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Carla Bley

ECM At Big Ears: A Boundless Label Meets A Broadminded Festival

Carla Bley Trio Eli Johnson/Courtesy of Big Ears Festival hide caption

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Eli Johnson/Courtesy of Big Ears Festival

Jazz Night In America

ECM At Big Ears: A Boundless Label Meets A Broadminded Festival

Jazz at Lincoln Center

We head to the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville for the 50th anniversary of ECM Records. Hear three riveting performances by Carla Bley, Avishai Cohen and Nik Bärtsch's Ronin.

ECM At Big Ears: A Boundless Label Meets A Broadminded Festival

Carla Bley And Steve Swallow On Piano Jazz

Carla Bley. Klaus Muempfer/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Klaus Muempfer/Courtesy of the artist

Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz

Carla Bley And Steve Swallow On Piano Jazz

Bley and Swallow join host Marian McPartland for trio renditions of Carla Bley originals.

Carla Bley And Steve Swallow In The Studio

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At 80, Carla Bley Keeps Looking Toward The Next Composition

Carla Bley with her trio, bassist Steve Swallow and saxophonist Andy Sheppard. Caterina di Perri/ECM Records hide caption

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Caterina di Perri/ECM Records

Music News

At 80, Carla Bley Keeps Looking Toward The Next Composition

The pianist and composer, a force on the jazz scene for 50 years, celebrated her 80th birthday with a gala concert and new album — and she has another album on the way.

At 80, Carla Bley Keeps Looking Toward The Next Composition

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Contractual Obligation: Pseudonyms In Jazz

The only known photo of Buckshot La Funke. Photo Illustration: Lars Gotrich; Photos: Hulton Archive/Getty Images, iStock. hide caption

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Photo Illustration: Lars Gotrich; Photos: Hulton Archive/Getty Images, iStock.

Take Five: A Jazz Sampler

Contractual Obligation: Pseudonyms In Jazz

WBGO

When "Buckshot La Funke" appeared on a Louis Smith record, you may not have known it was actually Cannonball Adderley. Record contracts of yesteryear (and some today) buried exclusivity clauses in the fine print. But musicians have to eat, so they would record under other names, like the five included here.

A Traditional Jazz Christmas, An Unlikely Source

Carla Bley stopped celebrating Christmas, but has tended a folder of favorite holiday music scores for many years. Klaus Muempher hide caption

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Klaus Muempher

Music Interviews

A Traditional Jazz Christmas, An Unlikely Source

The jazz composer Carla Bley doesn't celebrate Christmas, and left the church behind as a teenager. But you wouldn't know it from her new album, which sets her favorite Christmas carols — traditional and original — to her edgy writing style.

A Traditional Jazz Christmas, An Unlikely Source

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Holiday Cheer With A Jazz Twist

Carla's Christmas Carols, by Carla Bley, is sometimes sweetly and majestically unironic. The odd bits give it a sense of mystery that suits the holy day, but is rare in Christmas music. courtesy of the artist hide caption

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courtesy of the artist

Review

Music Reviews

Holiday Cheer With A Jazz Twist

Fresh Air

Two kinds of people consume Christmas music: those who actually like the stuff, and folks who need something listenable on hand in case seasonal visitors insist on some ornamental mood music. For both groups, two new jazz brass albums should do the trick. Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews.

Holiday Cheer With A Jazz Twist

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