One of the most notable composers/performers on the contemporary jazz scene, Carla Bley begins this July 1983 concert with the hymnlike 'The Lord Is Listening To You'. An appropriate beginning, since Bley's musical life began under the tutelage of her church-organist father. From there, via another half-dozen original compositions, she provides a demonstration of her knack for mixing old and new, Europe and America, abstract and highly melodic jazz, into a package that couldn't be anyone else's. The melancholy title tune from the band's Heavy Heart is here, along with her offbeat sense of humour, introduced as 'a traditional tale from the Far West.' The band, all heavy-hitters, includes a young Joe Lovano.

Tracklisting:
Opening Instrumental
The Lord Is Listening To You
Heavy Heart
Walking Battery Woman
Caucasian Bird Riffles
Ups and Downs
The Lone Arranger
Battleship