Musique Mecanique

Musique Mecanique is an album by American composer, bandleader and keyboardist Carla Bley recorded in 1978 and released on the Watt/ECM label in 1979.[1][2]

Musique Mecanique
Studio album by Carla Bley
Released	1979
Recorded	August–November 1978
Studio	Grog Kill Studio, Willow, New York
Genre	Jazz
Length	44:51
Label	Watt/ECM
Producer	Carla Bley
Carla Bley chronology
European Tour 1977 (1977) Musique Mecanique (1979) Social Studies (1980)

Reception

The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 stars and stated "Carla Bley's tentet performs some of her most colorful themes on this often-humorous and generally stimulating set".[3] The Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded the album 3 stars.[4] Robert Christgau commented, "I'm still attracted to Bley's humor, best displayed here in the title piece, a wry take on the charms and imperfections of the mechanical mode. But this is basically desultory, hinting at the feckless formalism an obsession with textures so often conceals. Beyond the jokes, and the deliberately aborted moments of lyricism, she really doesn't have much to say. Weill sure did. And so did Satie."[5]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
Christgau's Record Guide	B[5]
Penguin Guide to Jazz	[4]

Track listing

All compositions by Carla Bley.

1. "440" - 9:48
2. "Jesus Maria and Other Spanish Strains" - 11:54
3. "Musique Mecanique I" - 9:46
4. "Musique Mecanique II (At Midnight)" - 7:02
5. "Musique Mecanique III" - 6:28

Personnel

• Carla Bley - organ, piano (track 2), toy piano (track 3)
• Michael Mantler - trumpet
• Alan Braufman - alto saxophone, clarinet, flute
• Gary Windo - tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, vocal
• John Clark - french horn
• Roswell Rudd - trombone, vocal on "Musique Mecanique II (At Midnight)"
• Bob Stewart - tuba
• Terry Adams - piano, electric pump organ
• Steve Swallow - bass guitar
• Denotra Sharpe - drums
• Charlie Haden - acoustic bass (track 2)
• Eugene Chadbourne - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, walkie-talkie (track 2)
• Karen Mantler - glockenspiel

References

1. Carla Bley discography accessed August 3, 2010
2. ECM/WATT discography Archived 2016-09-16 at the Wayback Machine accessed August 25, 2016
3. Yanow, S. Allmusic Review accessed August 3, 2010
4. Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2008) [1992]. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (9th ed.). New York: Penguin. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-14-103401-0.
5. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: B". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 21, 2019.