Paul Bley Trio - Paul Plays Carla (1992)

Most of Carla Bley's earliest compositions were first recorded by her then-husband, pianist Paul Bley, during the first half of the 1960s. For this 1991 trio date with bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Jeff Williams, Bley revisits ten of his former wife's songs, most of which date from the early era. While "Ida Lupino" has been explored in more definitive fashion by Bley elsewhere, his versions of such songs as "Vashkar," "Seven," "Turns" and "Ictus" work quite well. The music falls somewhere between advanced bop and the avant-garde, often swinging but with surprising turns and twists and often-unusual chord sequences. An intriguing set. ~by Scott Yanow