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Barbara Carroll
Clyde Lombardi, Barbara Carroll, Chuck Wayne. Downbeat, NYC, ca Sept 1947 Gottlieb.jpg
Carroll with Clyde Lombardi (left) and Chuck Wayne, 1947
Background information
Birth name Barbara Carole Coppersmith
Born (1925-01-25)January 25, 1925
Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died February 12, 2017(2017-02-12) (aged 92)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Genres Jazz
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Piano, vocals
Years active 1947–2016

Barbara Carroll (born Barbara Carole Coppersmith; January 25, 1925 – February 12, 2017) was an American jazz pianist and vocalist.

Early life and career

Carroll was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. She began her classical training in piano at age eight, but by high school decided to become a jazz pianist. She attended the New England Conservatory of Music for a year, but left it as it conflicted with working for bands. In 1947 Leonard Feather dubbed her "the first girl ever to play bebop piano." In the following year her trio, which featured Chuck Wayne on guitar and Clyde Lombardi on bass, worked briefly with Benny Goodman. Later Charlie Byrd replaced Wayne and Joe Shulman replaced Lombardi. After Byrd's departure, Carroll decided to have it be a drums, bass, and piano trio.

In the 1950s Carroll and her trio worked on Me and Juliet by Rodgers and Hammerstein. The decade saw her career ebb due to changing musical tastes and personal concerns.

Later career

In 1972 she revived her career due to a renewed interest in her work. In 1975 she was asked by Rita Coolidge to work on a session for A&M. In 1978 she toured with Coolidge and Kris Kristofferson. In the following two decades she became known as a cabaret performer.

Personal life

In September 1954, Carroll married jazz bassist Joe Shulman, a member of the trio. He died from a heart attack in 1957 at age 33. She subsequently married agent and photographer Bert Block, with whom she had a daughter, Suzanne Block Glatt. Block died of emphysema in 1986. In 2011, Carroll married advertising executive Mark Stroock, a union that lasted until her death at 92.

Awards and honors

In 2003, Carroll was awarded the Kennedy Center's Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Lifetime Achievement Award.

Carroll was honored as The New Jewish Home's Eight Over Eighty Gala 2015 honoree.

Barbara Carroll detail
Carroll in New York, 2007

Discography

Year Title Label Notes
1952 Barbara Carroll Atlantic LP-132, Piano Panorama Series Vol. III 10" LP; reissued 1957 as Ladies of Jazz with Mary Lou Williams 10"
1953 Barbara Carroll Trio RCA Victor LJM-1001, Livingston Binaural 1081-BN (1996) Trio, with Joe Shulman (bass), Herb Wasserman (drums)
1955 Lullabies in Rhythm RCA Victor LJM-1023 With Joe Shulman (bass), Ralph Pollack (drums)
1956 Have You Met Miss Carroll? RCA Victor LPM-1137 Trio, with Joe Shulman (bass), Ralph Pollack (drums)
1956 We Couldn't Just Say Goodbye RCA Victor LPM-1296 Trio, with Joe Shulman (bass), Joe Petti (drums)
1957 It's a Wonderful World RCA Victor LPM-1396 Trio, with Joe Shulman (bass), Albert Monroe (drums)
1957 Lookin' For A Boy Savoy MG 12097 Joint release with Marianne McPartland Trio, Adelaide Robbins Trio
1957 Funny Face Verve MGV-2063 Trio, with Joe Shulman (bass), Joe Petti (drums) Also known as Plays The Best of George and Ira Gershwin
1958 Barbara Verve MG V-2095 With Joe Shulman (bass), Bill Faite (drums)
1958 Flower Drum Song Kapp K-1113 Orchestra directed by Bill Byers
1959 Satin Doll Kapp K-1193 Orchestra directed by Jack Elliot
1964 Fresh From Broadway! The Hit Tunes Of "Hello, Dolly!" & "What Makes Sammy Run?" Warner Bros. W1543 Orchestra directed by Glenn Osser
1967 Live! Her Piano And Trio Warner Bros. WS 1710 With Beverly Peer (bass), Dick Sheridan (drums)
1976 Barbara Carroll Blue Note BN-LA645-G With Chuck Domanico (bass), Colin Bailey (drums)
1977 From the Beginning United Artists Records UAG 30168 With Hugh McCracken (guitar), Steve Gadd (drums) and strings conducted by Gene Orloff
1979 The Barbara Carroll Trio (also released as Why Not?) Jazz Vault JV-114 (SESAC N-3201/02) With Alan Mack (bass), Joe Boppo (drums), recorded 1959
1981 At the Piano Discovery DS-847 Solo
1991 Live at the Carlyle DRG 91407 With Claudio Roditi (trumpet & flugelhorn), Jay Leonhart (bass), Akira Tana (drums)
1994 This Heart of Mine DRG 91416 With Jerome Richardson (tenor sax, alto sax), Art Farmer (trumpet), Jay Leonhart and Frank Tate (bass; separately), Joe Cocuzzo (drums)
1994 Old Friends Audiophile Records ACD-254 With Phil Bodner (reeds), Jay Leonhart (bass), Grady Tate (drums)
1995 Everything I Love DRG 91438 With Randy Sandke (trumpet), Bucky Pizzarelli (guitar), Jay Berliner (guitar acoustic), Jay Leonhart (bass), Joe Cocuzzo (drums), James Saporito (percussion)
1996 All In Fun After 9 TWCD-2007
2001 One Morning in May After 9 302 062143.2
2004 Live at Birdland Harbinger HCD-2301 With Jay Leonhart (bass), Joe Cocuzzo (drums)
2005 Sentimental Mood Venus TKJV-19163 With Jay Leonhart (bass), Joe Coccuzzo (drums)
2006 I Wished On the Moon Venus TKCV-36398 With Jay Leonhart (bass), Joe Coccuzzo (drums)
2010 Something to Live For Harbinger HCD-2601 Trio with Jay Leonhart (bass), Alvin Atkinson (drums) plus Ken Peplowski (tenor sax, clarinet); recorded live in concert
2010 How Long Has This Been Going On? Live at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola Harbinger HCD-2701 Trio with Jay Leonhart (bass), Alvin Atkinson (drums) plus Ken Peplowski (tenor sax, clarinet); recorded live in concert
2016? Barbara Carroll Plays at Birdland Birdland With Jay Leonhart (bass); in concert

See also

  • Karrin Allyson
  • Tania Maria
  • Emily Elbert
  • Julia Feldman
  • Sitti Navarro
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