It's a nuanced game Bley and her trio have been playing for over 20 years, and one that never fails to uncover unexpected musical delights. The album's closing work, "Copycat," is more off-the-cuff as Bley sets up a lively thematic statement that Swallow and Sheppard then repeat in a jaunty, birdlike game of group improvisation. The third movement in the piece, "And On," is played with dusky resonance by Sheppard and brings to mind a reworked take on John Coltrane's "Giant Steps." Similarly, the final movement, "And Then One Day," also draws upon the modern jazz tradition, evoking the rolling, minor-key atmosphere of the standard "On Green Dolphin Street." From there, they delve into the three-part "Beautiful Telephones," a spare, woozy piece that finds the trio draping each other in long noirish lines. That is followed in the series by "On," a languid Thelonious Monk-esque piece built around a steadily descending chordal pattern. The first work and title track, "Life Goes On," is a laconic, friendly blues that Bley sets up for Swallow and Sheppard to then join in with a playful call-and-response interplay. The album consists of three multi-part works that serve as loosely connected thematic ideas. Where Andando el Tiempo was a deeply poetic, classical-leaning recording, Life Goes On is more casual in tone. Produced by ECM's Manfred Eicher, the record arrives four years after the equally compelling Andando el Tiempo and finds Bley and her cohorts in a relaxed mood. Hafez Modirzadeh - Bemsha Allegria (self-published.The fourth recording from pianist Carla Bley's long-running trio with saxophonist Andy Sheppard and bassist/partner Steve Swallow, 2020's Life Goes On, is an intimate and lyrical album built solidly around the group's deep musical connection.Clarinet duos - two CDs to put on your search-list!.Anthony Ortega - Afternoon in Paris (HatHut, 2007).Dhafer Youssef & Wolfgang Muthspiel - Glow (Mater.The George Burt/Raymond MacDonald Quintet - Hotel.Short phrased utterances from the sax, piano chords, bass. Paul Motian Trio 2000 + Two - Live At The Village. The music slows down, driven by Swallows ever slowing bass notes and Bleys slowly vanishing piano.Satoko Fujii Min-Yoh Ensemble - Fujin Raijin (Vict.Dennis Gonzalez - Dance of the Soothsayer’s Tongue.Carla Bley - The Lost Chords Find Paolo Fresu (Wat.Fat Kid Wednesdays - The Art Of Cherry (Hope Stree.Herb Robertson NY Allstars - Real Aberration (Clea.Michael Blake - Amor de Cosmos (Songlines, 2007) ***½.Tin/Bag - And Begin Again (Evander Music, 2007) ****.Terje Isungset - Two Moons (All Ice, 2007) ****.Trio M - Big Picture (Cryptogramophone, 2007) ****.The Nu Band - The Dope And The Ghost (Not Two, 200.Satoko Fujii & Carla Kihlstedt - Minamo (Hencefort.Helena Espvall - Nimis & Arx (Pax Recordings, 2006.Anthony Braxton Trio - (Glasgow) 2005 (Leo Records.But it is great jazz by great musicians, for the late hours in smoky lonely bars, when the last customers have left, and you sit there smoking your cigar with a good glass of scotch in your hands, contemplating life and the remote possibility of a slow last dance. But then what? Is this what it all comes down to in the end? Gone are the creativity, the suprise, the compositional inventiveness, the freshness. Gone are the madness and the unorthodox tunes, what remains is introspective, melancholy downtempo, bluesy evening jazz, all perfectly executed, heartwarming, smooth to the ear and soothing to the soul. And this quartet has now "found" Italian trumpeter Paolo Fresu, for this beautifully crafted record. You add Bill Drummond on drums and you have the Lost Chord quartet. Why not? Carla Bley has always been one of my favorite composers, and next to the unparalleled Escalator Over The Hill, I've always liked her "Songs With Legs" trio best, with Steve Swallow on bass and Andy Sheppard on sax, an album of pure musical joy.
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