Jazz Articles about Bill Carrothers

Bill Carrothers: Content in his Corner of the Jazz World

by R.J. DeLuke
March 1, 2004

Pianist Bill Carrothers is a realist.Don't look for him to pine away for the “good old days" in jazz. Those are days he never saw anyway. Only 34, he grew up outside Minneapolis, Minn., with rock music and the period that punished us with Disco. Don't expect him to foretell the next great wave of jazz resurgence because, in fact, Carrothers doesn't believe it's going to happen. Jazz, like everything else, he will tell you, has a beginning, ...

Bill Carrothers: The Electric Bill

by Phil DiPietro
October 10, 2002

Some of Bill Carrothers' fans may not even know that he plays the electric Fender Rhodes, since his only other recorded performance on the instrument is on the 1998 Happy Apple disc, Part of the Solution Problem. Two-thirds of that whack power trio is on hand here-inimitable, stealth-power drummer extraordinaire Dave King and versatile, complete-game saxophonist Mike Lewis. In addition, Reid Anderson, who as far as I'm concerned is an absolutely incredible composer in his own right, lends his considerable ...

Bill Carrothers: Duets With Bill Stewart

by Jim Santella
February 1, 2002

Recorded three years ago, released on the Birdology label, and reissued now by Dreyfus, this duo session brings together two veterans who share a desire to create unique music every time out. Bill Carrothers is 37. Bill Stewart is 35. They're at a point in their careers where creativity and tradition have been united by a desire to move the music forward. Hence, familiar melodies and consonant harmonies are woven into impressions of the world around us. Dreamy afternoons coexist ...

Bill Carrothers: Duets With Bill Stewart

by Jim Santella
February 1, 2002

Recorded three years ago, released on the Birdology label, and reissued now by Dreyfus, this duo session brings together two veterans who share a desire to create unique music every time out. Bill Carrothers is 37. Bill Stewart is 35. They're at a point in their careers where creativity and tradition have been united by a desire to move the music forward. Hence, familiar melodies and consonant harmonies are woven into impressions of the world around us. Dreamy afternoons coexist ...

Bill Carrothers / Wendy Lewis: The Language Of Crows

by Jim Santella
November 1, 1999

Wendy Lewis and Bill Carrothers are outcats. By combining impressionism with cynical humor, they’ve come up with a cerebral session that’s both pleasant in its linear form and adventurous through its added dimensions. A jazz pianist from Minneapolis, Carrothers likes to vary from expected mainstream harmony and dress up his accompaniment with dense atypical chords. His solo romps swing with a light-hearted sense that can only come through a love for the music. Lewis’ lyrics are articulated well enough and ...

Bill Carrothers: After Hours, Vol. 4

by Jim Santella
March 1, 1999

Pianist Bill Carrothers has selected songs you’ve heard time and again out on the town, when the club is getting ready to close and everyone’s left but you and the band. Dedicated to Frank Sinatra, the album contains romantic ballads that would follow heartbreak and reveal hopes of turning one’s love life around. Carrothers has a deeply emotional piano style that stresses harmony by overlapping the tones to create soundscapes. You can get acquainted with the artist by reading portions ...

Bill Carrothers: The Blues And The Greys

by Jim Santella
April 1, 1998

Inspired by the PBS television series about the U.S. Civil War, this solo album by pianist Bill Carrothers' presents American patriotic tunes in a somber straightforward manner. Adding his personal thoughts on the war's meaning to society, the pianist embellishes melodies here, deepens harmonies there, and provides textural changes appropriate to his interpretation.

While most of the selections are offered in a traditional straightforward manner, several receive obvious changes. The familiar “Dixie" gets a heartfelt dissonant harmonic restructuring that evokes ...