The Carla Bley Band - Musique Mecanique (1979)

Note: this release was received as a gift as an LP, later replaced by a CD.

German Import

This music is hard to describe. Avant garde big band fusion meets melodic free jazz, maybe? It's got some improv, but the adventurous, often humorous themes are well-structured. At the very least, it's challenging music. The unique instrumentation adds to the odd effect: brass quartet, woodwinds, piano, bass (electric and acoustic), guitars, electric pump organ, walkie-talkie, glockenspiel, and Bley herself on organ and toy piano. This is the sort of music you'd hear on a late night show on public radio.

Reviews/ratings:

• Walrus!: "This is fine modern, improvisational chamber music."
• DownBeat (★★★½): "fascinating but bizarre"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks:  The lead track, 440, is a playful take on the standard tuning note A440. It's the most accessible piece on the album and I like it, especially when it kicks into high gear with some scorching sax solos. The hit-or-miss second track, Jesus Maria And Other Spanish Strains, is a pastiche of all genres things Spanish, including norteño and toreador; with a lots of drunken-sounding trombone throughout, some sections are better than others. What was side B (tracks 3-5 on CD) is a suite of 3 pieces comprising Musique Mecanique. That's when things get bizarre. Not surprisingly, I mainly listened to side one of the LP.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: (shared with Jamaaladeen Tacuma - Show Stopper ) When I was a senior in high school, Craig, a family friend, upon hearing that I wanted to study music in college, sent me two LPs: this one and Show Stopper by Jamaaladeen Tacuma. These albums were accompanied by a hand-written note telling me that I should listen to as many different kinds of music as possible (he was right, of course). Being a typical high school senior, I thought I was already an expert on everything, so I didn't know what these odd albums could possibly offer me. After all, I was already listening to all kinds of music, wasn't I? I had a subscription to Rolling Stone, didn't I? Talk about naïve. I wasn't quite ready for this stuff then, but I always looked up to Craig, so I never gave up on these albums and, years later, finally understood why he gave them to me.