Fox Vs. Paul

More evidence that the neo-con establishment hates Ron Paul. In this case Fox News is not inviting Paul to their Republican debate Sunday night. Dumb move. But what do you expect from the channel that hates Paul the most.So much for fair or balanced.

Online protests seek to include Ron Paul in NH debate
An online protest is growing over presidential candidate Ron Paul's exclusion from a Fox News debate here on Sunday, even though other Republicans receiving fewer votes in Iowa or scoring lower in the polls were invited.

Paul received a fifth-place 10 percent of the GOP vote in Iowa's caucus Thursday, ahead of Rudy Giuliani, who received 3.5 percent. He's also ahead of Fred Thompson in New Hampshire polls, polling 7 percent to Thompson's 2 percent.

But both Giuliani and Thompson still appear to be invited to Sunday evening's debate sponsored by Fox News and the New Hampshire Republican Party. Paul isn't.

That's irked many Paul supporters, who responded by flooding a Fox News Web page on the debate with over 580 comments and creating a "Protest Fox" Web site. It says: "We need to send a message to Fox's Rupert Murdoch & his fellow Neocon buddies that he is not Musharraf and the US is not Pakistan, yet! Fox News cannot just stifle public opinion. debate and impact a primary election by excluding Ron Paul just because they don't like his message of freedom and liberty."

They're also planning protests outside Fox News affiliates. Another likely protest site is Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., which has given Fox News space for a broadcast studio. That's where Sunday's debate will take place.

So why the exclusion? It's hard to say, and Fox News hasn't exactly been forthcoming on this point.

For his part, Paul said he thinks it's because he--alone among Republican candidates--opposes the war in Iraq. After being excluded, Paul explained that he views Fox News as a "propagandist" for the war with editorial views that are hardly in keeping with traditional conservative limited-government principles, according to a story by the Boston Globe.

Adding to the intrigue is that the New Hampshire Republican Party, which is co-sponsoring the debate and presumably has some say in who's invited, published a statement this week saying the media should not be in the "business of excluding serious candidates and talks were continuing with Fox."

And adding to the insult, at least for Paul supporters, is that ABC News is sponsoring a debate at the same place--Saint Anselm College--the evening before. Unlike the Fox News debate on Sunday, however, Ron Paul will be invited to participate.

Of course Fox neo-con commentators just hate Ron Paul.

SEAN HANNITY UPSET ABOUT RON PAUL WINNING DEBATE POLL

While Fox is the voice of America's War,

Ron Paul and Bill O'Reilly Duke It Out (09/10/07)



Fox Chatheads Aghast at Ron Paul's Appeal




Ron Paul is the voice of America's Troops. The folks fighting the neo-cons war for them. Paul can say he supports the troops while calling for their withdrawal from Bush's war.

New Spot: "Troops Support Ron Paul"

Republican Ron Paul is out with a new TV ad, set to run in New Hampshire through Tuesday's primary, stressing his military credentials.

Patriotic music booms. Soldiers salute. The announcer begins: "A proud military veteran who served our nation. Ron Paul salutes and supports our troops who protect and defend our freedom." A flag waves. The announcer continues, "But who do the troops support? Ron Paul. The record shows they're standing up for him." The ad concludes: "Ron Paul is their choice for commander-in-chief."

His campaign spokesman Jesse Benton said Paul "has long been a praised as staunch advocate for veterans' issues." Still, he "wants to bring the troops home from Iraq" because he would rather America "never again sends out brave soldiers to war unless doing so is necessary for our defense," according to Benton. Whether his anti-war message will appeal to New Hampshire veterans is hard to say.

While being dissed by the Republican establishment and its neo-con media flacks the real libertarian base of the pre-Reagan Republicans comes out in favour of Paul.

Congressman Ron Paul will be joined in the last days of the New
Hampshire campaign by former Congressman and conservative stalwart
Barry Goldwater, Jr.

"We are truly honored to have this legendary conservative family
here to support Dr. Paul and bring his message to New Hampshire
voters," said Jared Chicoine, NH State Coordinator. "A Goldwater
endorsement sends an unmistakable message about what Ron Paul really
means to the Republican Party."

Son of the late conservative senator from Arizona, Mr. Goldwater
himself served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Carrying on his father's legacy of fighting for small government and
individual liberty, the former Congressman endorsed Ron Paul for
President in November of 2007.

