When Ronald Reagan was elected I was on a bus traveling with a band in France. I wrote a little arrangement of The Star Spangled Banner in a minor key.
Carla BleyIt would be really hard to get serious about anything political today unless it was a joke.
Carla BleyWhen you have 13 horns, and one is soloing, you have 12 people to play the richest, fullest chord you could ever imagine behind that solo.
Carla BleyI dont enjoy traveling in America. I dont like the food, the cars. It is not exotic enough. It all tastes a bit like airline food.
Carla BleyI still prefer the bebop of the '40s. The very stuff I started out with is still the best to me. I have come full circle.
Carla BleyThere are times when what's happening in rock is the best music in the world, and there are times when there is nothing worthwhile at all.
Carla BleyWhen you are studying jazz, the best thing to do is listen to records or listen to live music. It isn't as though you go to a teacher. You just listen as much as you can and absorb everything.
Carla BleyI got started when I was 3 years old because my father was a music teacher and my lessons were free. Instead of learning to walk, you learn to play the piano.
Carla BleyListening is more important than anything else because that's what music is. Somebody is playing something and you're receiving it. It is sending and receiving.
Carla BleyLiving composers writing for big band are very few and far between. There are not a lot of them, and I have a talent for doing it. I am zeroing in on what I do best.
Carla Bley