| The Carla Bley Big Band Goes to Church | |
| Type: | Live album |
| Artist: | The Carla Bley Big Band |
| Cover: | The Carla Bley Big Band Goes to Church.jpg |
| Released: | 1996 |
| Recorded: | July 19–21, 1996 |
| Venue: | Chiesa San Francesco Al Prato, Umbria Jazz, Perugia, Italy |
| Genre: | Jazz |
| Length: | 68:19 |
| Label: | Watt/ECM |
| Producer: | Carla Bley & Steve Swallow |
| Chronology: | Carla Bley |
| Prev Title: | Songs with Legs |
| Prev Year: | 1994 |
| Next Title: | Fancy Chamber Music |
| Next Year: | 1997 |
The Carla Bley Big Band Goes to Church is a live album by American composer, bandleader and keyboardist Carla Bley recorded in Perugia, Italy as part of the Umbria Jazz Festival and released on the Watt/ECM label in 1996.[1] [2]
The Allmusic review by Stacia Proefrock awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "The Carla Bley Big Band Goes to Church is a perfect showcase for the forward-thinking compositions and arrangements of Carla Bley... Not quite as experimental as her earlier compositions, this album manages, regardless to be among her best work in the '90s".[3] The Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded it 3⅓ stars stating "The best Bley album since Fleur Carnivore? "[4] The JazzTimes review by Willard Jenkins said "the music bears resemblance to what one might expect from an enlightened 21st century church service".[5]
All compositions by Carla Bley except where noted.