| Closer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Paul Bley Trio | ||||
| Released | 1966 | |||
| Recorded | December 12, 1965 | |||
| Studio | RLA Studio, New York City | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 28:40 | |||
| Label | ESP-Disk ESP 1021 | |||
| Producer | Paul Bley | |||
| Paul Bley chronology | ||||
| ||||
Closer is the seventh album led by jazz pianist Paul Bley, featuring seven compositions by Carla Bley (and one each by Bley, Annette Peacock and Ornette Coleman), recorded in 1965 and released on the ESP-Disk label. [1] [2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| PopMatters |   |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz | |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | |
Allmusic awarded the album 4 stars noting "Bley and his trio understand that with compositions of this nature, full of space and an inherent, interior-pointing lyricism, that pace is everything. And while this set clocks in at just over 29 minutes in length, the playing is so genuine and moving that it doesn't need to be any longer". [3] PopMatters review stated "Closer is regarded as a new beginning for the jazz pianist who used to provide such elegaic keystrokes for Jim Giuffre's trio. The album is a brief tour of what it meant to be a piano trio back then... a gutsy record". [4] The Penguin Guide to Jazz said "Closer is still a delight nearly 40 years after first release. The key track here is Carla's classic "Ida Lupino", which her former husband turn into a rolling, almost filmic narrative with layers of detail that belie the simple materials. Some have noted a continuing cross-fertilisation of ideas with Ornette Coleman on these tracks. That's harder to hear if you aren't aware of the association, but the staccato rhythms and bitten-off melodic ideas do point in that direction". [5] Reviewing the 2008 rerelease All About Jazz stated "Bley makes a welcome return with one of his best". [7]
All compositions by Carla Bley except as indicated
Open, to Love is a jazz album by Paul Bley. It features Bley performing seven solo piano pieces and is considered not only one of his best albums, but a defining album in the history of the ECM record label. Three of the tracks were composed by ex-wife Carla Bley and another two by Bley's soon-to-be-ex-wife Annette Peacock. The album is one of the first showcases of the pointillism and silence that would inform much of his later work.
Dinner Music is an album by American composer, bandleader and keyboardist Carla Bley recorded in 1976 and released on the Watt/ECM label in 1977.
Paul Bley with Gary Peacock is an album by Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley with American bassist Gary Peacock recorded in 1963 and 1968 and released on the ECM label in 1970.
Fragments is an album by Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley recorded in 1986 and released on the ECM label.
In the Evenings Out There is an album by pianist Paul Bley, bassist Gary Peacock, drummer Tony Oxley and saxophonist John Surman recorded in 1991 and released on the ECM label in 1993.
Hot is a live album by Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley recorded in 1985 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.
Memoirs is an album by pianist Paul Bley, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Paul Motian recorded in 1990 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.
The Montreal Tapes: with Paul Bley and Paul Motian is a live album by the American jazz bassist Charlie Haden with pianist Paul Bley and drummer Paul Motian recorded in 1989 and released on the Verve label.
Footloose! is the fourth album led by jazz pianist Paul Bley featuring tracks recorded in 1962 & 1963 and released on the Savoy label. Tracks from this album, along with alternate takes and addition material from the sessions, were later released as Syndrome and Floater.
Barrage is the fifth album led by jazz pianist Paul Bley. The album was recorded by Bley's quintet in 1964, released by ESP-Disk, and features saxophonist Marshall Allen in a rare appearance outside the band of Sun Ra.
Ramblin' is an album led by jazz pianist Paul Bley recorded in Italy in 1966 and released on the French BYG Actuel label.
Mr. Joy is an album led by jazz pianist Paul Bley recorded in the studio and in concert in Seattle in 1968 and released on the Limelight label.
Turning Point' is an album led by jazz pianist Paul Bley collecting studio recordings from 1964 and two concert recordings from 1968 which was released on Bley's own Improvising Artists label in 1975.
Virtuosi is an album by drummer Barry Altschul, pianist Paul Bley and bassist Gary Peacock recorded in 1967 and released on Bley's own Improvising Artists label in 1976.
Alone, Again is a solo piano album by Paul Bley, recorded in Norway in 1974 and released on Bley's own Improvising Artists label in 1975.
Japan Suite is a live album by pianist Paul Bley, drummer Barry Altschul and bassist Gary Peacock recorded in Japan in 1976 and released on Bley's own Improvising Artists label in 1977.
Partners is an album by pianist Paul Bley and bassist Gary Peacock recorded in New York in 1989 and released on the French Owl label in 1991.
Live at the Hilcrest Club 1958 is a live album by pianist Paul Bley, saxophonist Ornette Coleman, trumpeter Don Cherry, drummer Billy Higgins and bassist Charlie Haden recorded in California in 1958 and released on the Inner City label in 1976. The album is notable as being the first live recording of Ornette Coleman, made shortly after he recorded his first album, Something Else!!!! and featuring the group that would soon record the classic Atlantic albums The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959) and Change of the Century (1960).
Coleman Classics Volume 1 is a live album by pianist Paul Bley, saxophonist Ornette Coleman, trumpeter Don Cherry, drummer Billy Higgins and bassist Charlie Haden recorded in California in 1958 and released Bley's on the Improvising Artists label in 1977. The album is notable as being an early live recording of Ornette Coleman, made shortly after his first album, Something Else!!!! and featuring the group that would soon record the classic Atlantic albums The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959) and Change of the Century (1960).
Paul Plays Carla is an album of Carla Bley's compositions performed by pianist Paul Bley which was recorded in Denmark in 1991 and released on the SteepleChase label.