WATT

Bley/Sheppard/Swallow: Songs With Legs (WATT/26)

| Tyran Grillo

Songs With Legs

Carla Bley
Andy Sheppard
Steve Swallow
Songs With Legs

Carla Bley piano
Andy Sheppard tenor and soprano saxophones
Steve Swallow bass
Recorded live on tour in France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Turkey, and England, May 1994
Engineer: Bill Strode
Mixed at Grog Kill Studio, Willow, New York
Engineer: Tom Mark
General co-ordination: Ilene Mark
Produced by Carla Bley and Steve Swallow
Release date: January 1, 1995

Songs With Legs is easily among my Top 5 WATT releases. Not only for the wonderful music it contains, but also for debuting of one of the finest trios still working today (see my review of their performance at Denver’s Dazzle last year). By this time, pianist/composer Carla Bley had already found her soulmate in electric bassist Steve Swallow and had released a couple of duo albums to prove it. But saxophonist Andy Sheppard had appeared on a few of Bley’s big band projects and was proving himself to be a natural fit in her sonic nucleus. This first triangulation of their gifts is magic from corner to corner to corner.

Slightly off-kilter pianism introduces “Real Life Hits,” a scene that only Bley could have painted with these two allies. Recorded live during a European tour in May of 1994, this performance captures the spirit of in-the-moment interplay. Swallow assumes a guitarist’s role, adding delicate chords and harmonies, while Sheppard, thus far notable for his muscular tenor playing in larger ensemble contexts, assumes the rounded comportment through soprano. That said, his smoky tenor pairs exceptionally well with the Thelonious Monk standby “Misterioso” and Bley’s own “The Lord Is Listenin’ To Ya, Hallelujah!” The latter, having undergone a soulful mellowing since its last appearance on Carla Bley’s Live!, feels more like a prayer of gratitude than a desperate call for grace. Swallow’s comforts know no bounds here.

As ever, whimsy waits in the wings, and we get plenty of it in “Chicken” (more of a duo showcase for piano and bass, with some subtle tenor swing for good measure) and “Wrong Key Donkey,” which peaks at 12 minutes and, as with Bley’s previously iterated tunes, gives up its secrets without hesitation so that we might feel its story from the inside out. Bley’s reading is linear and honest, while Sheppard’s soprano waters flower after expository flower. Swallow’s solo is subdued yet rich. The trio ends with “Crazy With You.” This love letter to creativity, laid sweetly on the altar of life, points our attention to self-evident truths, and by that gesture confirms Bley’s star in the constellation of jazz history.

Carla Bley: Big Band Theory (WATT/25)

| Tyran Grillo

Big Band Theory

Carla Bley
Big Band Theory

Alex Balanescu violin
Lew Soloff, Guy Barker, Claude Deppa, Steve Waterman trumpets
Gary Valente, Richard Edwards, Annie Whitehead trombones
Ashley Slater bass trombone
Roger Jannotta soprano saxophone, flute
Wolfgang Puschnig alto saxophone, flute
Andy Sheppard tenor and soprano saxophones
Pete Hurt tenor saxophone
Julian Argüelles baritone saxophone
Carla Bley piano
Karen Mantler organ
Steve Swallow bass
Dennis Mackrel drums
Recorded July 2/3, 1993 at Angel Studios, London
Engineer: Gary Thomas
Mixed at Grog Kill Studio, Willow, New York
Engineer: Tom Mark
Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound
General co-ordination: Ilene Mark
Produced by Carla Bley and Steve Swallow
Release date: October 1, 1993

In the footsteps of her last (very) big band effort—which, despite its competence isn’t my favorite—Carla Bley returns with a masterstroke of the genre. It’s all here: catchy titles, musicians who share a profound cohesion, and tunes to unpack with joy. “On the Stage in Cages” sets the tone by jumping into the woodwork and rearranging every whorl with confidence. Bley’s band, holding firm at 18 members, swings with renewed purpose, as if waking up from the slumber of hiatus in a sublime return to form. This is followed by one of the highest peaks in the Bley mountain range: “Birds of Paradise.” Commissioned by the 1992 Glasgow Jazz Festival, it foregrounds violinist Alex(ander) Balanescu, whose folk-tinged glow warms this body from the inside before morphing into a moody and dramatic pile of brass. Bley’s characteristic attention to detail throughout this 20-minute journey is as varied as any life that could contain it.

