinity reflection ensues. Running between them, as far as the ear can hear, are her familiar horn section of Lew Soloff (trumpet), Wolfgang Puschnig (alto saxophone and flute), Andy Sheppard (tenor saxophone), and Gary Valente (trombone), while Bley herself from the piano helms a crew of Larry Goldings (the sole newcomer, on organ), Steve Swallow (bass), and Victor Lewis (drums). The welcome mat thus laid, we step into as pleasant an introduction to the band’s rapport as we might imagine. Likeminded contrasts abound in “Baseball,” thereby throwing the first pitch of a tight game between the two quartets, whose crosstalk gives rise to a leaping catch from Valente. Sheppard’s whispering tenor in “Útviklingssang” closes out the season with what is by far the most superior arrangement of this beloved tune. “Sidewinders In Paradise” revives the playfulness of earlier Bley and shuffles rainforest chatter with urban chic, setting up a menagerie of in-house solos.

But the reigning queen is “Les Trois Lagons (d’apres Henri Matisse).” Originally commissioned by the Grenoble Jazz Festival and inspired by Jazz, a series of cut-outs by Henri Matisse, it was first performed by her trio with Swallow and Sheppard in 1996. At nearly 16 minutes, it’s a viable piece of history. As cigarette smoke and laughter hang over the heads of upwardly mobile socialites and starving artists alike, it morphs into an aural cubism.

So much of Bley’s output by now is worth listening to that the word “essential” loses more meaning with each subsequent release. Don’t hesitate to dive into this one and trust its air supply to bring you safely back to the surface.