Carla Bley moved to New York as a teenager in the 1950s and had her breakthrough in the city's jazz clubs in the 1960s when the genre broadened, broke with previous conventions and was influenced by rock and other, more psychedelic tones.
The jazz pianist leaned in an avant-garde direction with his music and played with a number of different constellations during his career. Bassist Charlie Haden and Steve Swallow, whom she later married, were regular fellow musicians.
As a composer and arranger, Carla Bley was not afraid to mix genres and her jazz-rock LP "Escalator over the hill" was named album of the year by British rock magazine Melody Maker in 1973. Later, she collaborated with Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor and Nick Mason of Pink Floyd.
Carla Bley was born in Oakland. Her father was a church musician and also became a musical inspiration. Her paternal grandparents came from Sweden and she played several times in her "homeland", including at the Stockholm jazz festival.