When Manfred Eicher called Paul Bley in August 1972 and proposed to record a piano solo album, the Canadian pianist, 40 years old at this point, had already released 18 records as a leader. “And yet,” to quote Greg Buium’s liner note for the vinyl re-issue of this album, “it still feels inconceivable — to think there were chapters in his musical life before solo piano.” Open, To Love didn’t quite come out of the blue, but arrived in the context of two other seminal solo recordings that ECM’s producer had initiated: Chick Corea’s Piano Improvisations (1971) and Keith Jarrett’s Facing You (1972). Bley’s solo performance holds a special place in that triumvirate of individualist perspectives & offers profound elaborations on his own compositions as well as pieces by Carla Bley and Annette Peacock. “On his own, Bley is even more sombre and introspective, but the music has a rare freshness and clarity, and it’s perhaps the deepest glimpse yet into the way his mind works. Practically all his albums are important documents on a remarkable mind, and this is one of the best.” – Richard Williams, Melody Maker (1973, Month’s Best Album)
