Some classic Carla Bley this Friday and next, starting with "A dark opera without words... based on emotions towards death - from the most irreverent to those of deepest loss", as she described it. Written between 1964 and 1967, Bley expanded the work with sections specifically for vibraphone quartet when Gary Burton expressed an interest in it. Thus the final version came together as this enjoyably strange record, with members of the Jazz Composer's Orchestra supporting Burton's quartet.
With 15 tracks, several under a minute long, A Genuine Tong Funeral is a great insight into Bley's versatility as a composer as far back as the mid-60s. The dirge-like themes that might be expected for such a weighty concept are just as likely to be sitting alongside jaunty, upbeat passages, or the occasional full-on blast of free jazz skronk towards the end. Burton proves to be the ideal musician to front the project, giving its spindly complexity an accessible cool. ECM's Dreams So Real from the following decade might be the deserved classic of 'Burton Plays Bley', but this ambitious little oddity is just as worthy of recommendation in its own right.
pw: sgtg
Gary Burton plays Carla Bley at SGTG:
Gary Burton at SGTG:
Carla Bley at SGTG:
Thanks for the share.Gary Burton was my gateway drug into jazz back in the early 70's. These days he is not regular listening for me but I still respect his musicianship.That being said this is a fantastic album.Beyond category! The free for all that it concludes with is a letdown for me but still one of the best and under recognized recordings from that period.
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