Can't Stop Listening: Carla Bley

To me, Carla Bley is one of the most interesting musical figures in North America in the past several decades - seriously, read her biography.

I was introduced to Carla during my undergraduate degree while studying arranging for large ensembles. Her music captivated me at once with it's quirky melodies, heavy chordal structures and innovative presentation of theme.
I once read an interview with Carla where she spoke about her composing process and her inner struggle at the beginning of each big stint of writing wherein she doubts her capabilities and feels that perhaps she lost all of her inspiration in the past few months. Then, she sits down and writes a single thought, a small idea of perhaps only a dozen notes on a page. This becomes the start of her next big idea.

Carla Bley is a wonderful example of an artist that came to jazz and creative music by chance but has started small and her career grew with her ideas. Carla's music is a huge inspiration for young female composers such as yours truly because of her willingness to take risks and write music that is far from perfect but entirely beautiful.

Here's some samples of Carla Bley being her naturally hip self: