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Carla Bley's bands are always a mix of strong musical personalities, distinguished by what they bring to the music beyond just their chops. This octet, recorded in Oslo during a 1999 European tour, is more than just a scaled-down version of her recent big band, retaining crucial soloists like altoist Wolfgang Puschnig and trombonist Gary Valente, as well as gaining the looseness of a smaller ensemble. Bley is both a Romantic and an ironist, capable of wit broad and sly and music serene and turbulent. "Blues in 12 Bars" covers many shades of funk, including a Charles Mingus paraphrase and some playfully disparaging gospel, all propelled along by Victor Lewis's backbeat. "Sidewinders in Paradise" has a lounge-Latin quality that includes trumpeter Lew Soloff's direct reference to "Strangers in Paradise," while "Baseball" brings out the ballpark side of Larry Goldings's organ and stadium-scale bluster from Valente.

The centerpiece is the three-part suite "Les Trois Lagons." Inspired by three of Henri Matisse's paper cutouts from the book Jazz, it's knit together by Bley's Monk-like piano. The middle section has all the harmonic richness of a Strayhorn ballad and some moving solo work by electric bassist Steve Swallow and tenor saxophonist Andy Sheppard. The same pair work more magic on the luminously beautiful "Utviklingssang." --Stuart Broomer