Carla Bley Cause of Death Tragic: Renowned Jazz Pianist, Composer Dead at 87

Carla Bley, a popular jazz pianist and composer who contributed a lot to the music industry of her genre, has passed away at the age of 87; what was her cause of death?

According to an article published by The New York Times, the musician died due to complications from brain cancer, but it was unclear how long she battled the medical condition before her passing.

Billboard reported that the musician had a very successful career as she was able to snag over five Grammy nominations throughout her career.

Born Karen Borg, she later changed her name to Carla in 1957. Her last name came from her ex-husband Paul Bley who was also a musician in the field of jazz. Unfortunately, their relationship didn't last as they got legally separated in 1967.

Although their marriage didn't last longer compared to other couples, they had a fruitful relationship together thanks to their common love for music. They were able to tour together and the late pianist even composed an entire album for her former husband in 1964 titled "Barrage."

Carla Bley's Successful Jazz Career

Aside from being a collaborator with other artists, Carla Bley also had a solo career which was a successful one. Three of her albums were able to grace the top 20 of Billboard's Jazz Albums chart.

Some of her renowned albums were "Carla's Christmas Carols," a collaboration between her, The Partyka Brass Quintet, and Andy Sheppard, "Trios" with Sheppard and Swallow, as well as "Andando El Tiempo" with the two musicians mentioned above.

In addition to being a musician, she was also involved in the business side of jazz music as she was one of the people who exerted their efforts in establishing the Jazz Composers Guild in 1964.

Carla Bley's Achievements Throughout Her Jazz Career

Bley was also the founder of the renowned JCOA Records and Watt, which was distributed by ECM.

Her final album, "Life Goes On," was released in 2020.

Even though she wasn't able to win any Grammys despite having numerous nominations, she was awarded the 1972 Guggenheim Fellowship award for music composition and the NEA Jazz Masters Award in 2015.

NPR reported that Carla Bley was survived by her husband of more than 30 years, Steve Swallow, and her daughter, Karen Mantler.

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Jazz, Pianist, Death, Cause of death, Tribute, Obituary, News, Music