Four Classic Albums (Introducing / Paul Bley / Solemn Meditation / 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.