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Paul Bley

Paul Bley (1932 to 2016) was a Canadian pianist and one of the quiet revolutionaries of jazz. Born in Montreal, he ran a New York club in the 1950s that hired the young Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry, and his own trios with Charlie Haden, Paul Motian, Gary Peacock and Barry Altschul redefined how the jazz piano trio could breathe, with space, freedom and a singing touch. He was among the first to play the Moog and ARP synthesizers live, on Bley-Peacock Synthesizer Show, and later founded the pioneering video label Improvising Artists.

Paul Bley (1932 to 2016) was a Canadian pianist and one of the quiet revolutionaries of jazz. Born in Montreal, he ran a New York club in the 1950s that hired the young Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry, and his own trios with Charlie Haden, Paul Motian, Gary Peacock and Barry Altschul redefined how the jazz piano trio could breathe, with space, freedom and a singing touch. He was among the first to play the Moog and ARP synthesizers live, on Bley-Peacock Synthesizer Show, and later founded the pioneering video label Improvising Artists.

Jimmy Giuffre 3, 1961
The Jimmy Giuffre 3 (Giuffre, clarinet; Paul Bley, piano; Steve Swallow, double bass): the 1961 Verve albums Fusion and Thesis, recorded in New York in March and August 1961, plus unissued pieces, remixed by ECM in 1990.
Ballads
Paul Bley's 1971 ECM album of three Annette Peacock compositions, recorded by two piano trios in New York in March and July 1967, with Barry Altschul on drums and Gary Peacock or Mark Levinson on bass.
Play Blue - Oslo Concert
Solo piano concert by Paul Bley, four of his own compositions and Sonny Rollins's Pent-Up House as encore. Recorded live in August 2008 at Kulturkirken Jakob during the Oslo Jazz Festival by Jan Erik Kongshaug; produced by Manfred Eicher.
Time Will Tell
Free improvisations by Paul Bley (piano), Evan Parker (tenor and soprano saxophones) and Barre Phillips (double bass), the first recorded Bley/Parker meeting. Recorded January 1994 at Rainbow Studio, Oslo, produced by Steve Lake. ECM 1537, 1995.
In The Evenings Out There
Free improvisation session by Paul Bley (piano), Gary Peacock (bass), Tony Oxley (drums) and John Surman (baritone saxophone, bass clarinet), recorded September 1991 at Rainbow Studio, Oslo, produced by Manfred Eicher. ECM 1488, released 1993.
Adventure Playground
Quartet album led by John Surman (baritone and soprano saxophones, bass clarinet) with Paul Bley (piano), Gary Peacock (bass) and Tony Oxley (drums), recorded in September 1991 at Rainbow Studio, Oslo, produced by Manfred Eicher. ECM 1463, 1992.
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