Always the iconoclast, here pianist Bley applies her keen musical skill on baroque and chamber styles with tongue firmly in cheek and a fine string section to set the mood. The opening track, "Wolfgang Tango," is a brooding romantic excursion with humorous undertones. "The End of Vienna" features subtle keyboard work by Bley in a beautiful panoramic melody.
But the trickster in Bley can't help but mix things up with the more challenging angles of "Tigers in Training." The closing track, a moving and rather creepy "JonBenet," is presumably an homage to the murdered child beauty queen. - Tim Sheridan
Tracklist:
01. Wolfgang Tango
02. Romantic Notion #4
03. End of Vienna
04. Tigers in Training
05. Romantic Notion #6
06. JonBenet
EMMA BLACK cello
ALISON HAYHURST flute
CARLA BLEY piano
ANDREW BYRT viola
STEVE MORRIS violin
STEVE SWALLOW bass
SARA LEE clarinet, glockenspiel
CHRIS WELLS percussion
All music composed by Carla Bley
Recorded December 5 & 6, 1997 at SnakeRanch Studio, London, England
ECM Records / 1998 Watt Works, Inc. WATT/28 (Germany)