New Hampshire is going to be another win for Paul but will the media finally take notice? Only if he succeeds in coming in fourth again and burying both Thomspon and Guilliani once and for all. And his chances are very good in this most libertarian of all states.

Rasmussen: Ron Paul Soars to 14% in NH

And while most polls indicate a slug fest between former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Arizona's U.S. Senator John McCain on the Republican side of the fight, another Republican has been waiting behind the curtain for some time now: Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

Paul has endeared himself to legions of supporters with his grandfatherly conviction and steady, libertarian-style message against the Iraq War, for downsizing goverment with lower taxes, and against the erosion of Constitutional rights. Paul's voters are enthusiastic and oftentimes angry. But they have purpose to their anger, fueled as it is by the outrage of seeing America drift ever closer to a socialist "Nanny State."


Tuesday. If Paul can come into the first tier of candidates, say at least fourth or third, his campaign picks up new legitimacy as he will be introduced to America by the mainstream press.

What many traditional Republicans miss is that Ron Paul, like him or not, truly helps show America that the Republican Party is not all lockstep behind the Bush/Cheney Administration when it comes to foreign invasions and domestic surveillance. Since Bush's approval ratings have been in the deep cellar for two years now, having Ron Paul handy to make articulate arguments on liberty and a more prudent foreign policy shows a Republican Party that acknowledges its mistakes.

And even the liberals like him which just further pisses off Fox.

Ron Paul is Bill Maher's New Hero



And he even has support of an anarchist or two....



SEE:

Winds of Change

Huckabee: Paul is Dead

Republican Presidential Paul-itics

Ron Paul and Barry Goldwater

Ron Paul

Death Of Laissez-Faire Politics

Libertarians for U.S. President

Ron Paul Quotes Ayn Rand

Gravel and Paul on PBS

Tags;
libertarian, Republican, Barry Goldwater US, Ronald Reaganelections, politics, right wing, conservative, Mr.Conservative, Reagan, social-conservatives, US Presidential race, Ron Paul,

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema calls Rand Paul's behavior prior to receiving coronavirus results 'irresponsible'

Catherine Garcia, The Week•March 22, 2020

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) on Sunday tweeted that she has "never commented about a fellow senator's choices/actions," but Sen. Rand Paul's (R-Ky.) recent behavior has forced her to speak out.

On Sunday, Paul's office announced that he tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Not long after, CNN's Seung Min Kim reported that two people briefed on the matter told her that during the Senate Republican lunch on Sunday, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) shared with colleagues "that Rand was at the gym this morning ... and that he was swimming in the pool."

Paul's office tweeted in response that "Paul left the Senate IMMEDIATELY upon learning of his diagnosis. He had zero contact with anyone and went into quarantine." His office did not address Paul visiting the Senate gym and pool before receiving the results of his test, which is what outraged Sinema. "This, America, is absolutely irresponsible," she said. "You cannot be near other people while waiting for coronavirus test results. It endangers others and likely increases the spread of the virus."

Sen. Rand Paul, Who Opposed Coronavirus Relief Bill, Tests Positive
Emma Tucker,The Daily Beast•March 22, 2020

Sarah Silbiger/Getty

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who was the only senator to oppose a coronavirus relief package last month, announced Sunday that he has tested positive for the virus.

“He is feeling fine and is in quarantine,” an announcement on his Twitter said. “He is asymptomatic and was tested out of an abundance of caution due to his extensive travel and events.”

It added, “He expects to be back in the Senate after his quarantine period ends and will continue to work for the people of Kentucky at this difficult time.”

In addition to being the only senator to vote against an $8.3 billion emergency coronavirus package, Paul also was one of the eight senators who voted against paid sick leave in a stimulus bill that passed with an overwhelming 90-8 vote last week.

“I think that the paid sick leave is an incentive for businesses to actually let go employees and will make unemployment worse,” Paul, a physician who has a Kentucky-issued medical license, explained to Newsweek.

CNN reported that Paul closed his Capitol Hill offices over a week ago and urged employees to work from home due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak. Two people who attended the annual Speed Art Museum ball in Kentucky with the senator on March 7 later tested positive for the virus, according to the Courier-Journal.

