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Carla Bley: Escalator Over The Hill
Bley in many ways can be seen as one of the few great jazz composers of the post bop era. The pianist is often regarded more for her work as a composer than for her chops. For an early example, on her then-husband
Paul Bley
piano1932 - 2016
Gary Burton
vibraphoneb.1943
Charlie Haden
bass, acoustic1937 - 2014
Escalator Over the Hill is a huge, expansive, and all-encircling work that was originally released on a three-LP set. Even today, that seems a bit extreme for a debut release, but it's even more remarkable given that jazz at the time was experiencing a severe decline in popularity. But what is even more interesting is that the record works on the premise of being a conceptual opus. Though it has often been described as a jazz opera, that description fails on many levels. An opera, no matter how abstract, tells some sort of a story. Nowhere on this set are there any lyrics written by Paul Haines that really suggest a cohesive narrative.
The work by Haines, who is classified as a "jazz poet, consists of equal parts rambling beat poetry and interesting yet nonsensical lyrics that work more in the context of Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica than inside a unified story structure. Yet his bits are interesting and reflect the "far out surrealism and dadaism that was a big part of this period. Although the lyrics are bit crazy, they appeal the free chaos of the record and even flesh out the overall ideas projected on the album. The album does work as a concept record, much in the same way as the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the Mothers of Invention's Freak Out!, or Ornette Coleman's orchestral masterpiece Skies of America. Working from track to track with bits of poetry and vocals, the record comes alive in a variety of ways.
Throughout the record Bley's piano works in the background and allows her skills as a composer come to the forefront. As well, she shows a determination to work from traditional elements to all other extremes of music. Her combinations, ranging from bop to Kurt Weill's pre-WWII cabaret music to the sort of pure, raw aggression that could easily fit onto an early
Anthony Braxton
woodwindsb.1945
Much like discs by the aforementioned
Frank Zappa
guitar, electric1940 - 1993
Not to say that this set does not work. This opus is truly one of the most unique recordings that has ever graced modern music. Due to Bley's unrelenting fearlessness in surrounding her compositions with influences from around the world, this results are all the richer. Interestingly enough, the record features vocals from a young Linda Ronstadt on "Why," some clarion trumpet from
Don Cherry
trumpet1936 - 1995
John McLaughlin
guitarb.1942
Jack Bruce
bass, acoustic1943 - 2014
Paul Motian
drums1931 - 2011
Suggested Spins:
Carla Bley and Paul Haines, Tropic Appetites (ECM, 1973)Carla Bley, Social Studies (ECM, 1981)
Carla Bley, Fleur Carnivore (ECM, 1988)
Carla Bley Big Band, Carla Bley Big Band Goes to Church (ECM, 1996)
Paul Bley, Closer (ESP, 1965)
Gary Burton and Carla Bley, A Genuine Tong Funeral (RCA, 1967)
Ornette Coleman, Skies of America (Columbia, 1972)
Charlie Haden and Carla Bley, Liberation Music Orchestra (Impulse!, 1969)
Wynton Marsalis & the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Blood on the Fields (Columbia, 1997)
Archie Shepp, Attica Blues (Impulse!, 1972) ">
Track Listing
For tracks and personnel, go here.
Personnel
Carla Bley
pianoAlbum information
Title: Escalator Over The Hill | Year Released: 1998 | Record Label: WATT Works
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