Barbara Carroll

Barbara Carroll - pianist, composer, vocalist

The elegant jazz pianist, composer and vocalist Barbara Carroll is regarded as one of today’s most fascinating purveyors of swinging jazz piano and expressive vocals. Equally at home in a concert hall or intimate music room, she connects with her audience through the passion, joy and emotional power of her performances. Her inventive piano playing and unique vocal sound transforms composition by Harold Arlen, Cole Porter, Billy Strayhorn or Thelonious Monk into her own art with emotional directness and respect for the tunes and their possibilities.

Noted jazz critic Leonard Feather declared that she was "the first girl to play bop piano," and People Magazine recently wrote: “Barbara Carroll’s jazz pianism is the subtlest and most intricate that New York has to offer.”

Ms. Carroll’s diverse musical career began at the age of five with piano lessons in her native Worcester, Massachusetts. Her classical training began at age eight and continued through her years at the New England Conservatory of Music. Along the way, she developed a fervent interest in jazz and was influenced by the work of Nat “King” Cole, Bud Powell, Charlie Parker and other important musicians of the era.

After making her New York debut at the celebrated Downbeat Club on legendary 52nd Street, she went on to perform in major music rooms across the country to audiences that regularly included luminaries such as Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne, Tony Bennett, and Dinah Washington. Her work over the past 50 years has spanned everything from appearances on Broadway with her trio in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Me and Juliet to performances in concert halls, jazz clubs, on major TV shows and festival stages throughout the world. She has performed for President and Mrs. Clinton at the White House and has made more than thirty major label recordings with an array of jazz legends including Art Farmer, Claudio Roditi, Bucky Pizzarelli and John Pizzarelli.

Ms. Carroll, whom many regard as New York’s “first lady of jazz piano,” recently completed a record-breaking run at the famed Bemelmans Bar in the Carlyle Hotel, where she appeared annually for two extended engagements for 24 consecutive years. Now performing nearly every Wednesday at Birdland (with bassist Jay Leonhart and Joe Cocuzzo on drums), Ms. Carroll has returned to the kind of jazz clubs that made her famous in the 1950s.

Her 2005 release of “Live At Birdland,” showcases her extensive repertoire coupled with her intimate knowledge and presentation of jazz piano at its best.

Barbara Carroll: Barbara’s Piano

by Jakob Baekgaard
July 3, 2022

Every record is a moment in time, but also a musical portrait of the artist who creates it. When Barbara Carroll released the Verve album, Barbara, in 1958, it would mark a watershed moment in her personal and musical life. Her husband and close collaborator, bassist Joe Shulman, died of a heart attack the same year at 33. This was one of their last sessions together. Shulman began playing in Carroll's trio in 1949, and they married in 1954. Recorded ...

147

Album Review

Barbara Carroll: Barbara at Birdland

Read "Barbara at Birdland" reviewed by Elliott Simon

by Elliott Simon
February 22, 2005

A subtle Jay Leonhart bass bridge from Harold Arlen's classic “Blues in the Night" segues into the enchanting melody of “You and the Night and the Music" after a tension-building piano/bass/cymbal opener. Such is the stuff that legendary pianist Barbara Carroll brings together on Live at Birdland. Recorded at the NYC venue with her first-call rhythm section rounded out by drummer Joe Cocuzzo, a hit parade of standards is given new life by tempo changes and mood-inducing arrangements that swing, ...

257

New York Beat

Barbara Carroll: Vintage Wine

by Nick Catalano
December 1, 2004

There are evenings in a reviewer's life when the mind is replenished, the soul is uplifted and the blood sings. You've just witnessed an ingenious performance and can't wait to get home and write about it, even though you feel you cannot possibly capture the spirit of the evening with your feeble prose. Such an event occurred last evening. Permit me to set the scene, The Algonquin Hotel at holiday time. You stroll into the famous lobby gazing at guests ...

118

Album Review

Barbara Carroll: One Morning in May

Read "One Morning in May" reviewed by Dave Nathan

by Dave Nathan
December 2, 2002

There must be something in the water and soil of New York City which explains why that one discrete location can be the mainspring for the planting and harvesting of the many stylish, sophisticated and elegant pianists heard on Barbara Carroll's latest release, One Morning in May.

There has been a long line of these sophisticated, stylish, elegant producers of piano music - including Buddy Weed, Cy Coleman, Jimmy Rowels, George Shearing and Bobby Short - holding ...

Recording

Barbara Carroll (RCA Years)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
March 1, 2017

In February, just after pianist Barbara Carroll's death, I posted a tribute in which I focused on the grace of her chord voicings and swing time in the early 1950s. From 1954 to 1956, she was with RCA and recorded five superb albums. Prior to these dates in the '50s, Carroll recorded 10-inch albums for the Discovery, Livingston and Atlantic labels. All featured an artist with bass and drums who was determined to show off her energetic elegance and marvelous ...
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Obituary

Barbara Carroll (1925-2017)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
February 17, 2017

Barbara Carroll, a gifted jazz and pop pianist who made a name for herself in New York in the 1940s as a standout bop player with a proclivity for block chords and impeccable time, died on Feb. 12. She was 92. Carroll came up at a time when most skilled female jazz pianists could find steady work only as intermission keyboardists at hotel bars and lounges where managers sought to hold onto audiences. The list included Marian McPartland, Dardanelle, Marjorie ...
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163

Performance / Tour

Barbara Carroll at Feinstein's - Two Nights Only!!

