PAUL BLEY - Four Classic Albums (2 CDs)

AVID Jazz continues with its Four Classic album series with a re-mastered 2CD release by Paul Bley, complete with original artwork and liner notes.
“Introducing”; “Paul Bley”; “Solemn Meditation”” and Jimmy Giuffre 3-”Fusion”.
Quite some career this Canadian pianist had! Starting in the early 1950’s, he founded the Jazz Workshop in Montreal where he played piano and recorded with Charlie Parker. At around the same time he was also playing with other great be-boppers, Lester Young and Ben Webster. By 1953 Bley was working with bassist Charles Mingus who would go on to produce his debut album “Introducing Paul Bley”. By the late 1950’s Bley’s career took a major turn when he hired Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins to play some club dates with him. His entry into the free jazz world had begun. This led to his joining the Jimmy Giuffre 3 for the “Fusion” album in the early 60’s, where alongside Steve Swallow on bass his music turned towards free and chamber jazz. Here our musical journey ends but Bley was to go on in the sixties experimenting with the moog synthesiser, collaborating with many musicians including Cecil Taylor, Sonny Rollins, Archie Shepp and Sun Ra as well as with two more wives, singer, Annette Peacock and visual artist Carol Goss. Paul Bley died this year, 2016, on January 5th aged 83.

CD1
1-6: ‘Introducing’
1. Opus 1
2. Teapot
3. Like Someone In Love
4. Spontaneous Combustion
5. Split Kick
6. Can’t Get Started
7-18: ‘Paul Bley’
7. Topsy
8. My Heart
9. That Old Feeling
10. There’ll Never Be Another You
11. Autumn Breeze
12. I Want To Be Happy
13. My Old Flame
14. Time On My Hands
15. Drum One
16. This Can’t Be Love
17. My One And Only (What Am I Gonna Do)
18. 52nd Street Theme

CD2
1-9: ‘Solemn Meditation’
1. Birk’s Work
2. O Plus One
3. Porgy
4. Solemn Meditation
5. I Remember Harlem
6. Drum Two
7. Everywhere
8. Beau Didley
9. Persian Village
10-18: ‘Fusion’
10. Scootin’ About
11. Jesus Maria
12. Emphasis
13. In The Mornings Out There
14. Cry, Want
15. Trudgin’
16. Used To Be
17. Brief Hesitation
18. Venture