Carla Bley's Escalator Over the Hill

These days, no one would blink an eye at the thought of a jazz opera. But in 1971, Carla Bley's genre-spanning mix of poetry, country and Indian music was unprecedentedIn the eclectic 21st century, the idea of an opera drawing on sources as diverse as jazz, rock and country music, Indian classical forms, hipster poetry and bursts of blistering free-improv doesn't sound that fanciful a notion. But back in 1970, it was unimaginable – until Carla Bley, the majestically eccentric pianist and compo...

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