Perspectives: Carla Bley, piano Steve Swallow, Andy Sheppard
At a glance
About this event
“One of jazz history’s most iconoclastic figures” The Times
Carla Bley piano
Steve Swallow double bass
Andy Sheppard saxophones
One of jazz’s leading composers /pianists over the last 50 years, Carla Bley makes her National Concert Hall debut. Awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 2016 on her 80th birthday, Bley’s trio with Steve Swallow and Andy Sheppard is performing with distilled, playful, and leisurely magic.
In the 1960s, Carla Bley made a name for herself as a jazz composer, penning tunes recorded by George Russell, Jimmy Giuffre, her ex-husband Paul Bley and others. But it was the release of her 1971 triple album Escalator Over the Hill that announced a startling unique voice to be reckoned with. Featuring three dozen musicians including Jack Bruce, Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, John McLaughlin, Paul Motian and Linda Ronstadt, the jazz-rock opera is an excellent introduction to Bley’s stylistic diversity and restless creativity.
The composer, pianist, organist and band leader has continued to produce a remarkable body of work across almost 30 albums, in small groups and as the leader of her big band, often with her husband, bassist Steve Swallow. Bley turned 80 in 2016, one year after being recognized as a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master.
“coolly ravishing new album”
The New York Times
“captivating and inconceivable in the hands of anyone else”
The Guardian
Presented by The National Concert Hall
Location
Earlsfort Terrace
Venue details
The National Concert Hall sits proudly on Earlsfort Terrace in Dublin’s city centre and is home to the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Choir Ireland, Irish Baroque Orchestra, Music Network and Music Generation. Next door to the picturesque Iveagh Gardens and in the heart of a commercial district known as the National Concert Hall Quarter, it hosts over 1000 events per annum. Its mission, to foster and celebrate the appreciation, knowledge, enjoyment and pure love of music as an integral part of Irish life.
