Paul Bley is a free jazz pianist born in Montreal, Canada in 1932 and long-time resident in the USA. His music characteristically features strong senses both of melodic voicing and space. Free jazz is a movement of jazz music developed in the 1950s and 1960s by artists such as Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, Cecil Taylor, Albert Ayler, Joe Harriott, Archie Shepp, Bill Dixon and Paul Bley. ... Cover from album by Bud Powell. ... Nickname: City of Mary (Ville-Marie) Motto: Concordia Salus (salvation through harmony) Coordinates: Country Canada Province Quebec Founded 1642 Established 1832 Government  - Mayor Gérald Tremblay Area [1] [2] [3]  - City 365. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ...

As well as being a distinctive and innovative musician himself, he has worked with a number of important musicians at key points.

In 1957, he played with Don Cherry and Ornette Coleman in California. 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Don Cherry (18 November 1936 - 19 October 1995) was an innovative jazz trumpeter probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. ... Ornette Coleman (born March 19, 1930) is an American saxophonist and composer. ... Official language(s) English Capital  Sacramento Largest city  Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ...

In the early 1960s he was part of the Jimmy Giuffre 3, a drummerless clarinet, piano and bass trio with bassist Steve Swallow. The quiet understatement of this music makes it possible to overlook its degree of innovation. As well as a repertoire introducing compositions by Carla Bley, the group's music moved towards free improvisation based on close empathy. James Peter Giuffre (born in Dallas, Texas, 1921) is an American jazz saxophone and clarinet player. ... Steve Swallow (b. ... Carla Bley, née Borg, (born May 11, 1936) is an American jazz composer, pianist, organist and band leader. ... Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the taste of the musicians involved, and not in any particular style. ...

In 1964 Bley was instrumental in the formation of the Jazz Composers Guild - a co-operative organisation which brought together many of the most radical musicians in New York. 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... NY redirects here. ...

Bley had long been interested in expanding the palette of his music using unconventional sounds (such as playing directly on the piano-strings). It was therefore consistent that he took an interest in new electronic possibilities appearing in the late 1960s. He pioneered the use of Moog synthesizers, performing with them before a live audience for the first time. The term Moog (pronounced /moʊg/ to rhyme with vogue, not /muːg/) synthesizer can refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for analog and digital music synthesisers. ...

This led into a period of the Bley-Peacock Synthesizer Show, a group where he worked with songwriter Annette Peacock on bass and vocals. Annette Peacock (née Coleman) (born 1941, Brooklyn, New York City, USA) is a female musician, pioneer of synth-pop and live performance of electronic music. ...

Subsequently Bley returned to a predominant focus on the piano itself.

During the 1970s, Bley, in partnership with videographer Carol Goss, was responsible for an important multi-media initiative, Improvising Artists Inc which issued important LPs and videos documenting the early group with Ornette Coleman, solo piano recordings by Sun Ra and other works of free jazz. Ornette Coleman (born March 19, 1930) is an American saxophonist and composer. ... Sun Ra (Born Herman Poole Blount; legal name Le Sonyr Ra [1]; born May 22, 1914 in Birmingham, Alabama, died May 30, 1993 in Birmingham, Alabama) was an innovative jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, who came to be known as much for his cosmic philosophy as for... Free jazz is a movement of jazz music developed in the 1950s and 1960s by artists such as Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, Cecil Taylor, Albert Ayler, Joe Harriott, Archie Shepp, Bill Dixon and Paul Bley. ...

Bley and Goss are credited in a Billboard Magazine cover story with the first "music video" as a result of the recorded and live performance collaborations they produced with jazz musicians and video artists. Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry. ... A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. ...

Bley was featured in the 1981 documentary film Imagine the Sound, in which he performs and discusses the history of his music. 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... Imagine the Sound is a 1981 Canadian documentary film about free jazz, directed by Ron Mann. ...

Bley was an important influence on Keith Jarrett. Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945 in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is an American pianist and composer. ...

Selected discography

• Coleman Classics (with Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, Billy Higgins), IAI, recorded 1958
• Barrage (with Marshall Allen, Dewey Johnson, Eddie Gomez, Milford Graves), ESP Disk, recorded 1964
• Touching (with Kent Carter, Barry Altschul), Debut, 1965
• Dual Unity (with Annette Peacock, Han Bennink, Mario Pavone, Laurence Cook), Freedom, recorded 1970
• With Gary Peacock, ECM, 1970
• Open, to Love (solo piano), ECM, 1972
• Paul Bley/NHØP (with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen), SteepleChase Records, 1973
• The Paul Bley Quartet (with John Surman, Bill Frisell and Paul Motian), ECM, recorded 1987
• Partners (with Gary Peacock), 1990
• Not two, not one (with Gary Peacock and Paul Motian), ECM, 1999
• Nothing to Declare (solo piano), 2004

Ornette Coleman (born March 19, 1930) is an American saxophonist and composer. ... Don Cherry (18 November 1936 - 19 October 1995) was an innovative jazz trumpeter probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. ... Charlie Haden, Pescara Italy 1990 Charles Edward Haden (born August 6, 1937) is a jazz double bassist, probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. ... Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936–May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. ... Marshall Allen (born 1924) is a free jazz alto saxophone player. ... Dewey William Johnson (March 14, 1899 – September 18, 1941) was a Representative from Minnesota; born in Minneapolis, Minnesota; he attended the public schools, the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis, and the YMCA Law School; engaged in the insurance business; member of the Minnesota House of Representatives 1929–1935; unsuccessful candidate... Eddie Gomez is a jazz bassist, born October 4, 1944 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. ... Milford Graves (born August 20, 1941) is a free jazz drummer who plays several different kinds of percussion of origins throughout the world. ... ESP-Disk is a New York-based label, owned and operated by Bernard Stollman. ... Barry Altschul is a magnificent drummer who gained fame in the late 60s with pianist Paul Bley and others playing in the outside style of jazz that had been evolving steadily since Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, and others broke ground. ... Annette Peacock (née Coleman) (born 1941, Brooklyn, New York City, USA) is a female musician, pioneer of synth-pop and live performance of electronic music. ... Han Bennink (born April 17, 1942) is a Dutch jazz drummer, clarinetist and percussionist. ... ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is a record label founded in Munich, Germany in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. ... ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is a record label founded in Munich, Germany in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. ... Paul Bley/NHØP is a jazz duet album by Paul Bley and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, released on SteepleChase Records in 1973. ... Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (May 27, 1946 – April 19, 2005) was a Danish jazz bassist known for his impressive technique and an approach that could be considered an extension of the innovative work of Scott LaFaro. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... John Douglas Surman (born on 30 August 1944 in Tavistock, England), is a jazz saxophone, clarinet and synthesizer player. ... William Richard Bill Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. ... Stephen Paul Motian (born 25 March 1931 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in Providence, Rhode Island), is a American jazz drummer, percussionist and composer of Armenian extraction. ... ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is a record label founded in Munich, Germany in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. ... Gary Peacock (born 12 May 1935 in Burley, Idaho) is an American jazz bassist. ... Gary Peacock (born 12 May 1935 in Burley, Idaho) is an American jazz bassist. ... Stephen Paul Motian (born 25 March 1931 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in Providence, Rhode Island), is a American jazz drummer, percussionist and composer of Armenian extraction. ... ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is a record label founded in Munich, Germany in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. ...

External links

• biography (in German and English) and bibliography (in English)