Carla Bley

b.: May 11, 1936, in Oakland, California

d.: October 17, 2023, Willow, New York

Carla Bley was born to Swedish parents. Her father, Emil Borg, was a piano teacher and church choirmaster, and he and her mother, Arline Anderson, encouraged her to sing and to learn to play the piano. Her mother, however, died of a heart attack when Bley was eight years old.

She was a jazz composer, pianist, organist, and bandleader, and an important figure in the free jazz movement of the 1960s. Her 1971 "jazz opera" triple LP Escalator Over the Hill with Paul Haines (with artists like John McLaughlin, Jack Bruce, American-Swedish Don Cherry, Gato Barbieri and Linda Ronstadt), was voted Best Album by British music weekly Melody Maker. From the mid 70s and on, she oftened played in Sweden and Finland, at concerts and festivals alike. Carla Bley died October 17, 2023 in Willow, New York.

Mother of Karen Mantler.
Married to Michael Mantler from 1965 to 1991.
Married to Paul Bley in 1957, later divorced.