''Big Band Theory'' is an album by the American composer, bandleader and keyboardist Carla Bley, recorded and released on the Watt/ECM label in 1993.Carla Bley discography
accessed August 9, 2010

Reception

The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

review by Scott Yanow stated that "overall this set (which is enjoyable enough) is less memorable than one would expect from Carla Bley".Yanow, S.

AllMusic Review AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

accessed August 9, 2010 ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled b ...

'' awarded it 3 stars, stating: "This never quite fulfils the promise of some exciting arrangements and a rah of hot solists".

Track listing

:''All compositions by Carla Bley except as indicated'' # "On the Stage in Cages" - 12:39 # "Birds of Paradise" - 20:21 # "

Goodbye Pork Pie Hat "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" is a jazz instrumental composed by Charles Mingus, originally recorded by his sextet in 1959 and released on his album '' Mingus Ah Um''. It was subsequently released on his 1963 album, '' Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Ming ...

" ( Charles Mingus) - 8:38 # "Fresh Impression" - 7:39 *Recorded at Angel Recording Studios, London on July 2 & 3, 1993.

Personnel

* Carla Bley -

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

* Alex Balanescu -

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

Lew Soloff Lewis Michael Soloff (February 20, 1944–March 8, 2015) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and actor. Biography From his birth place of New York City, United States, he studied trumpet at the Eastman School of Music and the Juilliard Sc ...

Guy Barker Guy Jeffrey Barker, (born 26 December 1957) is an English jazz trumpeter and composer. Early life Barker was born in Chiswick, London, the son of an actress and a stuntman. He started playing the trumpet at the age of twelve, and within a yea ...

Claude Deppa Claude Deppa (born 10 May 1958) is a South African jazz trumpeter born in Cape Town, South Africa, probably best known for his work with the Brotherhood of Breath and Carla Bley. Early life Claude Deppa was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and ...

, Steve Waterman -

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

Gary Valente Gary Valente (born June 26, 1953) is a jazz trombonist. Early life Valente was born on June 26, 1953, in Worcester, Massachusetts. He started playing the trombone as a young child, encouraged by his father, who played the same instrument. In the ...

, Richard Edwards,

Annie Whitehead Lena Annie Whitehead (born 16 July 1955 in Oldham, Lancashire, England) is an English jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, ...

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

Ashley Slater Ashley Slater (born 1961) is a British trombone player and best known for his narration on the television series Boo! as well as his work with Norman Cook (a.k.a. Fatboy Slim) in the band Freak Power. Career In 1983 after leaving the army, Sl ...

- bass trombone *Roger Janotta - flute, soprano saxophone * Wolfgang Puschnig - alto saxophone, flute *

Andy Sheppard Andy Sheppard (born 20 January 1957) is a British jazz saxophonist and composer. He has been awarded several prizes at the British Jazz Awards, and has worked with some notable figures in contemporary jazz, including Gil Evans, Carla Bley, ...

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

, soprano saxophone *

Pete Hurt Pete Hurt (born September 22, 1956) is an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Samford University in Homewood, Alabama from 1994 to 2001, compiling a record of 42–39–1. Hurt has also been the head football coach ...

tenor saxophone * Julian Argüelles - baritone saxophone * Karen Mantler - organ *

Steve Swallow Steve Swallow (born October 4, 1940) is an American jazz bassist and composer, known for his collaborations with Jimmy Giuffre, Gary Burton, and Carla Bley. He was one of the first jazz double bassists to switch entirely to electric bass guitar. ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Dennis Mackrel Dennis Mackrel (born April 3, 1962) is an American jazz drummer, composer, and arranger who was a member of the Count Basie Orchestra and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Career The son of two jazz enthusiasts, Mackrel started playing drums at age ...

- drums

References

{{Authority control ECM Records albums Carla Bley albums 1993 albums