Carla Bley (born 1936)
Carla Bley is an American jazz composer and pianist. She was born Lovella May Borg in Oakland, California. She was encouraged to learn piano by her father, who was a piano teacher. She moved to New York City at the age of 17, and met and married jazz pianist Paul Bley. They were later divorced but she kept the name.
Although Carla Bley plays piano and leads jazz bands, she considers herself primarily a composer, and other jazz artists have recorded her compositions.
Here is “Reactionary Tango” from Carla Bley’s 1981 album “Social Studies”, performed live.
One of her most popular compositions is Lawns, here performed by Carla Bley and Steve Swallow, her longtime collaborator and romantic partner:
Carla Bley has one of the most peculiar professional websites ever.