“Tired Blood” from Vanessa Bley & Tavahn Ghazi’s album “Last Time First” is an ethereal trip that will strike you with every note and incantation. This album was unfortunately the last project that Vanessa Bley poured her soul into before her untimely passing in 2019. She was tragically taken along with her 2 children after a fatal collision in Santa Barbara. The daughter of late free jazz pianist Paul Bley and video artist Carol Goss, creativity runs through Vanessa’s veins and this album collaboration with the wonderfully talented Tavahn Ghazi will be a lasting effect on those lucky enough to hear it. One of the most beautiful things about art is that people live on through what they leave behind. Whether it’s music, film, artwork or even just the impressions left on loved ones and acquaintances. Bley shines bright through this album with Ghazi, along with her extensive body of work in the music world. Please listen to “Tired Blood” and the rest of the album “Last Time First” when you have the time and hold it in your heart if it speaks to you.
-Alyssa Holland
Vanessa Bley, daughter of late jazz pianist Paul Bley and pioneer video artist Carol Goss, is best known as front woman for haze-pop band Beast Patrol, noted Band to Watch by Rolling Stone, and the jazz-noir group Twin Danger, described a The Sound Of Frank Sinatra Meets The Clash"s "by NPR. Bley co-wrote and produced Twin Danger's self-titled debut album with saxophonist and guitarist Stuart Matthewman, the co-founder of Sade. The album, released by Decca / Universal Classics, went to number one on the iTunes Jazz Chart and received four stars from Downbeat, leading to an interview on NPR’s All Things Considered and shows around the world. In addition to her two bands and solo records, Bley scores film and art installations, including a recent multi-sensorial perfume installation for International Flavors & Fragrances and Sony Arcade. In 2015 Bley edited the audio for the film Eyes of the Moon, which debuted at the Marfa Film Festival. Vanessa and her two lovely children were tragically taken from us near the end of 2019 and her legacy of creativity and her genuine zeal for life will be missed eternally.
Last Time First is the final creative project from Vanessa Bley before her untimely death in 2019. Tavahn and Vanessa met in 2013 in Marfa, TX and quickly struck up a friendship over their tastes in music. Soon after meeting they began exchanging snippets of new work they’d been writing separately. This album is the direct product of those beginning exchanges and some of the songs have some of those original snippets to keep the genesis a part of the story. Over time, they pieced the record together remotely and often in person at studios in California. Before her death they had gotten very close to “finishing” the record, but there are noticeable omissions on it. She was unable to record the vocals she had come up with for one whole song and was only able to sing the first verse of another. This is a bittersweet release as it gives us the final offering from a brilliant mind and brings to an end a partnership that was on the verge of truly blossoming into important work for years to come. Enjoy it.
Tavahn Ghazi grew up in Northern California to an immigrant family which directly influenced his future with music. His first concert as a child was the late great Paco De Lucia in the 80s and since that time his love for music has always been extremely wide. Growing up with diverse and global musical influences helped the voices in his ears become the music in his hands over time. He attended the Los Angeles Music Academy in Pasadena to learn Guitar, Drums and Bass. After school he decided to continue learning music through travel and studied all across Africa, Europe and Central America. He has helped produce and contributed his musicianship to a multitude of projects and since retiring from studio work and touring has focused on finding new ways to transcribe that music in his head into new music for everyone's ears.
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Vanessa Bley, daughter of late jazz pianist Paul Bley and pioneer video artist Carol Goss, is best known as front woman for haze-pop band Beast Patrol, noted Band to Watch by Rolling Stone, and the jazz-noir group Twin Danger, described a The Sound Of Frank Sinatra Meets The Clash"s "by NPR. Bley co-wrote and produced Twin Danger's self-titled debut album with saxophonist and guitarist Stuart Matthewman, the co-founder of Sade. The album, released by Decca / Universal Classics, went to number one on the iTunes Jazz Chart and received four stars from Downbeat, leading to an interview on NPR’s All Things Considered and shows around the world. In addition to her two bands and solo records, Bley scores film and art installations, including a recent multi-sensorial perfume installation for International Flavors & Fragrances and Sony Arcade. In 2015 Bley edited the audio for the film Eyes of the Moon, which debuted at the Marfa Film Festival. Vanessa and her two lovely children were tragically taken from us near the end of 2019 and her legacy of creativity and her genuine zeal for life will be missed eternally.
Last Time First is the final creative project from Vanessa Bley before her untimely death in 2019. Tavahn and Vanessa met in 2013 in Marfa, TX and quickly struck up a friendship over their tastes in music. Soon after meeting they began exchanging snippets of new work they’d been writing separately. This album is the direct product of those beginning exchanges and some of the songs have some of those original snippets to keep the genesis a part of the story. Over time, they pieced the record together remotely and often in person at studios in California. Before her death they had gotten very close to “finishing” the record, but there are noticeable omissions on it. She was unable to record the vocals she had come up with for one whole song and was only able to sing the first verse of another. This is a bittersweet release as it gives us the final offering from a brilliant mind and brings to an end a partnership that was on the verge of truly blossoming into important work for years to come. Enjoy it.
Tavahn Ghazi grew up in Northern California to an immigrant family which directly influenced his future with music. His first concert as a child was the late great Paco De Lucia in the 80s and since that time his love for music has always been extremely wide. Growing up with diverse and global musical influences helped the voices in his ears become the music in his hands over time. He attended the Los Angeles Music Academy in Pasadena to learn Guitar, Drums and Bass. After school he decided to continue learning music through travel and studied all across Africa, Europe and Central America. He has helped produce and contributed his musicianship to a multitude of projects and since retiring from studio work and touring has focused on finding new ways to transcribe that music in his head into new music for everyone's ears.
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