After years spent emphasizing her compositions and bandleading abilities, in the late '80s,
Carla Bley finally started featuring her own piano playing to a much greater degree. A melodic but explorative player,
Bley (whose use of space sometimes recalls
Thelonious Monk) interacts closely with the electric bass of
Steve Swallow on this excellent duet session, performing six of her originals and two of
Swallow's. ~ Scott Yanow