European Tour 1977 [Original recording reissued, Import]

Carla Bley | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 25, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Import
• Label: Ecm Import
• ASIN: B000026FK8
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #289,655 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Recorded in a Berlin studio, this CD commemorates Carla Bley's first regular working band, a 10-piece group that could move with ease from rich chords and brassy splendor to pointed satire. It mixes New York jazz veterans--such as trombonist Roswell Rudd and drummer Andrew Cyrille--with rocker Terry Adams from NRBQ on piano, Soft Machine members Hugh Hopper on bass and Elton Dean on alto, and the soul of the band, British tenor player Gary Windo. "Rose and Sad Song" reveals Bley's development of a distinctive harmonic language in the traditional big-band idiom, while "Wrong Key Donkey" develops turbulence with layered rhythms. The final, 19-minute "Star Spangled Minor..." is a collage of national anthems transposed into minor keys and mixed with many of Bley's earlier compositions. "King Korn," "Ida Lupino," and "The New National Anthem" collide with funhouse-mirror versions of Deutschland über Alles and La Marseillaise, along with some manic free-jazz soloing, all ending with "The Colonel Bogey March." --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars if Charles Ives had been born 75 years later..., January 21, 2001

By 

m_noland "m_noland" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: European Tour 1977 (Audio CD)

he might have written something like "Spangled Banner Minor and Other Patriotic Songs" which... plunders not only "The Star Spangled Banner," but "Deutschland Uber Alles," "La Marseillaise," and the "Colonel Bogey March" as well (hey, this was a _European_ tour). This disk is dated in a pleasant sort of way: some of the soloing is pretty "out there" and due to the economics, it is hard to imagine anyone touring today with a band like this one, consisting of ten musicians each formidable soloists in their own right. Bley's writing and arranging are strong. The 19 minute "Spangled Banner Minor..." is the standout cut.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Album, May 6, 2011

By 

JC (MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: European Tour 1977 (Audio CD)

This is a genre bending classic. What a band (10 greats who can all lead and all solo). The compositions are very effective : plenty of room for the players to play while developing a defined framework and direction. Definitely some of the best I've heard from her, but there are many I haven't heard yet.

The first side smokes. The second side is a bit more whimsical as she often seems to be, though they get very free after the main set of themes. (It was of course an LP first).

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars jiggity jaggety, August 9, 2000

By 

fred udrah "udrah" (south california) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: European Tour 1977 (Audio CD)

Lush & dense spiky highbrow cocktail music.... intimate semi-big band which at times sounds like a fantasy of charles ives, frank zappa, & charles mingus, all playing together in one room.. Even tho the year is 1977, there are elements that are a precursor to what later became known as "world music". Every member of the troop plays acutely. Great Fun.