The New England Conservatory Jazz Orchestra To Pay Tribute To Carla Bley In DREAMKEEPER

The New England Conservatory (NEC) Jazz Orchestra, led by Ken Schaphorst, will present Dreamkeeper: Music of Carla Bley on Thursday, October 16, at 7:30 p.m. in Jordan Hall (290 Huntington Avenue). The program includes Bley’s works “Awful Coffee,” “Greasy Gravy,” “On the Stage in Stages,” and “Jesus Maria.” Admission is free, but tickets are required. 

Carla Bley (1936–2023) was an iconoclastic pianist, composer, and arranger whose career spanned more than six decades. Her works combined wit, daring, and originality, establishing her as a singular voice in the jazz world. She rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s with projects like Escalator Over the Hill and her leadership of the Jazz Composer’s Orchestra. Later, her collaborations with bassist Steve Swallow and saxophonist Andy Sheppard resulted in long-running ensembles that brought her music to audiences worldwide. Bley’s contributions to the art form earned her a Guggenheim Fellowship, the title of NEA Jazz Master, and induction into the DownBeat Hall of Fame.