Life goes on

"The fourth recording from pianist Carla Bley's long-running trio with saxophonist Andy Sheppard and bassist/partner Steve Swallow, 2020's Life Goes On, is an intimate and lyrical album built solidly around the group's deep musical connection".

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"Recorded in the grand chamber that is Auditorio Stelio Molo in Lugano, but exercised vigorously across stages in Europe and America, Life Goes On has the feel of an oft-told oral history whose wily narrator isn't shy to embellish or lay bare. As has been the decades long template, bassist Steve Swallow and saxophonist Andy Sheppard tell their tales while interpreting Bley's, allowing the vaguest remembrance to play as strong a part in the drama as the most defining moments".

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"Carla Bley omgiver sig - som så ofte før - med sin musikalske og private partner, el-bassisten Steve Swallow, og den britiske saxofonist Andy Sheppard, og trioen byder på de tre suiter, »Life Goes On«, »Beautiful Telephones« og »Copycat« ... en smuk strøm af elegant og luftig musik med den underspillede ironi, melankoli og finurlighed, der altid har været Carla Bleys varemærke".

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"The album offers three suites that highlight Bley's deft sense of dramatic development, her gifts as a soloist (so often overshadowed by her composing) and the trio's deadpan minimalism and subtly organic interplay ... During Bley's long and rich career, there have been times when her work has merely seemed smart, but not emotionally resonant. Here, it's both, and her trio is all in for life-as long as it lasts".