But despite reportedly being tested roughly a week ago, Paul continued to interact with colleagues and even worked out at the Senate gym—and was swimming in the pool—on Sunday morning, shortly before he received his positive test results, Politico reported.

Paul is the first senator to test positive for the novel coronavirus. Two other members of Congress, Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) and Ben McAdams (D-UT), have also gone public with positive test results.

According to the World Health Organization, COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, is particularly dangerous for people with lung problems. In August 2019, Paul had part of his lung removed after an altercation with his neighbor Rene Boucher. The two had a long-running dispute over lawn care.

Second Member of Congress Tests Positive for COVID-19

On March 2, Paul appeared on Fox News and downplayed the global threat of the coronavirus.
“While it is worldwide, I think there is room for optimism that this thing may plateau out in a few weeks and not be as bad it as it may have been portrayed,” he said to host Neil Cavuto. “We’ve seen pockets of this around the world and even in Italy and Iran where we have it, but none of it is approaching what started in China.”

When asked about institutions taking larger measures to limit the spread of the virus, Paul was resistant to the idea. “I think closing down the Smithsonians would be way too premature and I wouldn’t advise something like that.”

And when Cavuto asked Paul about making personal adjustments to avoid infection, the Senator was particularly defiant. “I mean, I fly all the time and I’m not cutting back on my flying... I was on a plane today,” he said. “I could be wrong and this could be really bad in two or three weeks or a month, but I’m hoping it’s not going to be. I’m not ready to buy all the toilet paper at Target.”

The senator’s father, Dr. Ron Paul, a physician and a former Republican congressman from Texas, published an essay called “The Coronavirus Hoax” last week for the New River Valley News, a local outlet based in Virginia.

“People should ask themselves whether this coronavirus ‘pandemic’ could be a big hoax, with the actual danger of the disease massively exaggerated by those who seek to profit—financially or politically—from the ensuing panic,” the elder Paul wrote.
As of Sunday afternoon, there are 30,000 COVID-19 cases in the U.S., and nearly 400 people have died.

Rand Paul's coronavirus infection sends shockwaves through Senate during major stimulus debate

William Cummings,USA TODAY•March 22, 2020


Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus and is being quarantined, his office announced Sunday.

The diagnosis comes as the Senate prepares to move forward on a massive coronavirus stimulus aid package aimed at alleviating the economic impact of the outbreak. Several Republican lawmakers announced on Sunday they would self-quarantine as a result of Paul's diagnosis.

Sergio Gor, Paul's deputy chief of staff, said the senator "decided to get tested after attending an event where two individuals subsequently tested positive for COVID-19, even though he wasn't aware of any direct contact with either one of them."

Gor said Paul is in a higher risk category after having part of his lung removed last year after it was damaged in a 2017 assault by his neighbor.

Paul's diagnosis also raised questions about his behavior after he continued to attend events and use shared facilities as he awaited the test results.

Several news outlets reported, for example, that Paul was using the Senategym and pool as recently as Sunday morning, the same day he announced he had tested positive. Several lawmakers also reported having lunch recently with Paul.

Those actions drew sharp criticism from at least one fellow senator.

More: New ad from conservative group targets Trump on coronavirus messaging

More: Trump uses China as a foil when talking coronavirus, distancing himself from criticism

"This, America, is absolutely irresponsible," tweeted Sen. Kristen Synema, D-Ariz. "You cannot be near other people while waiting for coronavirus test results. It endangers others & likely increases the spread of the virus."

The news of Paul's diagnosis came as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., moved forward with the stimulus package, which is expected to approach $2 trillion. Earlier Sunday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared she would not support the bill as written, and vowed House Democrats would move forward with their own legislation.

But McConnell said he would still hold a cloture vote on Sunday. If approved, that vote would limit debate on the measure to 30 hours ahead of a final vote, which McConnell hopes will take place Monday.

In response to Paul's diagnosis, Republican Sens. Mike Lee and Mitt Romney of Utah announced they would undergo self-quarantines. The loss of their votes – in addition to those of Republicans Sens. Rick Scott and Cory Garner, who were already under self-quarantine – could threaten the measure's passage.

Paul was not the first member of Congress to test positive for the virus. Last week, Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., and Ben McAdams, D-Utah, announced they had tested positive.

Paul was on Capitol Hill several days last week. The statement from his office did not say when Paul tested positive, nor when he might have contracted the illness.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said Sunday that lawmakers are speaking with a doctor to determine what steps they should take after Paul's diagnosis.

