Musique Mecanique Explained

Musique Mecanique
Type:Album
Artist:Carla Bley
Cover:Musique Mecanique.jpg
Released:1979
Recorded:August–November 1978
Studio:Grog Kill Studio, Willow, New York
Genre:Jazz
Length:44:51
Label:Watt/ECM
Producer:Carla Bley
Chronology:Carla Bley
Prev Title:European Tour 1977
Prev Year:1977
Next Title:Social Studies
Next Year:1980

Musique Mecanique is an album by American composer, bandleader and keyboardist Carla Bley recorded in 1978 and released on the Watt/ECM label in 1979.[1] [2]

Reception

The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 stars and stated "Carla Bley's tentet performs some of her most colorful themes on this often-humorous and generally stimulating set".[3] The Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded the album 3 stars.[4] Robert Christgau commented, "I'm still attracted to Bley's humor, best displayed here in the title piece, a wry take on the charms and imperfections of the mechanical mode. But this is basically desultory, hinting at the feckless formalism an obsession with textures so often conceals. Beyond the jokes, and the deliberately aborted moments of lyricism, she really doesn't have much to say. Weill sure did. And so did Satie."

Track listing

All compositions by Carla Bley.

  1. "440" - 9:48
  2. "Jesus Maria and Other Spanish Strains" - 11:54
  3. "Musique Mecanique I" - 9:46
  4. "Musique Mecanique II (At Midnight)" - 7:02
  5. "Musique Mecanique III" - 6:28

Personnel

Notes and References

  1. http://sudo.3.pro.tok2.com/Quest/cards/C/CarlaBley/index.html Carla Bley discography
  2. http://www.trovar.com/ECM/WATT.php ECM/WATT discography
  3. Yanow, S. [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r135556|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic Review] accessed August 3, 2010
  4. Book: Cook, Richard. Richard Cook (journalist). Brian Morton . Brian Morton (Scottish writer) . The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. 1992. 9th. The Penguin Guide to Jazz. 2008. Penguin. New York. 978-0-14-103401-0. 130.