Connie Crothers (May 2, 1941 – August 13, 2016) was an American jazz improviser and pianist.
Early life Crothers began studying classical piano at age 9 and went on to major in composition at the University of California, Berkeley. At Berkeley, her teachers emphasized "procedure and structure" and "compositional rigor" over emotional expression, which did not sit well with Crothers. Inspired by his recording of "C Minor Complex," one of the first examples on record of free improvisation, she relocated to New York City to become a student of Lennie Tristano.
Later life and career After Tristano's death in November 1978, Crothers founded the Lennie Jazz Foundation and recorded a memorial concert album in his honor.
In 1982, she recorded an album with drummer Max Roach for New Artists Records, a label she and Roach founded. She also recorded in groups with, among others, Richard Tabnik and Cameron Brown.
In the fall of 2013, while Connie Crothers was struggling with terminal cancer, she invited Dhamma Ace Yamashita, the only Japanese disciple from Japan, to her private studio and conducted a recording session for several days. Dhamma Ace Yamashita remembers, "At the recording sessions, Connie Crothers' concentration was cosmologically deep. We communicated without a single word; our souls became one, completely within our music."
Crothers died of lung cancer in Manhattan on August 13, 2016.
Discography
As leader/co-leader Year recordedTitleLabelNotes1974PerceptionSteepleChaseTrio, with Joe Solomon (bass), Roger Mancuso (drums)1980?SoloJazz1982SwishNew ArtistsDuo, with Max Roach (drums)1984Concert at Cooper UnionOrchardSolo piano1985Duo DimensionNew ArtistsDuo, with Richard Tabnik (alto sax)1988Love EnergyNew ArtistsQuartet, with Lenny Popkin (tenor sax), Cameron Brown (bass), Carol Tristano (drums)1989New York NightOrchardQuartet, with Lenny Popkin (tenor sax), Cameron Brown (bass), Carol Tristano (drums)1989In MotionOrchardQuartet, with Lenny Popkin (tenor sax), Cameron Brown (bass), Carol Tristano (drums)1993Jazz SpringOrchardQuartet, with Lenny Popkin (tenor sax), Cameron Brown (bass), Carol Tristano (drums)1993–94Deep into the CenterNew ArtistsDuo, with Roger Mancuso (drums)1993–96Music from Everyday LifeNew ArtistsSolo piano1996SessionNew ArtistsQuartet, with Lenny Popkin (tenor sax), Rich Califano (bass), Carol Tristano (drums)1997?Just for the Joy of Itwith Bob Casanova1998–99OntologyNew ArtistsQuartet, with Richard Tabnik (alto sax), Sean Smith (bass), Roger Mancuso (drums)1999?Notes from New York2005Music Is a PlaceNew ArtistsQuartet, with Richard Tabnik (alto sax), Ratzo Harris (bass), Roger Mancuso (drums)2005Live at Outpost Performance SpaceNew ArtistsQuartet, with Richard Tabnik (alto sax), Ratzo Harris (bass), Roger Mancuso (drums); in concert2007?ConversationsNew Artists2010?Session at 475 KentMutable Music2011TwoRelative PitchDuo, with Jemeel Moondoc (saxophone)2011?Live at the FreightNew ArtistsDuo, with Jessica Jones (tenor sax); in concert2011?Spontaneous Suites for Two PianosRogueArtDuo, with David Arner (piano)2012?Hippin' New Artists2013UNISONA.Y.L Duo, with Dhamma Ace Yamashita (guitar) 2013SynchronicityA.Y.L Duo, with Dhamma Ace Yamashita (guitar) 2014Concert In Paris New ArtistsSolo piano2016Live At The Stone ImprecDuo, with Pauline Oliveros (accordion, electronics, voice) Sources:
As sidewoman 1992? Lennie Tristano Memorial Concert, Tristanos Disciples 1999? The Way I Am, Linda Satin 2002? Primal Elegance, Bud Tristano
References
External links Official website Jazz in the New Depression: Interview with Connie Crothers New York Times obituary NewMusicBox obituary