Heavy Heart marks a major change of musical direction for Carla Bley. It is her most lightweight and commercial album to date – almost a sprightly, but mainstream, fusion album, with a few occasional glimpses of individuality.
Gone is the eclectic ransacking of western musical heritage, the liberal use of caricature and theatrics, and the dominance of brass that have all contributed to her inimitable sound. The quirkiness of rhythm just about survives, but the pressure and tension that have been so cleverly orchestrated in the past, are almost absent, so much so that the masterful display of suppressed emotion from Gary Valente’s trombone solo on Ending It, one of the few noteworthy solos on the whole album, comes across almost as a parody of past Bley-inspired solos. The four closing block chords on the concluding track, punched out by the horns in true brass-band style, are a painful reminder of what this album lacks.
Perhaps I am being somewhat unfair in my strictures, for Valente and Kirkland solo to effect on the second side, and the arrangements do occasionally surprise, if only fleetingly. That Carla Bley ranks with Gil Evans and George Russell as one of the most important and innovative arrangers at work in jazz today is not in doubt. But this album does nothing to augment that reputation.
Discography
Light Or Dark; Talking Hearts; Joylul Noise (17.57) – Ending It; Starting Again; Heavy Heart (20.58)
Carla Bley (org/syn/arr); Steve Slagle (f/as/ bs); Hiram Bullock (g); Gary Valente (tb); Kenny Kirkland (p); Steve Swallow (b); Victor Lewis (d); Manolo Badrena (pc); Michael Mantler (t); Earl Mclntyre (tba). Recorded Grog Kill Studio, Willow, New York, Sep/Oct 1983.
(Watt 14)
