BLUES EN JAZZTOWN Naiel Ibarrola

PAUL BLEY IN MEMORIAM

Se ha ido Paul Bley. Se ha ido un GIGANTE. 

Desde que tengo uso de razón musical 

siempre he llevado como mínimo un par de discos 

de Paul Bley encima. 

Realmente no tengo palabras para agradecer 

lo que ha significado en todo lo que hago 

(tanto en lo musical como en lo visual), 

en como miro al mundo… 

Y por eso le recuerdo con mis pinceles y texturas… 
Ha sido el gran Matt Shipp el que sí que ha encontrado las palabras:
The death of the visionary pianist/ improviser 

Paul Bley leaves a big hole in the jazz universe. 

Bley, a fearless improviser with grace, bite, humor, and knowledge, 

will be remembered for the ability to empty his self 

of all preconceptions and impediments before sitting down at the instrument, 

and for the ability to take his own specific 

approach and language and to morph it into something 

that works with whatever the environment 

and/or musicians that are in the ambient 

-- and for the ability to sit at any piano [and they all have different personalities] 

and except for being extremely stylized, 

he could pull out the personality of that 

particular piano while still sounding like himself.

Paul, though studied, was completely naturalistic 

and organic in his musical conception. 

He had a mindset that was always in the moment, 

and if so-called history ever came through in his playing, 

it was more a function of the natural flow of language 

than any ostentatious show of jazz knowledge.

His music breathed, flowed, sang, and danced. 

He spanned so many movements: 

from post-bop sessions with Coleman Hawkins and Sonny Rollins 

[Bley's style on this record is the template for the Keith Jarrett trio sound] 

to the Third Stream austerity of the Jimmy Giuffre Three 

to his collaboration with free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman 

to his project with John Gilmore on the 

Improvising Artists label -- and on and on. 

He just cared about sitting down at the piano 

-- making music and being honest in his expression. 

His style (if you want to use that term) is open at the top, 

and over his career it morphed into 

many fascinating asides and different angles, 

being more an open sound and facility that had 

minor transformations based on what was before him. 

He also created a personality about how he went 

about his business in the music industry 

that was just as fascinating as his playing. 

Bley was a completely honest artist 

who did not give a fuck about all the fashion 

and distracting forces that can exist in all this. 

- Matthew Shipp
http://culturecatch.com/music/paul-bley-obituary