Excelsior Bill Carrothers

• 1Wild Rose Lane03:09
• 2Trees04:03
• 3Amusement Park03:01
• 4The Commons03:52
• 5Holy, Holy, Holy03:17
• 6Lake Minnetonka03:35
• 7Bike Ride03:25
• 8Soda Fountain Happiness02:52
• 9Water Street - Summer05:24
• 10Water Street - Winter05:19
• 11Excelsior Bay Fireworks04:44
• 12Whoville02:54
• 13Goodbye Carousel01:49
• 14Cemetery On The Hill04:37
• 15Bygone Era04:23
• 16Excelsior In a Dream04:04
• Total Runtime01:00:28

Info for Excelsior

'Unpredictable'. This is the opinion of Bill Stewart, drummer and old time accomplice. Who could better define the pianist Bill Carrothers? His career has been atypical. Amongst his references he mentions classic composers - from Bach and Brahms to Messiaen and Dutilleux- jazzmen of every school- Monk, Tristano, Corea and Hancock if one limits oneself to the pianists and, les obviously, military marches. We owe him indeed a revival of the songs of the American Civil War ('Civil War Diaries') and a suite dedicated to the First World War 'Armistice 1918'. If he can evoke the flames of gunpowder with the 88 keys of his piano, he can also show himself peaceful, melancholic, dreamy.

This is the Bill Carrothers who retired with his family to the Minnesota countryside. The one who in « Excelsior » evokes his home village in this same state. A humble district as so many others, like those Norman Rockwell used to paint, with a lake and wooded shores and its little playground. When he entered the studio for this solitary exercise solitaire, Bill Carrothers came with nothing in his pockets, neither overall framework nor even a couple of musical phrases. 'It was the first time in my career! I simply wanted to abandon myself to a meditation on Excelsior. Express what this town meant for me in my childhood and what it means today.' His inspiration takes off without flight plan. It takes us on an intimate and intimist journey which leaves us dazzled, moved and amazed.

'For the first time in my career, and with a fair amount of trepidation, I went into the studio with absolutely nothing. No tunes, no chord structures, no plans, not even a scrap of paper in my pocket. I just wanted to meditate at the piano, considering Excelsior and what it meant to me as a child and now, as an adult. Because of this, the tracks on this album were all spontaneously created, and are presented here without alteration or editing of any kind.

Bill Carrothers, piano

Recording & Mixing Engineer: Gérard de Haro
Mastering Engineer: Nicolas Baillard
Location: Studio La Buissonne, Pernes les Fontaines, France
Recording dates: October 18 - 19 2010
Produced by Jean-Jacques Pussiau

Bill Carrothers
The American pianist Bill Carrothers is a quietly unconventional thinker. When he first appeared on the New York jazz scene he was immediately celebrated as a major new discovery, playing with such greats as bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Bill Stewart. Carrothers moved to Michigan a few years ago. From there he radically re-worked his musical ideas and program concepts. Along the way he has also received a variety of prestigious awards, among them the German Recording Industry's prize for 'best record', and the French 'Diapason d'Or'. Bill Carrothers often approaches the interpretation of jazz standards from an intriguingly different angle than most other musicians. And it is always intensely exciting. Born in 1964, Bill Carrothers has mastered a seldom-found combination: he plays music that is highly stimulating intellectually, and yet also has an extremely direct emotional quality. These are qualities that often work against each other, but in Carrothers' hands they are clearly cultivated in every composition. There are great examples of Carrothers' skills in his other Pirouet CDs: I Love Paris, Keep Your Sunny Side Up, Home Row, Joy Spring, A Night at the Village Vanguard and Family Life.

Booklet for Excelsior