Paul Bley, jazz giant, dies at the age of 83

Paul BleyPaul Bley, the giant of free jazz, has died January 3rd, at the age of 83, according to a statement by his daughter:

"Dear Friends,

I'm deeply saddened to tell you that my father passed yesterday. Below is our official statement. He was at home and very comfortable with family at his side.

Thank you,

Vanessa Bley"

The Canadian pianist was astonishingly prolific, having recorded well over a hundred records down the years. He was also extremely eclectic, his music ranging from free jazz and ballads to electronic settings and works for larger groups. Consistently he has produced vivid, vital jazz couched in an advanced and challenging idiom. Born in Montreal in 1932 where in the 1950s he founded the Jazz Workshop in Montreal, he later moved to New York City, played in hard bop combos and then crossed coasts to California, where he was nominal leader on one of Ornette Coleman's most documented live dates. Bley then began to develop his own distinctive style, built on unexpected harmonic shifts, a steady but subtly varied pulse and powerful melodic statements. Throughout his long recording and performing career he co-operated with a stellar group of jazz musicians including: Charles Mingus, Art Blakey, Percy Heath, Dave Pike, Charlie Haden, Lennie McBrowne, Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Billy Higgins, Steve Swallow, Dewey Johnson, Marshall Allen, Eddie Gómez, Milford Graves, Barry Altschul, Gary Peacock, Paul Motian, Dave Holland, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, Jimmy Giuffre, Lee Konitz, John Scofield, John Surman, Bill Frisell, Ron McClure, John Abercrombie, Red Mitchell, Michal Urbaniak, Tony Oxley, Evan Parker, Barre Phillips, Don Ellis, Sonny Rollins, Marion Brown, his once wife Carla Bley and many more.

A very strong 'voice' in modern music has moved on to the realm of immortality.






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