Profile via TMDB · Courtesy of TMDB
Carla Bley
Sign in to saveAmerican jazz composer, pianist, organist and bandleader (1936–2023)
OverviewAI-generated
Carla Bley, born Lovella May Borg in Oakland, was an American composer, conductor, record producer, and recording artist. Her career in jazz spanned from 1960 to 2023. She played the Hammond organ and piano, working within genres that included avant-garde jazz, free jazz, post-bop, and jazz and blues. Bley recorded for ECM Records and was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
She received the Guggenheim Fellowship and the NEA Jazz Masters award. Bley was married to Paul Bley, Michael Mantler, and Steve Swallow, and had a child named Karen Mantler. She spoke English and passed away in 2023.
Synthesized by Vinony from 34 facts across 5 sources: Wikidata, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Vinony collections. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Film & TV
Oakland, California, USA
Carla Bley (born Lovella May Borg; May 11, 1936 – October 17, 2023) was an American jazz composer, pianist, organist, and bandleader. An important figure in the free jazz movement of the 1960s, she gained acclaim for her jazz opera Escalator over the Hill (released as a triple LP set), as well as a book of compositions that have been performed by many other artists, including Gary Burton, Jimmy…
Known for
- Motian in Motion — Self2020
- Escalator Over the Hill — Self1999
- Bill's Hat1967
- Carla Bley Band - Koln 1980 — Self
via TMDB
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Female
- Origin
- United States
- Active from
- 1936
- Active to
- 2023
Discography
- Jazz Realities1966
- Escalator Over the Hill1971
- Tropic Appetites1974
- Dinner Music1977
- Social Studies1981
- Live!1982
- Mortelle randonnée1983
- Heavy Heart1984
- Night-glo1985
- Sextet1987
Member of
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 62,632
- Total plays
- 623,995
Tags
Carla Bley (born Lovella May Borg; May 11, 1936 – October 17, 2023) was an American jazz composer, pianist, organist, and bandleader. An important figure in the free jazz movement of the 1960s, she is perhaps best known for her jazz opera Escalator Over The Hill (released as a triple LP set), as well as a book of compositions that have been performed by many other artists, including Gary Burton, Jimmy Giuffre, George Russell, Art Farmer and her ex-husband Paul Bley. <a href="https://www.last.fm/
Key facts
- Born
- Lovella May Borg , ( 1936-05-11 ) May 11, 1936 , Oakland, California , U.S.
- Died
- October 17, 2023 (2023-10-17) (aged 87), Willow, New York , U.S.
- Genres
- Jazz
- Occupations
- Musician, bandleader, composer
- Instruments
- Piano, organ
- Years active
- 1960–2020
- Labels
- WATT , ECM , Universal
- Formerly of
- Michael Mantler , Steve Swallow , Paul Bley , Nick Mason , Johnny Griffin , Gary Burton , Jimmy Giuffre , George Russell , Art Farmer , Liberation Music Orchestra , Jack Bruce , Charlie Haden , Jazz Composer's Orchestra , Paul Haines
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Carla
- Gender
- female
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Oakland
- Spouse
- Steve Swallow
- Child
- Karen Mantler
- Occupation
- pianist
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Genre
- jazz
- Instrument
- piano
- Record label
- ECM Records
- Official website
- www.wattxtrawatt.com
- Image
- Carla Bley 05N8727.jpg
Show 9 more facts
- Commons category
- Carla Bley
- date of birth
- 1936-05-11
- start of work period
- 1960-00-00
- birth name
- Lovella May Borg
- married name
- Carla Bley
- name in native language
- Carla Bley
- date of death
- 2023-10-17
- end of work period
- 2023-00-00
- manner of death
- natural causes
Sources (10)
via Wikidata · CC0
~5 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Carla Bley (born Lovella May Borg; May 11, 1936 – October 17, 2023) was an American jazz composer, pianist, organist, and bandleader. An important figure in the free jazz movement of the 1960s, she gained acclaim for her jazz opera Escalator over the Hill (released as a triple LP set), as well as a book of compositions that have been performed by many other artists, including Gary Burton, Jimmy Giuffre, George Russell, Art Farmer, Robert Wyatt, John Scofield, and her ex-husband Paul Bley. She was a pioneer in the development of independent artist-owned record labels, and recorded over two dozen albums between 1966 and 2019.
Early life
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Carla Bley” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.