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]
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Carla Bley.
| 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
References
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[4]
