Record Reviews

PAUL BLEY ~ BALLADS ECM 1010 (Barcode: 602567434788) ~ CANADA ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 1967 Released: 2019 This is a reissue of the iconic piano trio album by Canadian pianist / composer Paul BleyFind albums by this artist, recorded in March and July of 1967, with American drummer Barry AltschulFind albums by this artist and bassists Gary PeacockFind albums by this artist or Mark LevinsonFind albums by this artist. The album presents just three tracks, all composed by American vocalist / composer Annette PeacockFind albums by this artist, who was married first to Gary Peacock and later to Paul Bley, and who wrote much of his repertoire since 1964. Released originally in 1971, this was Bley’s second album for the then new ECMFind albums on this label Records label, and is often quoted as being one of the defining vectors of the “ECM sound”, which re-defined recorded Jazz in many aspects. The music, created at the very peak of the American Free Jazz movement (the second session took place just a few days following John ColtraneFind albums by this artist’s death), following Bley’s involvement with the American Avant-Garde scene since its inception in the late 1950s, reflects perfectly his and his musicians state of mind. The title was of course mostly ironic / sarcastic, as the music was indeed based on a loosely concept of a ballad, the classic structure of which was completely fragmented, broken down, stretched and improvised on. The beautiful melody lines, which Annette Peacock masterly weaved, and which last for under a minute each, are expanded into twelve or seventeen minutes long improvisations. No wonder many listeners and music critics alike had a hard time to accept these innovative concepts as valid or worth listening to, which of course was completely ignored by the musicians and the ECM team at the time. This is a symbol of why the first 100 albums released on ECM between 1970 and 1977 changed the face of recorded music in every possible perception. And yes, this is extremely difficult music to be enjoyed – it takes years of training one’s ears and of course one’s mind in order to relax the intellectual muscles trained by years of Swing and Bebop, in order to grasp what is really going on, why every note here is perfectly in its place and why this music will never be played in elevators. And no, not everybody has to love and enjoy this music. In fact, it would be a catastrophe if everybody did love it, as it would probably mean that the world has gone even crazier than it seems to be. Overall, this is an absolute classic Free Jazz / Improvised Music recording, which lost nothing of its power over time, and is still intellectually challenging and satisfying almost sixty years after it was recorded. It is a great reminder of the role of ECM Records as a pioneer of European Culture, which managed to transfer everything that was worthy over to the right side of the pond.

Updated: 11/08/2024Posted: 09/08/2024

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