Is your copy of the 1999 book Stopping Time: Paul Bley and the Transformation of Jazz (Vehicule Press), by the pianist and David Lee, all messed up from reading it too much? Perhaps, you’ve even thumbed the pages with buttery fingers, thereby obscuring Mr. Bley’s witty reminiscences of playing with the likes of Ornette Coleman and his ex-wife Carla Bley.
Well, you can either buy another copy of Stopping Time (a fine idea) or you can buy the new Time Will Tell: Conversations with Paul Bley (Berkley Hills) by Norman Meehan. Better yet, why not buy both? (But wash yer fingers before reading it!)
In Time Will Tell, Bley discusses his musical concepts, relates anecdotes and defines his aesthetics. The interviews are sometimes accompanied by transcriptions of Bley’s improvisations.
Here’s Berkley Hills’ page about Time Will Tell.
Originally Published