4x4 (Carla Bley album)
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4 x 4 is an album by American composer, bandleader and keyboardist Carla Bley with a chamber ensemble recorded in Oslo in 1999 and released on the Watt/ECM label in 2000.[1]
Reception
The Allmusic review by David R. Adler awarded the album 3 stars and stated "This batch of compositions is informed by Bley's distinctive brand of tongue-in-cheek playfulness... While the entire eight-piece band is consistently a pleasure, some of the album's most appealing moments occur during several Bley/Swallow duet passages. The two have been performing and recording as a duo for many years, so in a certain sense the whole band seems to revolve around them".[2] The JazzTimes review by Aaron Steinberg said "Between gigs, the ruddy and no doubt road weary outfit took a time-out in Oslo to record 4 x 4. Bley and the band sound happy to have the time to themselves, and they mostly take it easy on light-hearted tunes with fun but simple arrangements".[3] The Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded it 3⅓ stars stating "with music as impressive and as ambitious as this, who's complaining? "[4]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Penguin Guide to Jazz |  [4] |
Track listing
All tracks are written by Carla Bley
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Blues in 12 Bars / Blues in 12 Other Bars" | 14:32 |
| 2. | "Sidewinders in Paradise" | 8:36 |
| 3. | "Les Trois Lagons (d'apres Henri Matisse): Plate XVII/Plate XVIII/Plate XIX" | 15:37 |
| 4. | "Baseball" | 7:48 |
| 5. | "Útviklingssang" | 9:18 |
- Recorded at Rainbow Studio, Oslo in July 1999.
Personnel
- Carla Bley – piano
- Lew Soloff – trumpet
- Wolfgang Puschnig – alto saxophone
- Andy Sheppard – tenor saxophone
- Gary Valente – trombone
- Larry Goldings – organ
- Steve Swallow – bass guitar
- Victor Lewis – drums
References
- ^ Carla Bley discography accessed August 12, 2010
- ^ a b Adler, D. R. Allmusic Review accessed August 12, 2010
- ^ Steinberg, A. 4 x 4 Review JazzTimes, April, 2001
- ^ a b Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2006) [1992]. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (8th ed.). New York: Penguin. p. 131. ISBN 0-14-102327-9.