Recorded in 1987, Sextet belongs with Heavy Heart and Night-Glo as a radical departure for Bley from her big bands' frequent high-art mix of satire and experimentation. Here, she's emphasizing relaxed grooves, almost straight-ahead melodies, and a lush carpet of electronic sounds. If Erik Satie has always been a key inspiration for Bley, this is her equivalent to his "furniture music," intended as functional, comfortable, and lightly entertaining. It's all of that, with Bley's Hammond B-3 creating warm grooves in a polished band of Hiram Bullock on guitar, Larry Willis on piano, Victor Lewis on drums, Don Alias on percussion, and Steve Swallow on bass. The slow "Lawns" has beautiful piano playing from Willis, while "Healing Power" is restrained, deeply felt gospel. This may aspire to be background music, but it has some surprising depths that take time to reveal themselves. --Stuart Broomer
Sextet,Carla Bley,Ecm Records,Jazz,Jazz Music,Pop
Jazz Music:
- Side by Side
- Sonny Rollins/Thad Jones
- Spirits Beckon You
- Sustaining Remote Broadcasts, Vols. 1-2 [Live]
- Swinging on the Teagarden Gate
- Talk to Me
- The Best of Glenn Miller
- The Best of Jazz Greats
- The Best of Ronnie Laws
- The Buck Clayton Legacy: Encore Live [Live]
Jazz Music
Grieg & Chopin: Piano Concertos
Music: Britten: Death in Venice
Blackmore's Castle: A Tribute to Deep Purplr & Rainbow, Vol. 2
Her First Roman (1993 Studio Cast) [Cast Recording] [Cast Recording]
Grieg: Piano Concerto; Peer Gynt Suites Nos. 1 & 2
Irving Fine Celebration - Great Performances from the Library of Congress, Volume 16