Escalator over the Hill

Infobox Album |
Name = Escalator over the Hill
Type = Album
Artist = Carla Bley


Released = 1971
Recorded = 1968–71
Genre = Avant-garde jazz
Post-bop
Label = JCOA Records (LP)
WATT (CD)
Producer = Michael Mantler
Reviews =
*All About Jazz (favorable) [http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=17872 6/8/2005]

*Allmusic Rating|3|5 [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE57A1DD248AD7520C7862848C0BA77FA29D64CEE831F29461BDFBA3C54BE1A41CD7EC083C9FDFB6AB671B0FD2EA45243D2C0EC5EF6D96E2D5DF0&sql=10:fzftxqrgldae link]
*"Stylus" (favorable) [http://www.stylusmagazine.com/feature.php?ID=27 12/02/2002]
Last album = —
This album = "Escalator over the Hill"
(1971)
Next album = "Tropic Appetites"
(1974)

"Escalator over the Hill" (or EOTH) is mostly referred to as a jazz opera, but it was released as a "chronotransduction" with "words by Paul Haines, adaptation and music by Carla Bley, production and coordination by Michael Mantler", performed by the Jazz Composer's Orchestra Association (JCOA).

History

The critically acclaimed opus is more than two hours long, was recorded in three years, 1968 to 1971, and originally released as a triple LP box, also containing a booklet with all the words, photos and information about the musicians and their roles. Side six of the original LPs ended in a loop, the last track "... And It's Again" vanishing in a humming sound like distant insects, continuing infinitely on manual record players.

In 1997, a live version of "Escalator over the Hill," re-orchestrated by Jeff Friedman, was performed for the first time in Cologne, Germany, then, in 1998, "the Escalator" toured Europe, and another live performance took place in May 2006 in Essen, Germany.

The Escalator in a nutshell

The many musicians collectively involved in the original recording act in various combinations (listed below as "chronotransductional"), covering a wide range of musical genres, from Kurt Weill's theater music to free jazz, rock and world music (although that term didn't exist yet), summing up "much of the creative energy that was loose between 1968 and 1972" [ [http://www.amazon.com/Escalator-Over-Hill-Carla-Haines/dp/B0000241DG Stuart Broomer. "Escalator Over the Hill". Editorial review] at amazon.com, retrieved on 2008-09-23] .

Andy Warhol's Viva acts as narrator, likewise Jack Bruce also appears on bass and vocals. Among the stellar vocalists is a young (and still relatively unknown) Linda Ronstadt, in addition to Jeanne Lee, Paul Jones, Carla Bley, Don Preston, Sheila Jordan, and Bley's and Mantler's then-4-year-old daughter Karen Mantler.

For detailed, descriptive reviews see cite web | title=Carla Bley and Paul Haines' Escalator Over the Hill| url= http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=17872| accessdate=2006-01-18 and/or cite web | title=Stranded: Escalator Over the Hill - Article - Stylus Magazine| url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/feature.php?ID=27| accessdate=2006-01-18

In 2006, Paul Haines' daughter, Canadian musician Emily Haines, would adapt the "Escalator over the Hill" cover art for her own first widely-distributed album under her own name, "Knives Don't Have Your Back".

Trivia

Pakistan has cricket teams named Rawalpindi and Karachi Blues.

Track listing

#"Hotel Overture"– 13:11
#"This Is Here..." – 6:02
#"Like Animals" – 1:21
#"Escalator Over The Hill" – 4:57
#"Stay Awake" – 1:31
#"Ginger and David" – 1:39
#"Song To Anything That Moves" – 2:22
#"Eoth Theme" – 0:35
#"Businessmen" – 5:38
#"Ginger and David Theme" – 0:57
#"Why" – 2:19
#"It's Not What You Do" – 0:17
#"Detective Writer Daughter" – 3:16
#"Doctor Why" – 1:28
#"Slow Dance (Transductory Music)" – 1:50
#"Smalltown Agonist" – 5:24
#"End Of Head" – 0:38
#"Over Her Head" – 2:38
#"Little Pony Soldier" – 4:36
#"Oh Say Can You Do?" – 1:11
#"Holiday In Risk" – 3:10
#"Holiday In Risk Theme" – 0:52
#"A.I.R. (All India Radio)" – 3:58
#"Rawalpindi Blues" – 12:44
#"End Of Rawalpindi" – 9:40
#"End Of Animals" – 1:26
#"... And It's Again" – 27:17

Personnel

Principal Cast

* "Jack, Parrot:" Jack Bruce
* "Leader, Mutant, Voice, Desert Women:" Carla Bley
* "Sand Shepherd:" Don Cherry
* "Ginger:" Linda Ronstadt
* "Ginger II:" Jeanne Lee
* "David:" Paul Jones
* "Doctor, Lion:" Don Preston
* "Viva:" Viva
* "Cecil Clark:" Tod Papageorge
* "His Friends:" Charlie Haden, Steve Ferguson
* "Calliope Bill:" Bill Leonard
* "Roomer:" Bill Stewart
* "Ancient Roomer:" Karen Mantler
* "Loudspeaker:" Roswell Rudd
* "Used Woman:" Sheila Jordan
* "Operasinger:" Rosalind Hupp
* "Nurse:" Jane Blackstone
* "Yodelling Ventriloquist:" Howard Johnson
* "Therapist:" Timothy Marquand
* "Dad:" Perry Robinson
* "Phantoms, Multiple Public Members, Hotelpeople, Women, Men, Flies, Bullfrogs, Mindsweepers, Speakers, Blindman":