Bley taps the inkwell of her muse, Charles Mingus, in a personal arrangement of “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat,” which despite its straight-laced veneer sports a dark monologue from bass trombonist Ashley Slater, alluring trumpeting by Lew Soloff, and a gentle swing beneath it all. Bley comes up from this dedicatory nod with her own “Fresh Impression” firmly in hand. This blast of sunshine yields a robust solo from Andy Sheppard on tenor, as if to emphasize the flow of memory he and the others ride to the present moment. It and everything that precedes is indeed fresh music that imparts its invitation to all listeners. This is Bley’s house, and the catering has been perfectly laid out before we even walk in.

Carla Bley/Steve Swallow: Go Together (WATT/24)

| Tyran Grillo

Go Together

Carla Bley
Steve Swallow
Go Together

Carla Bley piano
Steve Swallow bass
Recorded Summer 1992 by Steve Swallow, with assistance from Tom Mark, at Grog Kill Studio, Willow, New York
Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound
General co-ordination: Karen Mantler
Produced by Carla Bley and Steve Swallow
Release date: April 1, 1994

This sequel to 1988’s Duets finds pianist Carla Bley and bassist Steve Swallow in finer form than ever. As per the last time around, composing credits go mostly to Bley. After a soft intro, the rhythms in “Sing Me Softly of the Blues” showcase the duo’s gentle funk in spades. Bley solos in that way she often does, leaving proper space between the keys so that individual notes can stretch their wings. Later in the set, she pulls out some of the most treasured tomes of her melodic library, including a measured and reflective take on “Copyright Royalties” and a heartening “Fleur Carnivore,” which glistens like a diver peeking over the ocean’s surface, seeking an island of rest. “Ad Infinitum” likewise sheds new layers in the current version. The synergy between these musicians has rarely been so apparent as here, where their interlocking signatures form an entirely new entity.

The dour “Mother of the Dead Man” makes its first appearance, and provides an artisanal segue into Swallow’s “Masquerade in 3 Parts.” Clearly inspired by Bley in its trefoil structure, it plays on her wryness in both concept and self-interpretation. The bassist also gifts us “Peau Douce,” a slice of downtempo whimsy that works its improvisational magic until we no longer need to distinguish between beginnings and endings. Such is the spell they cast.

The Very Big Carla Bley Band: s/t (WATT/23)

| Tyran Grillo

The Very Big Carla Bley Band

The Very Big Carla Bley Band

Lew Soloff, Guy Barker, Claude Deppa, Steven Bernstein trumpets
Gary Valente, Richard Edwards, Fayyaz Virji trombones
Ashley Slater bass trombone
Roger Jannotta oboe, flute, clarinet, soprano saxophone
Wolfgang Puschnig alto saxophone, flute
Andy Sheppard tenor and soprano saxophones
Pete Hurt tenor saxophone, clarinet
Pablo Calogero baritone saxophone
Steve Swallow bass
Carla Bley piano
Karen Mantler organ
Victor Lewis drums
Don Alias percussion
Recorded October 29/30, 1990 at Bauer Studios, Ludwigsburg, Germany
Engineer: Carlos Albrecht
Mixed at Grog Kill Studio, Willow, New York
Engineer: Tom Mark
Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York
General co-ordination: Michael Mantler
Produced by Carla Bley and Steve Swallow
Release date: April 1, 1991

If the explosion of sentiment that embraced Carla Bley in the mid-1980s led to a soul-defining period, then let this 18-piece extravaganza be the backdraft that pulled her into a wider angle. Despite boasting trumpeter Lew Soloff, trombonist Gary Valente, and saxophonists Wolfgang Puschnig and Andy Sheppard as frontline soloists, it’s not the most groundbreaking of sessions, but a respectable enough jewel in the Bley crown.

Right off the bat, “United States” shows us just how much Bley’s sense of humor has grown. From the splashing cymbals of Victor Lewis to the anthemic inflections of bassist Steve Swallow, there’s much to admire in this ensemble’s knack for unpacking a giant suitcase and leaving it the way they found it by the time they’re through. The initial feeling is one of almost sardonic pleasure, but as the soloing becomes more forthright, we find that honesty is indeed the best policy. The proverbial soapbox serves as a stage for Soloff’s biting cynicism, Valente’s political edge, Puschnig’s street smarts, and Sheppard’s down-home wisdom.

