Collection: Paul Bley
Born Hyman Paul Bley on 10 November 1932 in Montreal, Quebec, Paul Bley began studying violin at age five and switched to piano at seven. He received a junior diploma from McGill Conservatory at 11 and formed a band at 13 playing summer resorts. In 1949, aged 17, he replaced Oscar Peterson at Montreal's Alberta Lounge. He moved to New York in 1950 to study at Juilliard and became active in the city's jazz scene. In 1952, he co-founded the Montreal Jazz Workshop, bringing New York musicians to perform with local players. In 1953, he recorded with Charlie Parker in Montreal and released his debut album Introducing Paul Bley with Charles Mingus on bass and Art Blakey on drums. He played with Lester Young and Ben Webster, and his trio with Al Levitt and Peter Ind recorded for Mercury in 1954. In 1957, he married composer Karen Borg, who became known as Carla Bley. He moved to Los Angeles and in October 1958 led a quintet at the Hillcrest Club with Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Billy Higgins, and Charlie Haden, pioneering what became known as free jazz.
Returning to New York in 1959, Bley performed with Charles Mingus, George Russell, and Don Ellis. From 1961 to 1962, he was part of a groundbreaking trio with Jimmy Giuffre on reeds and Steve Swallow on bass. In 1963, offered jobs by both Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins, he chose Rollins and toured Japan. His 1960s trio with Gary Peacock and Paul Motian became the standard by which other trios were measured. In 1964, he joined the Jazz Composers Guild with Carla Bley, Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp, and Roswell Rudd. In 1968, he gave the first live synthesiser performance at Philharmonic Hall in New York and became a pioneer of Moog and ARP synthesisers. His 1972 ECM album Open, to Love was a radical solo piano statement. In the 1990s, he taught at New England Conservatory. He received the Prix Oscar Peterson in 1994 and was made a member of the Order of Canada in 2008. His last public performances were in 2010. He died of natural causes on 3 January 2016 in Stuart, Florida, aged 83.