"We just learned our colleague, Rand Paul, has tested positive for the coronavirus. Our thoughts and prayers are with him for a speedy recovery," Thune said on the Senate floor. "We will consult with the attending physician here at the Capitol about appropriate measures for those of us who have been in contact with the senator."

Thune said Paul's infection "is the kind of situation that Americans across the country are dealing with right now. And it underscores the importance of acting immediately to deliver more relief for the American people."

More: Coronavirus relief deal agreed by Pelosi, Trump overwhelmingly passes House as president declares national emergency

Romney, R-Utah., confirmed he and other lawmakers attended a lunch with Paul on Friday and that they were consulting with doctors before he announced later Sunday that he would self-quarantine.

"He's compromised given health conditions he's had in the past, and so we'll be praying for him and thinking about him," Romney told reporters regarding Paul's positive test result. "Of course, all the senators are going to seek medical advice as to what action we should take to make sure that we don't in any way spread this virus ourselves."

Soon after Romney announced his decision to isolate himself.

"Since Senator Romney sat next to Senator Paul for extended periods in recent days and consistent with CDC guidance, the attending physician has ordered him to immediately self-quarantine and not to vote on the Senate floor," Romney's office said in a statement.

It said that Romney would undergo a test himself, although he currently has no symptoms.

Lee went into self-quarantine soon after Paul’s disclosure, on the advice of Congress’ attending physician. Lee reportedly also had lunch with Paul on Friday.

Lee said he has no symptoms and the physician said he did not need to be tested.

"However, given the timing, proximity, and duration of my exposure to Sen. Paul, he directed me to self-quarantine for 14 days," Lee said in a statement Sunday. "That means no traveling or voting."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID-19: Rand Paul's diagnosis sends shockwaves through Senate

Unfair and Unbalanced

So Fox had their debate last night without Ron Paul.

I saw the very beginning of the forum, in which Brit Hume said that ‘one of these five men will be the next President of the United States’ — a statement which I found presumptuous.

They claimed its because they only invited candidates with double digit standings in the National Polls. Well Ron Paul is ahead of Fred Thompson in New Hampshire. And it was a New Hampshire debate. But well....fair and balanced as Fox is they did not want him there. Any excuse would do not to feature the only Republican candidate opposed to the War in Iraq. And the result was a very boooooring political forum that fell flat.

Paul has been one of this campaign's biggest surprises. Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, and Mike Huckabee have seen their popularity fluctuate, but Paul has continued to climb in polls (he's at 10 percent in the latest CNN/WMUR New Hampshire poll, well ahead of Thompson)."It's annoying not able to participate in the debate," said Paul, adding that Fox News reporters and commentators "are war mongerers who don't want to hear other opinions."

The decision by Fox to limit participation in the forum infuriated Paul supporters and even drew the ire of the New Hampshire Republican Party, which withdrew its sponsorship of the event.

Fox had invited Republican candidates Rudolph Giuliani, John McCain, Romney, Huckabee and Fred Thompson to the forum, but excluded Paul as well as California congressman Duncan Hunter.

Paul protested, arguing that he raised $20 million in the last quarter of 2007, almost the same amount as Hillary Clinton. Furthermore, a Research 2000 poll published in the Concord Monitor released Sunday showed Paul garnering 7 percent of the vote, besting Thompson and only 1 point behind Giuliani in the state.

On Saturday the New Hampshire Republican party expressed its disappointment with the decision to exclude Mr. Paul and Representative Duncan Hunter of California by severing its partnership with Fox.

“We believe that it is inconsistent with the first in the nation primary tradition to be excluding candidates in a pre-primary setting,” said Fergus Cullen, chair of the state G.O.P. party. “All candidates regardless of how well known they are or how much money they’ve raised should be treated equally here.”

The New Hampshire G.O.P. has been in discussions with Fox to include all the candidates in the forum, but the network said that it was only inviting candidates who received double digit support in national polls.

On Saturday, Fox News Channel issued a brief statement from David Rhodes, its vice president of news: “We look forward to presenting a substantive forum which will serve as the first program of its kind this election season.”

The voice that Fox News wouldn’t broadcast Sunday night came through loud and clear to the more than 400 Ron Paul fans who jammed into the Crowne Plaza hotel’s ballroom here Sunday afternoon to hear his alternative vision for America.