“Strange Arrangement” dons the set’s cheekiest title, as the arrangement is rather tame compared to her earlier work. The primary focus here (as throughout), however, is on her fabulous horn section. Whether opening with their bouquet in “All Fall Down” or tooling the binding of “Lo Ultimo,” they add flavor upon flavor without reserve. The latter’s baritone spotlight, courtesy of Pablo Calogero, is one of many elements that make the tune an album standout, even if we must drag our ears a bit to get there. Like the bluesier “Who Will Rescue You?” it slides into home by the skin of its teeth.

Though not as multidimensional as what came before, the feeling is sincere, the compositions solid, and the performances top-notch. This album is also notable for being recorded in Tonstudio Bauer in Ludwigsburg, Germany, where many classic ECM albums were also laid down. The sound is consequently impeccable. Nothing dominates. Given that the influence of Mingus lives large in Bley’s arrangements, we might do best to read this session as a snapshot of a mood expertly crafted for posterity.

Carla Bley: Fleur Carnivore (WATT/21)

| Tyran Grillo

Fleur Carnivore

Carla Bley
Fleur Carnivore

Lew Soloff, Jens Winther trumpets
Frank Lacy French horn, flugelhorn
Gary Valente trombone
Bob Stewart tuba
Daniel Beaussier oboe, flute
Wolfgang Puschnig, Andy Sheppard, Christof Lauer, Roberto Ottini saxophones
Karen Mantler harmonica, organ, vibes, chimes
Carla Bley piano
Steve Swallow bass
Buddy Williams drums
Don Alias percussion
Recorded live, November 14-16, 1988 at the Montmartre, Copenhagen, Denmark
Remote recording by Sweet Silence Studios
Engineer: Flemming Rasmussen
Assistant: Lau Hansen
Live recording supervision: Michael Mantler
Concert sound: Paul Sparrow
Assistant: John Kenton
Mixed at Grog Kill Studio, Willow, New York
Engineer: Tom Mark
Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York
General co-ordination: Michael Mantler
Produced by Carla Bley and Steve Swallow
Release date: October 1, 1989

After the confidential overloads of Night-Glo and subsequent sessions, Carla Bley returns with a 15-piece band in this rich live recording from 1988 made in Copenhagen. The title track, a hat tip to Duke Ellington, is a gradual blush of ornamented sensuality and introduces yet more enduring talents to the Bley nexus in trumpeter Lew Soloff and saxophonists Wolfgang Puschnig and Andy Sheppard. Soloff and Puschnig are handed the first major solos of the set, turning night into day as the band goes from a crawl to a swing. The performance is solid, comfortable, and sumptuous.

Though much of what follows is a retread of what came before, the field in which it is planted is freshly tilled before contact. This includes “Ups And Downs” (reprised from Duets and notable for Frank Lacy’s fluegelhorn in dialogue with the reed of Christof Lauer) and the tripartite “The Girl Who Cried Champagne.” The latter will be familiar to devotees of Sextet and is a worthy showcase for each soloist. There’s even a poetic harmonica solo courtesy of Karen Mantler—the traveler’s daughter, ever traveling herself. All of this thirsts for the final tincture of “Healing Power” (another Sextet holdover). Gospel-tinged and deepened by sermons from trombonist Gary Valente (upward) and Swallow (downward), it’s doctrinal without being pretentious and is a fitting end to an unbreakable set that shows Bley capable of anything, and better than most.

The one standalone classic here is “Song Of The Eternal Waiting Of Canute.” Between its far south-of-the-border vibe, enhanced by bird calls and other natural details, and full moon of brass, the piece cycles back and forth between real-time exposition and jungle fantasy. Thankfully, Bley and her band wield their instruments like machetes, ready to cut through tangle that might get in their way.

Carla Bley/Steve Swallow: Duets (WATT/20)

| Tyran Grillo

Duets

Carla Bley
Steve Swallow
Duets

Carla Bley piano
Steve Swallow bass
Recorded by Steve Swallow, with assistance from Joe Ferla, at Grog Kill Studio, Willow, New York, Summer 1988
General co-ordination: Michael Mantler
Produced by Carla Bley and Steve Swallow
Release date: November 7, 1988

Given the connections they forged on previous outings, it was only a matter of time before Carla Bley and Steve Swallow made a duo album in the literal sense. And with it, a new chapter in the life of both musicians was born.