Source: Michael Ricci
July 21, 2009

FEINSTEIN’S AT LOEWS REGENCY, the nightclub proclaimed “Best of New York” by New York Magazine, and “an invaluable New York institution” by The New York Post, continues its 10th Anniversary season with the debut of renowned jazz pianist, composer and vocalist BARBARA CARROLL. The show, which will also feature Jay Leonhart on bass, runs Friday, July 24 and Saturday, July 25 at the Regency Hotel (540 Park Avenue at 61st Street). For her show at Feinstein’s BARBARA CARROLL – hailed ...
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145

Performance / Tour

Cabaret Jazz Featuring Barbara Carroll & Paula West Thursday, March 8th at Tribeca Performing Arts Center

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services
March 7, 2007

Cabaret Jazz Featuring Barbara Carroll with Ken Peplowski, Jay Leonhart and Joe Ascione; and The Paula West Quartet

Thursday, March 8th, 2007 @ 8pm

At TRIBECA Performing Arts Center Borough of Manhattan Community College 199 Chambers Street TRIBECA Box Office at (212) 220-1460 http://www.tribecapac.org/music.htm

Barbara Carroll is an elegant jazz pianist, composer and vocalist who has long been regarded as one of the most fascinating purveyors of swinging ...
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158

Performance / Tour

Jack Kleinsinger Presents Cabaret Jazz Featuring Barbara Carroll & Paula West Thursday, March 8th at Tribeca Performing Arts Center

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services
February 23, 2007

TRIBECA Performing Arts Center Borough of Manhattan Community College 199 Chambers Street TRIBECA Box Office at (212) 220-1460 http://www.tribecapac.org/music.htm

Thursday, March 8th, 2007 @ 8pm Cabaret Jazz Barbara Carroll with Ken Peplowski, Jay Leonhart and Joe Ascione; and Paula West Quartet

Barbara Carroll is an elegant jazz pianist, composer and vocalist who has long been regarded as one of the most fascinating purveyors of swinging jazz piano and ...
read more

166

Performance / Tour

Eric Reed Trio & Junior Mance Join Barbara Carroll for I Love A Piano Highlights In Jazz Thursday, March 9th 8 P.M. At Tribeca Performing Arts Center

Source: All About Jazz
March 8, 2006

Jack Kleinsinger presents HIGHLIGHTS in JAZZ New York's Longest Running Jazz Concert Series Thursday, March 9, 2006 - 8 P.M. I Love a Piano BARBARA CARROLL With Jay Leonhart & Joe Ascione + ERIC REED TRIO & JUNIOR MANCE SOLO PIANO at TRIBECA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 8PM (Borough of Manhattan Community College) 199 Chambers Street (between Greenwich and West Street (212) 220-1460 There will be special surprise guest on this show! Upcoming Highlights Shows: Thursday, April 6, 2006 - 8 ...
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140

Performance / Tour

Jack Kleinsinger presents Highlights in Jazz, I Love a Piano Barbara Carroll and Cyrus Chestnut, Thursday, March 9, 2006 - 8 P.M.

Source: All About Jazz
March 7, 2006

Jack Kleinsinger presents HIGHLIGHTS in JAZZ New York's Longest Running Jazz Concert Series Thursday, March 9, 2006 - 8 P.M. I Love a Piano BARBARA CARROLL With Jay Leonhart & Joe Ascione + CYRUS CHESTNUT TRIO at TRIBECA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 8PM New York, NY February 1, 2006 Jack Kleinsinger's “Highlights in Jazz," New York's longest running jazz series, is ...
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206

Performance / Tour

Calendar Change: Eric Reed Trio + Junior Mance Join Barbara Carroll for I Love A Piano Highlights In Jazz Thursday, March 9th 8 P.M. At Tribeca Performing Arts Center

Source: All About Jazz
February 20, 2006

February 20, 2006 To: Listings/Critics/Features From: JAZZ PROMO SERVICES Press Contact: JIM EIGO, [email protected] For Immediate Release Jack Kleinsinger presents HIGHLIGHTS in JAZZ New York's Longest Running Jazz Concert Series Thursday, March 9, 2006 - 8 P.M. I Love a Piano BARBARA CARROLL With Jay Leonhart & Joe Ascione + ERIC REED TRIO + JUNIOR MANCE SOLO PIANO at TRIBECA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 8PM New York, NY February 20, 2006 Due to a last minute schedule change Cyrus Chestnut will ...
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113

Event

A Salute to Barbara Carroll

Source: All About Jazz
May 4, 2004

Jack Kleinsinger's “Highlights in Jazz" will present “A Salute to Barbara Carroll" with guest of honor, Barbara Carroll, at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center) Manhattan Community College), 199 Chambers Street, Thursday, May 20 at 8 PM. Artists who will be saluting Ms. Carroll that night include Jackie Cain, Bill Charlap, Jay Leonhart, Houston Person, Daryl Sherman, Grady Tate, Kenny Washington and Kenny Washington. In 2003, Ms. Carroll received a Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Award for her contribution to ...
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112

Music Industry

Andy Bey and Barbara Carroll continue Singers Over Manhattan Series - January 10-12

Source: All About Jazz

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 12/5/01 For More Information, Contact: MARY FIANCE FUSS, Director of Public Relations – (212) 258-9829 ([email protected]) JESSE TAMPIO, Public Relations Associate – (212) 258-9821 ([email protected]) NAEEMAH HICKS, Public Relations Assistant – (212) 258-9807 ([email protected]) Listing Information: Producer: Jazz at Lincoln Center Event: Singers over Manhattan: Andy Bey and Barbara Carroll Date/Time: Thursday, Friday & Saturday, January 10, 11 & 12, 2002, 8pm Place: Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, Rose Building, 165 West 65th Street, 10th Floor Tickets: $45, ...
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