The crowd, representing many of the outliers of the American political spectrum, waved placards and American flags as they repeatedly rose to their feet.

If nothing else, Paul’s backers, who include pro wrestler Glen Jacobs (aka “Kane”) and former Rep. Barry Goldwater Jr., are more overtly enthusiastic about their candidate than most political activists.

That energy could make Paul’s primary day performance here a compelling undercard for Tuesday’s marquee matchups of Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republicans John McCain and Mitt Romney .

In a Concord Monitor poll this week, Paul was one point behind Rudy Giuliani , well within the margin of error, for fourth place, with Fred Thompson behind them. Finishing behind Paul could be a jarring blow for better-known candidates who hope to compete for the nomination nationally.

“It makes [Fox] look so foolish,” Paul said after his speech. “What do they have against democracy?”

Note that I have been predicting Paul would do well in NH for sometime now , and the polls show that.

If you want to use polls the latest Rasmussen Reports has him tied for third place in New Hampshire with Iowa winner Mike Huckabee at eleven percent (11%) making Fox look even more foolish. Fred Thompson is at four percent (4%) in the state in that poll, and Rudy is only at nine percent (9%).

Fox loves to promote unbridled capitalism as the solution to everything. Well here is what happens when the market responds to such obvious politcal bias and censorship. Ya hit them where it hurts, in the pocket book.

Are Ron Paul Supporters Really Hurting Fox News Parent Company Shares?

Following Fox News exclusion of US Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul in a Sunday debate, many of his supporters called for a boycott of sponsors and - perhaps worse - shorting Fox parent company News Corp's stock.

Maybe it's just a reflection of the market overall but News Corp's shares really dropped this past week as seen by the chart below.

Coincidence? Perhaps. Then again....

The exclusion of Dr. Paul has backfired as major newspapers in the state of New Hampshire have jumped all over the story....and it's not a story of how some lowly candidate has been told to stay home by Fox News because he doesn't stand a chance in hell of winning. The stories instead ask "How and Why?". How could Ron Paul not be invited when Rudy Giuliani performed much worse in Iowa than Paul, who managed to crack double digits with 10% of the vote? Why is Ron Paul not invited to a state debate where he is presently polling better than three other invitees in New Hampshire?

Fox News for us is a guilty pleasure. We watch it, we've appeared on Fox and we certainly do not encourage the shorting of a company's shares.....but the decision to leave Ron Paul out of this debate was a "bonehead" one to say the least made by individuals who we suspect do not have a full grip on reality.

The Republican GOP in New Hampshire has now backed out of sponsoring the debate, even though it will still go on as planned. The headlines on Monday, however, will be "Where was Ron Paul?" and his New Hampshire exposure is bound to be twofold as a result.

Paul has a real base in the Republican party and can build delegate status, with such an open race. As this liberal Washington state commentator correctly points out.

I stopped going out of my way to deliberately antagonize and belittle the Paul campaign a couple months ago. It was mainly because he ran and is running a real race. The guy raised $20 million in a quarter. Despite not spending a nickel he got 10 percent of the vote in Iowa - more than Giuliani - and with how flakey the voters are in the Granite State odds are good he'll do even better in New Hampshire.

Like it or not the guy is a real candidate. This isn't Dennis Kucinich or Tom Tancredo who couldn't get attention if they were holding the last ham sandwich in hungry town. Paul has name recognition. The way things are looking, he will probably be in the race longer than Mitt Romney or Fred Thompson. Although there's probably no scenario where Paul can win the nomination it is nowhere out of the realm of possibility that he will control a significant block of delegates which could be a factor should this race be decided at the convention.

The Paulites are playing by all the rules and doing everything you can ask in order to be a valuable part of the nomination process. Right now as you read this there are dewy-eyed Paul supporters signing up to be PCOs and precinct captains laying down the foundation of a good grassroots base. They're doing it across the country. They're doing it in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

Here in Washington, Democrats are choosing all of their delegates in the caucus while half the Republican delegates are coming from the primary; the open primary. It wouldn't be surprising if Paul came in second or even wins our state's GOP primary.

You see the signs along the road, you read the blog comments and you watch the YouTube videos. In terms of generating excitement the "Paultards" have been kicking the ass every candidate in both parties with the exception of Barack Obama

Paul appeals to pre Reagan Republicans, those who like Barry Goldwater feel the party was taken over by the Moral Majority.