Bley gets the lion’s share of composing credits, offering a handful of ageless tunes. The first of these to really catch the ear, after the opening act of “Baby Baby,” is “Walking Batteriewoman,” in which abstraction and upbeat invitation run hand-in-hand into unknown futures. A newer addition to her canon is “Romantic Notions #3.” This tongue-in-cheek number walks a tightrope between what society expects of a relationship and what one actually feels after its initial blush has subsided into reality. With organ-like sonority, Bley’s pianism lays bare an understanding that life happens only when love prevails. In the shadow of this experience, “Ups & Downs” seems to ladder its way back to “Útviklingssang.” As a choice recording of this personal favorite (Swallow’s bass sings with especial sweetness and Bley has rarely expounded so tenderly), it is unmissable. Another of Bley’s masterpieces, “Reactionary Tango,” finds its way here. Hearing this three-parter in such close quarters allows its farthest corners to the glow in the light of interpretation.

Moreover, the set list sports two fine diary entries from Swallow’s pen. “Ladies in Mercedes” is a gem that fits in seamlessly with its surroundings. The hand-offs between bass and piano are as organic as their players’ feelings for each other. “Remember” is a highlight for its sheer aesthetic pleasure, against which Bley’s arrangement of the spiritual “Soon I Will Be Done With The Troubles Of This World” wastes not a single note by contrast.

After such a long tour through some of Bley’s densest textures and arrangements, it’s a privilege to settle down and snuggle up against the heart beating within all along.

Michael Mantler: Many Have No Speech (WATT/19)

| Tyran Grillo

Many Have No Speech

Michael Mantler
Many Have No Speech

Jack Bruce voice
Marianne Faithfull voice
Robert Wyatt voice
Michael Mantler trumpet
Rick Fenn guitar
The Danish Concert Radio Orchestra
Peder Kargerup conductor
Orchestra recorded and mixed May 1987 at the Danish Radio, Copenhagen
Engineers: Ole Hviid and Jorn Jacobsen
Producer: Andy Sundstrom
All other material recorded May through December 1987 at West 3 Recording Studios, London (engineer: John McGowan), Grog Kill Studio, Willow, New York (engineer: Michael Mantler), and Newbury Sound, Boston (engineer: Paul Arnold)
Album mixed January 1988 by Michael Mantler at Grog Kill Studio
Mastering by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York
Album produced by Michael Mantler
Release date: May 30, 1988

After the leaking tire of Live, how redemptive to hear Jack Bruce’s voice hit the ground with the strength of a 4×4 in convoy formation with Marianne Faithfull and Robert Wyatt. Together, they navigate prose and poetry of Samuel Beckett, Ernst Meister, and Philippe Soupault for a symphony of grit and genuine emotion.

The commanding air that flows through Mantler’s trumpet welcomes us as if by the outstretched hands of a keeper of knowledge and opens a semantic portal to the netherworld of communication. The songs that follow are short (some no longer than 20 seconds), thus allowing us to focus on every morpheme with rapt attention. So full are these glimpses of human fracture that the longest tracks—“Something There” (a setting of Beckett sung by Bruce clocking in at three and a half minutes) and the spoken gem “Comrade” (a setting of Soupalt, in Pat Nolan’s English translation, at nearly four and a half)—feel epic by comparison. Thus, words are shown to be self-driven entities as the guitar of Rick Fenn clenches its psychological teeth around the line “songs are songs and the days days.” Faithfull is, for lack of better descriptors, creepy and beguiling. Her reading of Beckett’s “Imagine” is gut-wrenching, Fenn’s guitar serving as an emotional mesh through which hardships are pushed in the hopes of leaving behind flecks of gold. The tenacity of “En Cadence” is another noteworthy dive inward.

Wyatt only gets three appearances, but his voice is a welcome color change. His take on Soupault’s “Tant De Temps” is evocative to the max, the vocal equivalent of paint being moved across a surface as strings, trumpet, and percussion hold their gesso underneath. “L’Abbatoir” burrows deeper under the skin. Its magical combinations presage the insistence of Faithfull’s later tracks. “Prisonniers” is an echo from beyond the grave of atrocity.

Given the aphoristic structure it emplos, Many Have No Speech almost feels like a language instruction tape set to music. Each vignette is filled with enough wisdom, at once practical and profound, to retread many times over. This is not background music. It’s foreground music.

