The world of jazz is mourning the death of an irrepressibly original composer, arranger and pianist Carla Bley.
On Tuesday, Bley’s longtime partner and musical collaborator Steve Swallow announced that the jazz musician died at the age of 87.
Following the news that imaginative jazz pianist and composer Carla Bley died at age 87 on Oct. 17, 2023, many began to learn more and more about Bley and her history.
Although she was best known for her jazz opera Escalator over the Hill (released as a triple LP set), as well as a book of compositions that have been performed by many other artists, including Gary Burton, Jimmy Giuffre, George Russell, Art Farmer, John Scofield.
Carla Bley’s death left many who knew her best from her work curious to learn more about her life.
Among the things people want to know the most about is Bley’s husband and children. Keep Reading to know about Carla Bley.
Who was Carla Bley?
Carla Bley born Lovella May Borg was an American jazz composer, pianist, organist, and bandleader.
She was a significant figure in the free jazz movement during the 1960s, renowned for her jazz opera, Escalator over the Hill, which was released as a triple LP set.
Additionally, she authored a book of compositions that have been widely performed by notable artists such as Gary Burton, Jimmy Giuffre, George Russell, Art Farmer, John Scofield, and her former spouse, Paul Bley.
Carla Bley Bio
Bley was born in Oakland, California in 1936, to Emil Borg, a piano teacher and church choirmaster, who encouraged her to sing and to learn to play the piano, and Arline Anderson, who died when Bley was eight years old.
After giving up the church to immerse herself in roller skating at the age of fourteen, she moved to New York at seventeen and became a cigarette girl at Birdland, where she met jazz pianist Paul Bley.
She toured with him under the name Karen Borg, before she changed her name in 1957 to Carla Borg and married Paul Bley the same year adopting the Bley name.
He encouraged her to start composing. The couple divorced in 1967,[6] but she kept his surname professionally.
About Carla Bley Husband
Who was Carla Bley married to?
Carla Bley had three husbands in her life. Her first husband was Paul Bley, a fellow jazz pianist whom she married in 1957 and divorced in 19641.
Her second husband was Michael Mantler, a trumpeter and composer whom she married in 1965 and divorced in 19912.
Her third and last husband was Steve Swallow, a bassist and composer whom she married in 1991 and remained with until her death.
About Carla Bley Husband Steve Swallow
Steve Swallow is a jazz bassist and composer who was the third and last husband of Carla Bley, a free jazz pioneer and pianist.
Born October 4, 1940 in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, United States, Swallow studied piano and trumpet, as a child, before turning to the double bass at age 14.
While attending a prep school, he began trying his hand in jazz improvisation. In 1960, he left Yale University, where he was studying composition, and settled in New York City, playing at the time in Jimmy Giuffre’s trio along with Paul Bley.
After joining Art Farmer’s quartet in 1963, Swallow began to write. It is in the 1960s that his long-term association with Gary Burton’s various bands began.
In 1978, Swallow became a member of Carla Bley’s band. He has been Bley’s romantic partner since the 1980s.
He toured extensively with John Scofield in the early 1980s, and has returned to this collaboration several times over the years.
Carla Bley Children
In addition to Swallow, Bley is survived by her only child, Karen Mantler.
About Carla Bley daughter Karen Mantler
Karen Mantler is an American jazz pianist, singer, and composer.
Karen Mantler is also a musician who plays piano, organ, chromatic harmonica, and sings.
She has collaborated with her parents and other artists such as John Zorn, Robert Wyatt, and Terry Adams.
She has also released several albums as a leader or co-leader, such as My Cat Arnold (1989), Farewell (1996), and Business Is Bad (2014).
Carla Bley Death Cause
Bley died at her home in Willow, New York, on October 17, 2023, at the age of 87.
Her death was announced by longtime partner and musical collaborator Steve Swallow, who said the cause was complications from brain cancer.
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