Paul has gained a loyal following in New Hampshire by touting his strict constructionist view of the constitution and his support of individual liberties and small government with lower taxes.

Paul's campaign has helped highlight a growing group of disenfranchised Republicans who say they are being alienated by religious conservatives and others.

Supporter Louise Aitel, a high school teacher from Merrimack, said she was so turned off by the Republican Party's views that she voted for Al Gore in 2000, but will return to the GOP fold tomorrow to cast a ballot for Paul.

"I was so wretchedly tired of religion being part of the state," she said of her 2000 vote.

Paul said yesterday he is working to change the party and hopes his views will be considered.

"If it doesn't transform the Republican party, then it's going to get weaker and weaker," he said, adding that he is trying to "save" the party.

As result of the Fox move Jay Leno, desperate for content, has invited Paul to cross striking writers picket lines to be on his show. The day before the New Hampshire primary. Bingo just like Hucakbee was before Iowa. And we know the result that had.

Leno is competing to have maverick Republican candidates on his show to boost his ratings. He had Huckabee on for his inaugral show last week. With the strong libertarian base in LA and California, this will auger well for Paul and for Leno's ratings. That Paul crosses a picket line to do this does not do his cause justice, but the core of his liberaltarian base are union haters so they could care less.

As for Leno he desperately needs content as his latest endeavors show like when last week he had one of his male staff show off his beer belly in a slinky thong. Desperation reeks off the show which has not come to an agreement with its writers like its competitor Letterman did. Having Paul on is unfortunately a win-win. And a big loss to the Writers Guild.


Writers Guild of America members continue to picket outside “The Tonight Show” studios Wednesday as fans wait in line to get into Jay Leno’s show.

SEE:

Fox Vs. Paul

Tags;
libertarian, Republican, Barry Goldwater US, Ronald Reaganelections, politics, right wing, conservative, Mr.Conservative, Fox News, Jay Leno, US Presidential race, Ron Paul,

Who Is Paul Bley?

Steve O’Keefe

July 25, 2025

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Image by Paul Arky.

Paul Bley: The Logic of Chance

Written by Arrigo Cappelletti in 2004.

Translated from the Italian by Gregory Burk in 2010.

Published by Vehicule Press, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Who is Paul Bley? Much of the curiosity about this enigmatic jazz pianist is the result of an aura of mystery which Bley appears to have cultivated. Born in Montreal in 1932, he was filling in for the great Oscar Peterson as a teenager. Peterson introduced him to Charlie Parker and all the other birds migrating through Montreal. Next thing you know, Paul Bley moved to Manhattan at age 18 and enrolled at Juilliard in 1950.

Oh, to be a pianist sitting at the center of the bebop revolution in New York in 1950 – what an incredible life! The clubs, the nightlife, the music, the city! Bley blows into town, 18 years old, a fully-formed pianist who had played with Bird, filled in for Oscar, and could stroll the piano like Bud Powell. His first recording as a leader, in 1953, features Charles Mingus on bass and Art Blakey on drums, both legendary leaders of monumental jazz bands.

Paul Bley’s second release as a leader the following year, the self-titled album, Paul Bley, features less well-known but formidable support from drummer Al Levitt and bassists Percy Heath and Peter Ind. Levitt and Ind were both students of the blind pianist, Lennie Tristano, who ran a cult-like studio where he and Charlie Parker and Charlie Mingus worked out a lot of the ideas of bebop and “east coast jazz.”

In addition to Peter Ind, Tristano taught Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, Billy Bauer, Ronnie Ball and Sal Mosca. In a book by Peter Ind devoted to his teacher, entitled JazzVisions: Lennie Tristano and his Legacy, Ind says that Paul Bley frequently came by Lennie Tristano’s home/studio. Bley was certainly familiar with The Tristano Method by that time, as were the other members of his trios.

The Tristano Method is to learn a song by singing it – all of it – the melody, the bridge, the solos, until the song is memorized. Then the song is played in every possible key signature, until the soloist can move the melody around, up and down, through all the keys. Then the song is played at varying tempos and time signatures. Through this process – worked out together by Lennie Tristano and Charlie Parker – every song is essentially memorized, taken apart, and reassembled in a way suited to the soloist.

Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane both used this method, notoriously practicing for hours on end in a way that exhausted less determined players. Many other horn players, emulating Bird, also indirectly learned The Tristano Method through imitation. The pianists who could play this way predated Paul Bley, but not by much, and included Bud Powell, Oscar Peterson and Ahmad Jamal. If you listen to Paul Bley’s first albums with Peter Ind or Charles Mingus from the early 1950s, you would be hard pressed to distinguish him from Ahmad Jamal’s trio from the same era.

The formula was established: Play a tune until you can remake it, then put your own name on it. Like his contemporary, pianist Bill Evans, who Paul Bley is credited with mentoring at the Lenox School of Jazz, Bley could have spent the rest of his life as the top pianist in the land, with his own band or with others, playing breathtaking variations of popular tunes. But he couldn’t take it.

Something broke. That’s the problem with The Tristano Method. Once you achieve it, you tire of it, you feel trapped by it, you have to fight your way out of it. Paul Bley just stopped playing the song, only hinting at it now and then. He began chasing a different sound, a new sound set free of rhythm, melody and harmony.

In 1957, Paul Bley started dating the cigarette girl at the Birdland jazz club, named Carla Borg. Together, they followed Chet Baker out to Los Angeles in 1957, and that’s where they changed jazz history.

***

In 1958 at the Hillcrest Club in Los Angeles, “The Fabulous Paul Bley Quintet,” as it was billed, included Paul Bley on piano, Ornette Coleman on alto saxophone, Don Cherry on pocket trumpet, Charlie Haden on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums. It is the first known recording of what would become The Ornette Coleman Quartet, destined to change The Shape of Jazz to Come. Paul Bley was proud of the fact that he was the only piano player who worked with Ornette for decades.

The Hillcrest Club recording was not pressed until 1970, so in 1958, almost no one knew about Ornette. Paul Bley returned back east in 1960 to take part in a series of workshops and recordings made by George Russell and His Orchestra. Also in the orchestra were pianist Bill Evans and saxophonist Ornette Coleman. The result was Jazz in the Space Age, a somewhat stiff performance that became the Big Bang of modern jazz.

As the pianoless Ornette Coleman Quartet flipped the post-Parker jazz world on its head, Paul Bley went a different direction. In 1961, he hooked up with clarinetist Jimmy Giuffre and bass player, Steve Swallow, to make what many people considered to be “third stream” music, a largely improvised ballet of consummate musicians intensely listening to each other. Their first recording as The Jimmy Giuffre 3 appeared on the brand-new ECM record label in 1961 and the trio toured Europe later that year.

In 1959, Carla Borg became Carla Bley, an introverted pianist whom Paul encouraged to write. And write she did! She wrote five of the nine pieces on the 1962 release, Footloose, Paul’s first album as a leader since 1957. With Steve Swallow on bass and Pete LaRoca on drums, the effervescent piano has been cited by none other than Keith Jarrett as one of the major influences on his development.

In 1963, Paul Bley accepted the piano chair for the Sonny Rollins band. The story of his selection is one of the great moments in jazz history. The audition was held at Birdland in New York and it came down to Paul Bley or Herbie Hancock. Another guy who was looking for a pianist heard about the audition and sat in: trumpeter Miles Davis. Sonny got to choose first and he picked Paul Bley. Miles “settled” for Herbie Hancock, who became a star in Miles’ second great quartet.

Sonny Rollins and Paul Bley were made for each other. They both could play one song for unimaginable lengths of time, with Bley providing the landing strip to guide Sonny’s solos back to Earth. They went into the studio with tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins to record Sonny Meets Hawk, with Bob Cranshaw on bass and Roy McCurdy on drums.

When it came time to play his solo on “All the Things You Are” – the kind of show tune jazz was moving away from – Bley never once touched the melody. Years later, guitarist Pat Metheny described Bley’s solo as “the shot heard ’round the world.” Bley told Aiden Levy, author of the mammoth biography, Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins, that “I did not play the song at all. Not only was I ‘elastically’ away from the song, I never really bounced back … [but] I always knew where I was.”

This is the story of the mystery of Paul Bley. You know he’s there. You can hear him behind you. But when you go to look for him, he vanishes. It’s like a game he plays; he’s always there but never where you’re looking.