Michael Mantler: Live (WATT/18)

| Tyran Grillo

Live

Michael Mantler
Live

Jack Bruce vocals
Michael Mantler trumpet
Rick Fenn guitar
Don Preston synthesizers
John Greaves bass, piano
Nick Mason drums
Recorded February 8, 1987 during the 1st International Art Rock Festival at the Kongresshalle, Frankfurt, Germany
Festival produced by Off-Tat Frankfurt with the Co-Operation of the Hessischer Rundfunk (Concept and Production: Klaus Schäffer, Peter Kemper, Ulrich Olshausen, Dieter Buroch)
Location recording by Hessischer Rundfunk
Engineer: Wolfgang Packeiser
Concert sound: Sven Persson
Mixed by Michael Mantler with assistance from Doug Epstein at Grog Kill Studio, Willow, New York
Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York
Produced by Michael Mantler
Release date: September 1, 1987

Recorded at the 1st International Art Rock Festival in Frankfurt, Live might just be Michael Mantler’s most overt nod to Henry Cow yet. It’s also, to my ears, the trumpeter/composer’s least cohesive album. From the opening track, which marries his fiery “Preview” with “No Answer,” we might be forgiven for thinking we’re in for an incendiary ride when vocalist Jack Bruce goes all in for his delivery of the Samuel Beckett lyric. Whereas his studio recordings often sound multiply refined, despite their sometimes-grim subject matter and atmospheres, in a live setting we get more frayed edges. This is both the album’s blessing and its curse, as the selections from Mantler’s take on Edward Gorey, The Hapless Child, leave one wishing for their original performer, Robert Wyatt. Bruce’s “The Remembered Visit” is flaccid by comparison, though he does revive some of the idiosyncratic aplomb he does best in “The Doubtful Guest” at the concert’s close.

Mantler himself, normally a pungent soloist, meanders on “For Instance” and “When I Run,” setting up journeys without apparent destinations. Having said that, I lend an ear with wonder to the three “Slow Orchestra Pieces,” without which the album might fall apart. Their archival feel, coupled with center-stage moves from Rick Fenn on guitar and Don Preston on synthesizer, make them just worth the price of admission. So listen at least for them, but save your time for the vocal pieces in original form to get their full effect.

Carla Bley: Sextet (WATT/17)

| Tyran Grillo

WATT-17-front

Carla Bley
Sextet

Carla Bley organ
Hiram Bullock guitar
Larry Willis piano
Steve Swallow bass
Victor Lewis drums
Don Alias percussion
Recorded and mixed December 1986 and January 1987 by Doug Epstein at Grog Kill Studio, Willow, New York
Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound
Produced by Carla Bley and Steve Swallow
Release date: March 1, 1987

Still steaming from the Night-Glo session that preceded it, Bley might be forgiven for the double entendre of the nearly-as-sensual Sextet. Here she joins forces with new love Steve Swallow in a band of extended family that includes Hiram Bullock on guitar, Larry Willis on piano, Victor Lewis on drums, and Don Alias on percussion. Swallow and Bley are the focal point, essentially a duo whose not-so-hidden thoughts are spun outward by the other musicians.

“More Brahms” opens with smooth stylings all around. The soloing is choice, and Willis’s 98.6-degree comping adds to the brink-of-twilight vibe. Bullock counters with the slow rock infusions of “Houses And People,” for which the rhythm section changes gears as vines and waterfalls go by in a pleasant blur toward a sparkling ending. In “The Girl Who Cried Champagne,” among the bandleader’s most memorable compositions, Willis shuttles a Latin loom as Bley’s organ limns the horizon with pale fire beneath Bullock’s liquid metal sky. From the tropical to the urban, the scenery undergoes a dramatic costume change in “Brooklyn Bridge.” Riding a wave of progressive density, Alias’s detailing accents the passage of time in a tune that might otherwise seem timeless. By the time we run our fingers across the carefully manicured “Lawns,” we find ourselves knee-deep in hope. Every note of Swallow’s lyrical solo plucks a weed from our path. All of which fortifies the final “Healing Power,” a gut punch of love that hits us where it counts.

Without an ounce of the vibrant and ear-changing challenges posed by so many of her previous recordings, this one nevertheless charms with a breeziness that could only be born of the confident left turns taken to get to this two-lane highway.