The two have been performing and recording as a duo for many years, so in a certain sense the whole band seems to revolve around them. While the entire eight-piece band is consistently a pleasure, some of the album's most appealing moments occur during several Bley/ Swallow duet passages. Divided into three movements, the piece begins with a round of bebop soloing, then morphs into a ballad, and concludes with an unusual whole-tone stride section that recalls both Thelonious Monk and Louis Armstrong. "Les Trois Lagons," the most ambitious track, takes its inspiration from three cut-outs in a book by Henri Matisse. Goldings shines on this one, and Lew Soloff captures the mood with a plunger solo. "Blues in Twelve Bars/Blues in Twelve Other Bars" is a funky, modulating blues with gospel undertones. The album ends in a darker mood with "Utviklingssang" (Norwegian for "Development Song.") Two extended pieces form the real backbone of the album, however. Also in this semi-comic vein, "Sidewinders in Paradise," a seemingly random juxtaposition of "Stranger in Paradise" and Lee Morgan's "The Sidewinder," chugs along with a retro-funk groove perfectly colored by Goldings's organ. This batch of compositions is informed by Bley's distinctive brand of tongue-in-cheek playfulness, especially on the Latin-rooted "Baseball," which is peppered with the kinds of organ motifs one hears at the ballpark. The album is the second by Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra, 2 the follow-up to their 1969 Liberation Music Orchestra. Haden and Carla Bley placed first in that 1984 poll's Acoustic Bass and Composer categories, respectively. Add to this core unit a four-horn section: Lew Soloff on trumpet, Wolfgang Puschnig on alto, Andy Sheppard on tenor, and Gary Valente on trombone. The album was voted jazz album of the year in Down Beat magazine's 1984 critic's poll. Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupLife Goes On: Life Goes On Carla Bley Andy Sheppard Steve SwallowLife Goes On: Life Goes On 2020 ECM Recor.
The latest in Carla Bley's ever-changing array of ensemble configurations, the 4X4 group features Bley on piano, Larry Goldings on organ, Steve Swallow on bass, and Victor Lewis on drums.
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