Jane Blackstone, Carla Bley, Jonathan Cott, Sharon Freeman, Steve Gebhardt, Tyrus Gerlach, Eileen Hale, Rosalind Hupp, Jack Jeffers, Howard Johnson, Sheila Jordan, Michael Mantler, Timothy Marquand, Nancy Newton, Tod Papageorge, Don Preston, Bill Roughen, Phyllis Schneider, Bob Stewart, Pat Stewart, Viva

Musicians (alphabetical)

* Gato Barbieri - tenor saxophone
* Souren Baronian - clarinet
* Karl Berger - vibraphone
* Carla Bley - organ, celeste, chimes, calliope, piano
* Sam Brown - guitar
* Jack Bruce - bass, vocal
* John Buckingham - tuba
* Sam Burtis - trombone
* Bob Carlisle - French horn
* Don Cherry - trumpet
* Roger Dawson - congas
* Sharon Freeman - French horn
* Charlie Haden - bass
* Peggy Imig - clarinet
* Jack Jeffers - bass trombone
* Leroy Jenkins - violin
* Howard Johnson - tuba
* Sheila Jordan - vocal
* Jimmy Knepper - trombone
* Jeanne Lee - vocal
* Jimmy Lyons - alto saxophone
* Michael Mantler - prepared piano, trumpet, valve trombone
* Ron McClure - bass
* John McLaughlin - guitar
* Bill Morimando - orchestra bells, celeste
* Paul Motian - drums, dumbec
* Nancy Newton - viola
* Don Preston - Moog synthesizer
* Enrico Rava - trumpet
* Perry Robinson - clarinet
* Linda Ronstadt - vocal
* Roswell Rudd - trombone
* Calo Scott - cello
* Michael Snow - trumpet
* Chris Woods - baritone saxophone
* Richard Youngstein - bass

Musicians (chronotransductional)

Orchestra (& Hotel Lobby Band)

* Carla Bley (piano)
* Jimmy Lyons (alto saxophone)
* Gato Barbieri (tenor saxophone)
* Chris Woods (baritone saxophone)
* Michael Mantler, Enrico Rava (trumpet)
* Roswell Rudd, Sam Burtis, Jimmy Knepper (trombone)
* Jack Jeffers (bass trombone)
* Bob Carlisle, Sharon Freeman (French horn)
* John Buckingham (tuba)
* Nancy Newton (viola)
* Karl Berger (vibraphone)
* Charlie Haden (bass)
* Paul Motian (drums)
* Roger Dawson (congas)
* Bill Morimando (orchestra bells, celeste).

Jack's Traveling Band

* Carla Bley (organ)
* John McLaughlin (guitar)
* Jack Bruce (bass)
* Paul Motian (drums)

Desert Band

* Carla Bley (organ)
* Don Cherry (trumpet)
* Souren Baronia (clarinet)
* Leroy Jenkins (violin)
* Calo Scott (cello)
* Sam Brown (guitar)
* Ron McClure (bass)
* Paul Motian (dumbec)

Original Hotel Amateur Band

* Carla Bley (piano)
* Michael Snow (trumpet)
* Michael Mantler (valve trombone)
* Howard Johnson (tuba)
* Perry Robinson, Peggy Imig (clarinet)
* Nancy Newton (viola)
* Richard Youngstein (bass)
* Paul Motian (drums)

Phantom Music

* Carla Bley (organ, celeste, chimes, calliope)
* Michael Mantler (prepared piano)
* Don Preston (Moog synthesizer)

Awards

* Jazz Album of the Year 1972 by a Melody Maker Readers Poll
* French Grand Prix du Disque in 1973

References

* [http://www.wattxtrawatt.com/biokaren.htm Karen Mantler Biography] at [http://www.wattxtrawatt.com www.wattxtrawatt.com - the Official Carla Bley Web Site]
* [http://www.jazzdiscography.com/Artists/Robinson/eoth.htm Jazz Composers Orchestra: Escalator Over The Hill] at [http://www.jazzdiscography.com www.jazzdiscography.com]

External links

* [http://jmarc3mov.50webs.com/eoth_notes_accomp.html Accomplishing Escalator Over the Hill] by Carla Bley. Written in 1972 shortly after the release of the Escalator
* [http://www.mattendahl.com/jco/jco.html The Jazz Composer's Orchestra Information Page]
* [http://jmarc3mov.50webs.com/eoth.html film clips] @ [http://jmarc1web.50webs.com/ The John McLaughlin Archives]