PAUL BLEY TRIO Closer LP

When Oscar Peterson moved from Montreal to New York in 1949, then-17-year-old Bley took over Peterson's residency at the
Alberta Lounge on Oscar's recommendation; in his twenties, Bley played with Charlie Parker. Bley incorporated maverick
pianist Lennie Tristano's approach to improvisation and collaborated with Charles Mingus, and in 1958 in Los Angeles
famously put together a band with Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, and Billy Higgins. His move into free
improvisation in the groundbreaking Jimmy Giuffre 3 brought him acclaim. After moving to New York, he was one of the
performers at the Cellar Café in Bill Dixon's "October Revolution in Jazz" four-day festival, which led to Bley being one of the
co-founders shortly thereafter of the Jazz Composers Guild. It was in the midst of that fabled month that Bley recorded his
first LP for ESP-Disk' (sixth overall to that point), Barrage. Bley returned to the studio for his second ESP-Disk' LP a bit less than
two months later. Closer finds Bley again heavily featuring then-wife Carla's compositions; she's credited on seven of the ten
tracks, including two also heard on Barrage, "Batterie" and "And Now the Queen." They sound quite different on this quieter
trio date, and the performances are more concise (no track tops the 3:30 mark). Paul included one of his own tunes, "Figfoot,"
as well as Ornette Coleman's "Crossroads" and future wife Annette Peacock's "Cartoon." Closer features the distinctive
pianism we've come to associate with Bley in one of its earliest recorded manifestations. The other players are fellow Jimmy
Giuffre 3 member Swallow and, in his recording debut, Altschul.


"The interplay between these three is startling in how tightly woven they are melodically and harmonically." – Thom Jurek, All
Music Guide

"In the final analysis, however, it is his vision that propels the music forward. He fills it with vigor and dynamism, with space
and lyricism; nothing is out of focus, every challenge is within his grasp. His eloquence is shaped by his ability to balance
silence with sound, as well as his penchant for, and skill with, unusual phrasing." – Jerry D'Souza, All About Jazz

"...a wonderful, poetic anomaly. In an era where velocity and raw story-telling were required currency, Closer had a lyrical,
Haiku-like simplicity — recalling the Japanese poet Basho’s line 'something like a hidden glimmering.' […] In Bley’s hands the
freedom of jazz manifests itself in the negotiating of borders and edges, between skittering, conversational interplay, serene
space and the heart-strained melodic intimacy on the part of his bandmates " – Matt Fleeger, The New Thing, KMHD-FM

 

Side A
1. Ida Lupino 2:55
2. Start 2:21
3. Closer 3:28
4. Sideways in Mexico 2:56
5. Batterie 3:17
Side B
1. And Now the Queen 2:17
2. Figfoot 3:23
3. Crossroads 2:31
4. Violin 2:57
5. Cartoon 2:16