Paul Bley

[Late]

Whatever one thinks of the current Hat Hut catalog, these releases are indispensable:

[JSngry]

[clifford_thornton]

yeah, great music, though I am not super excited by the ezz-thetics PD action. 

[mhatta]

I'm hoping someday Mosaic will release “The Complete Paul Bley GNP/Savoy/ESP/BYG/Fontana/Polydor/IA/Limelight or whatever Recordings 1957-1970.” Not holding my breath, though. For now, I wish at least someone would properly release Fontana's ‘Blood’ and Limelight's “Mr. Joy.”

[clifford_thornton]

wow, I'm shocked to see that Mr. Joy has never been on CD. Strange!

Ballads/Virtuosi were supposed to be packaged as a double LP on ESP; obviously the sound and pressings on those individual albums from ECM and IAI are much better than anything we would have gotten from ESP, but it would still be cool to see what Bernard might have chosen for cover art. 

[JSngry]

3 hours ago, clifford_thornton said:

... it would still be cool to see what Bernard might have chosen for cover art. 

Hopefully not another pipe.

[Late]

3 hours ago, clifford_thornton said:

I'm shocked to see that Mr. Joy has never been on CD. Strange!

3/4 of it has seen a digital release.

 

Paul Bley Trios Play Annette Peacock

3/6        tracks from Ramblin’        (BYG)
5/10       tracks from Blood            (Fontana)
6/8        tracks from Mr. Joy          (Limelight)

[Peter Friedman]

I have 1 Paul Bley ablum on Savoy, 1 on Fresh Sound, and 5 on Steeplechase.

In truth, I am not much of a fan of his playing. There is a "coldness" and lack of swinging  on the majority of his albums.

With limited exceptions, Paul Bley's piano playing is not really my "cup of tea".

[clifford_thornton]

He kind of floats around the time, which is something I really gravitate towards. Maybe that's because my sense of rhythm is off; I was never really that good at keeping time during musical attempts in my youth. Seems like I don't have any of his Steeplechase albums filed, but all of the classic 1960s-70s dates are in the racks on vinyl as well as one on GNP, the Ornettes, the Debut on CD, and a smattering of later discs on ECM and Hat Hut.

[T.D.]

I haven't totally gotten into Bley yet, which is surprising. As Peter said, I do perceive a "coldness" in some recordings (Solo in Mondsee (ECM) and 12 (+6) In A Row (Hatology) come to mind), so I haven't collected that many. Ramblin'  is my favorite so far.

[JSngry]

I don't know that he "floats over" the time as much as he does play in it at different spots than most people find. The only way to do that is to have complete awareness of the time internally. Same thing with totality. He can slip in and out of it at will. At will.

His Steeplechase albums usually focus on standard repertoire and more traditional rhythm sections, so it might be easier to hear how that all plays out (no pun intended) there.

 

 

[clifford_thornton]

That is a very good assessment.

To me he seems both inside and apart from whatever situation he is occupying. Visually, I'd say he acts within positive and negative space simultaneously. It's definitely a unique approach.

[JSngry]

His autobiography...he wrote like he played...he says everything by keeping a lot unsaid. But there it is anyway 

 

[Chuck Nessa]

Back in the '70s and early '80s I'd encounter Paul at record label meets and musical events. He was a fascinating personality and musician. I miss him.

 

 

[JSngry]

Season's greetings!

[Holy Ghost]

Dig this dude so much, and have not had a chance to spin this CD since I bought it in Chicago last year.

Putting it on now. 

[mikeweil]

7 hours ago, JSngry said:

His autobiography

Dou you have a cover or link? I just can't find it.

[T.D.]

37 minutes ago, mikeweil said:

Dou you have a cover or link? I just can't find it.

I got this image from Amazon:

Long OOP. But I've read it and posted long ago somewhere:

As related in the book, Bley lived in Cherry Valley, NY, which is pretty much in the middle of nowhere (though maybe an hour's drive from Albany) but also not too far from me (under 2 hours drive).

I requested the book through interlibrary loan and got filled with the copy from the Cherry Valley Library! I wonder if Bley donated it to them.

I googled and found this mini-book with some Bley interviews:

Probably NLA, but I got the image from https://philipscalia.com/publications/

Edited 6 hours ago by T.D.

[mikeweil]

Thanks! Copies for sixty bucks and more ..... since I just ordered a book for the same price that I need for a book project I am researching for, this will have to wait.

[T.D.]

Barnes and Noble shows an e-book for US$14.99 

I find that hard to believe, but you could try to order and see what happens.

Even if available, I don't know offhand if you can read B&N "Nook" e-books without a special device.

[Added: If it's in stock, looks like you can create a B&N account and read it on a computer or phone: https://help.barnesandnoble.com/hc/en-us/articles/5398798012571-Buying-eBooks-and-Other-Digital-Content ]

Edited 5 hours ago by T.D.

[JSngry]

It's a quick read, actually. Again, Bley tells more by saying less...

[clifford_thornton]

The book is a very engaging and quick read. I haven't leafed through it in some time, but still have it on the shelf.

9 hours ago, Holy Ghost said:

Dig this dude so much, and have not had a chance to spin this CD since I bought it in Chicago last year.

Putting it on now. 

a classic! Have the LP in the racks (mine's a Dutch Fontana, as pictured, though I probably couldn't turn down the Danish Debut if I ran into it).

[Holy Ghost]

18 minutes ago, clifford_thornton said:

The book is a very engaging and quick read. I haven't leafed through it in some time, but still have it on the shelf.

a classic! Have the LP in the racks (mine's a Dutch Fontana, as pictured, though I probably couldn't turn down the Danish Debut if I ran into it).

Quick search, what does the Debut cover lool like?

[mikeweil]

19 minutes ago, Holy Ghost said:

Quick search, what does the Debut cover lool like?

[gvopedz]

2 hours ago, JSngry said:

It's a quick read, actually. Again, Bley tells more by saying less...

Something similar is in the book Time Will Tell: Conversations with Paul Bley, by Norman Meehan, Berkeley Hills Books, 2003

https://jazztimes.com/archives/conversations-with-paul-bley/