Carla Bley third husbans: Meet Steve Swallow

Carla Bley, a significant jazz pianist and composer, passed away at her Willow, New York, home from complications related to her battle with brain cancer. She became well-known for her jazz opera from 1971, “Escalator Over the Hill,” which helped develop her distinct operatic jazz style and featured musicians including Linda Ronstadt, Jack Bruce, and Charlie Haden.

It received the Grand Prix du Disque, France’s highest honor for musical records, in 1973 and was chosen album of the year by the British newspaper Melody Maker.

She also established several record labels, including JCOA Records and the ECM-distributed Watt, which included among others Don Cherry and Cecil Taylor. Bley and Michael Mantler founded the non-profit New Music Distribution Service, which ran from 1972 until 1990, to provide her labels’ music to a larger audience.

Carla Bley third husbans: Meet Steve Swallow

Steve Swallow, a jazz bassist and composer, was married to the late Carla Bley, a pianist and pioneer of free jazz. John Scofield, Gary Burton, and Peter Brotzmann are just a few of the notable jazz players with whom he has worked. He and his wife co-founded the Watt record label and the Jazz Composers’ Orchestra Association, respectively.