With her exuberant big band and free jazz music, the American composer and pianist Carla Bley found a connection with both a rock and jazz audience. Her best-known work, the jazz opera (1972), is a more than two-hour extravaganza on which almost the entire avant-garde of that time participated: from to . Bley has now passed the age of 80 and profiles herself as a pianist with her own trio. A
… prominent role is also reserved for her partner and electric bassist Steve Swallow. Supplemented by the younger British saxophonist Andy Sheppard, Life Goes On is their third piano trio album for the . The music exudes calm and cheerfulness from the moment they open with the blues scheme of the title track. Here you will hear three refined and flawlessly attuned musicians who mainly have fun and improvise fearlessly within Bley's compositions. (MR)more
