Carmen Quill

Carmen Quill (formerly Carmen Q. Rothwell) is a double bassist, composer, singer and interdisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn, NY. She is recognized for her sound and versatility on the double bass, her captivating performances as a solo artist, and her intuitive sensitivity as an improviser. Her debut solo recording, Don’t Get Comfy / Nowhere (2021), “thrives on the meeting of reservation and vulnerability, and its songs feel as emotional and virtuosic as a power ballad yet are sparse and withholding as a Rembrandt” (Pitchfork). In addition to producing and performing her solo music she performs and releases music as part of the bands tilt, Scree, and a host of other projects and collaborations. Carmen is a 2025 Next Jazz Legacy Awardee (New Music USA).

Carmen is a regular collaborator with/performs in the bands and projects: tilt(Kalia Vandever, Isabel Crespo Pardo), Scree (Ryan El-Solh, Jason Burger), Allan Mednard Trio (Santiago Leibson), and Asa Horvitz’s GHOST (Wayne Horvitz, Ariadne Randall). In 2025, she began performing with Billy Hart and Jacob Sacks in a trio featuring original compositions by all three members, with support from Next Jazz Legacy. Carmen has also performed with musicians including David Murray, Chris Cheek, Cuong Vu, Ted Poor, Anna RG, Joey Baron, Ben Monder, Andrew D’Angelo, and Dave Douglas. 

In 2024, tilt (Isa Crespo Pardo, Kalia Vandever, Carmen Quill) released their debut album, something we once knew, featuring compositions by each of the three members. They have performed across the US, including appearances at Big Ears Festival (2025), Bang on a Can’s LOUD Weekend (2024), and Westerlies Fest (2024).

In 2023, Carmen performed in Asa Horvitz’s interdisciplinary theater production GHOST which premiered in Vienna, Austria with support from Musiktheatertage Wien, Het HEM, Muziekgebouw Productiehuis, and more. In addition to performing in this music-based choreographic piece, Carmen contributed extensive musical direction alongside Horvitz during the creation of the work from 2019-2023. GHOST, the record, was released in 2025. See the interactive digital version of GHOST here.

In 2022, Don’t Get Comfy / Nowhere was set to a new ballet by the same name, choreographed by Tiffany Mangulabnan and premiered by the Brooklyn dance company Konverjdans.

Carmen and her varied works as a leader and collaborator have been supported and shaped by institutions and organizations including New Music USA, Earshot Jazz Festival, Ruination Record Co., Seattle Improvised Music Festival, SPRING Performing Arts Festival, brutWien, The Owl Music Parlor, Whatever’s Clever, Winter Jazz Festival, The Stone NYC, Lions With Wings, DaCamera Chamber Music and Jazz, KNKX, and University of Washington (BM).

Carmen has taught at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Roosevelt High School (Seattle), and Seattle JazzED in addition to teaching private lessons, ensemble classes and workshops since 2014.