CD ECM Records Carla Bley, Andy Sheppard, Steve Swallow: Trios

Carla Bley - pian
Andy Sheppard - saxofoane
Steve Swallow - bas

Carla Bley, Andy Sheppard and Steve Swallow revisit classic Bley compositions in an exceptional album recorded in Lugano last year by Manfred Eicher. Included here are spirited new versions of “Utviklingssang” and “Vashkar”, and the suites “Les Trois Lagons”, “Wildlife” and “The Girl Who Cried Champagne”. Carla’s robust tunes are vividly conveyed, all members solo compellingly, and the trio has never sounded better. “Trios” is one of the outstanding jazz albums of the season and marks the first time that a new Carla Bley album has appeared on ECM itself (rather than the ECM-distributed WATT label, which has been her primary platform for 40 years).

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Giving herself fully to the direction of producer Manfred Eicher for – somewhat unbelievably – her ECM debut as a leader, Bley repurposes some works for trio, while others are heard in unusual context. Regardless of the approach, the result allows light to illuminate unfamilar curves and crevices in these well-worn pieces.
James Hale, Downbeat

This record, her first for ECM, is a retrospective take on pieces written for different formats re-imagined for her trio of 20 years standing. With producer Manfred Eicher at the studio controls, it’s a match made in chamber jazz heaven. Eicher chose the tunes and his influence is there from the opener ‘Utviklingssang’.
Gary Booth, BBC Music Magazine

Surely the trio’s empathy and depth of expression has never been better captured. With Bley’s beautifully clear-minded compositions and undimmed pianism, Swallow’s effortless shifts from accompanist to melodist, and Sheppard’s saxophone as communicative as a human voice, this is flawless music.
Steve Harris, Hi-Fi News

Bley can be an engaging soloist whether she is on acoustic piano or organ. And an album as intimate as ‘Trios’, thankfully, lends itself to a lot of soloing on Bley’s part. She doesn’t play any organ on this album, sticking to the acoustic piano instead. And she is compelling on that instrument, taking a very introspective approach on these songs from the past. Bley hasn’t lost anything along the way. And on ‘Trios’, it is evident that she is still very much on top of her game.
Alex Henderson, Jazz Inside Magazine

Carla Bley’s trio of piano, sax and bass guitar fits her agile, gently melancholic and slightly self-mocking idiom to a T. She’s so confident in her own composing powers she can make a blatant nod towards Rael’s ‘Bolero’ in ‘Vashkar’, and Monk’s pungent seventh chords in ‘Les Trios Lagons’, knowing these will be subsumed into something entirely personal. ‘The Girl Who Cried Champagne’ also shows a nice line in surprise endings. An endearing blend of sophistication and whimsy.
Ivan Hewett, Daily Telegraph

‘Trios’ adheres to Bley’s vision in that the ideals frame the structures, offering opportunities for her ongtime collaborators, particularly tenor and soprano saxophonist Andy Sheppard, to shine. Bley’s plaing is beautifully evocative, and her interaction with bassist Steve swallow is effortless almost to the point of translucence. [...] The spiritual awareness that underlies much of Bley’s craft is always at hand as the trio explores these strange, haunting melodies with quiet awe.
John Swenson, Stereophile