The Sonny Rollins Band toured Japan for the first time that fall, and it had a profound impact on both Rollins and Bley. When they returned , Rollins formed a nonprofit organization to promote yoga in the United States. Bley got back with his trio of Steve Swallow on bass and Pete LaRocca on drums. That also didn’t last long. Soon Carla Bley was living with Steve Swallow and Swallow was replaced in the band by Gary Peacock, with Paul Motian replacing LaRocca on drums.

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Biographer Arrigo Cappelletti accurately captures this mercurial nature in Paul Bley: The Logic of Chance. The cover photo is a picture of Bley’s back as he plays a grand piano. He points out that Bley always sings softly as he plays, a residue of The Tristano Method. He says Bley’s work with Jimmy Giuffre was “anchored to the silences.” Paul Bley knew how to use the absence of sound better than anyone. As the music of Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman became thicker and thicker, Paul Bley’s music became thinner, purer, cleaner.

Bley returned to the U.S. only to be dumped by Sonny Rollins, dumped by his wife, Carla Bley, who was now partnered with his bass player, and thanks to Paul was becoming more famous than he was. In a chapter of Cappelletti’s book entitled, “A Brief Description of Some Compositions,” all five pieces discussed were written by Carla Bley, none by Paul. Ouch. Maybe it was a team sport, but shortly thereafter Bley started a long-term relationship with Annette Peacock, wife of his bass player Gary Peacock.

Bley bought the “first-ever” Moog synthesizer and played it almost exclusively from 1969 to 1971. In 1972 he recorded his first album of solo piano music, Open To Love, which is, of course, on ECM Records. That is the same year ECM released Keith Jarrett’s first solo album, Facing You, and Chick Corea’s first solo album, Improvisations, Volume 1. All three landmark recordings were made at the Arne Bendiksen Studio in Oslo, Norway. That must be some piano!

Bley was indeed “open to love,” as he divorced Annette Peacock and married videographer Carol Goss in 1972. Together, they founded Improvising Artists, Inc., in 1974, (https://www.improvart.com/) which put out many important recordings during its short run, including Jaco with Jaco Pastorious on bass, Paul Bley on piano, Pat Metheny on guitar, and Bruce Ditmas on drums.

One reason Paul Bley is not a household name is that he became an expatriate and moved to Europe in 1980. A similar fate happened to pianist Bud Powell and saxophonist Sidney Bechet. From 1980 to 1985, all Bley’s recordings were made in Europe. In 1985, he was reunited with his friend and former employer, Chet Baker, in Copenhagen. During the 1980s, he mostly recorded solo albums or with a revolving cast of European trios. Half of the articles written about Paul Bley in the extensive bibliography in Cappelletti’s book are not in English. Cappelletti is Italian.

In 1989, Paul Bley reunited with Jimmy Giuffre and Steve Swallow for a series of concerts in New York, as well as Charlie Haden and Paul Motian for concerts in Montreal and Milan. He remained ferociously inventive for two more decades, with new European partners and old American favorites. Carol Goss started the Not Still Art Festival in New York in 1996 which is still operating (https://www.improvart.com/nsa/).

At the age of 76, in 2008, Paul Bley gave his last performance, playing solo piano in Oslo, Norway. It was released in 2014 by ECM Records as Play Blue, an anagram of his name. He died in Florida, of all places, at the age of 83 in 2016.

Here it is, ten years later, and I ask my smart speaker to “play Paul Bley,” and she acts like I’m having a stroke. No matter how slowly I say his name, or how much I annunciate, I cannot get Amazon to play Paul Bley. Ask for Carla Bley, and she never stops going (much of it performed by Paul Bley). His autobiography, Stopping Time, is out of print; used copies sell for $60. The book, Time Will Tell: Conversations With Paul Bley, also out of print, will set you back $140 for a used copy.

A pianist who belongs with Glenn Gould and Oscar Peterson among the most famous Canada has produced, a pianist who drives several of the most important jazz recordings of all time, a pianist so ahead of the curve we have yet to catch up – Paul Bley is virtually invisible in contemporary culture. Who is Paul Bley? When you find out, you won’t believe it!

Steve O’Keefe is the author of several books, most recently Set the Page on Fire: Secrets of Successful Writers, from New World Library, based on over 250 interviews. He is the former editorial director for Loompanics Unlimited.