American jazz composer, pianist, organist, and bandleader, Carla Bley has died at the age of 87. He died due to complications from brain cancer.
Billboard reported, she died following complications from brain cancer, She was 87 years old. She was perhaps best known for her jazz opera Escalator over the Hill (released as a triple LP set), as well as a book of compositions that have been performed by many other artists, including Gary Burton, Jimmy Giuffre, George Russell, Art Farmer, John Scofield, and her ex-husband Paul Bley.
She also founded record labels JCOA Records and the ECM-distributed Watt. She worked with Michael Mantler — to whom she was married until 1991 — to open the nonprofit New Music Distribution Service, which expanded JCOA, ECM, and other labels to larger audiences.
Jazz Composer and Pianist, Carla Bley Died at Age 87
