Andrew Carroll is an award winning jazz pianist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and producer. He began piano studies at the age of four and discovered jazz piano when he was nine years old under the tutelage of Rick Montalbano.
With more than two decades of professional experience, Andrew has spent years listening to his musical heroes in efforts of capturing the essence and sounds of great piano players. He has shared the performance stage with many of the greats in the music industry, including Burt Bacharach, Steve Miller, Jane Monheit, Elliot Mason, and Peter Eldridge
Anywhere he goes, Andrew is a sought out performer. He has been a member of the Gibson-Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz ensembles which included an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. Other awards Andrew has received include the 2005 Downbeat Magazine Student Music Award for Instrumental Jazz Soloist, an Outstanding Piano Soloist Award from the Essentially Ellington Competition, two IAJE Outstanding Musician Awards and Scholarships, and an Honorable Mention and Merit Award in Jazz Keyboard from the ARTs Recognition and Talent Search (ARTS), a program of NFAA.
Andrew had the distinct honor of being the pianist for the USC Thornton Jazz Orchestra. Under the direction of Shelley Berg, the group recorded with Steve Miller at Capitol Studios. Andrew is credited for his arrangement of two of the charts on the record. Andrew was also selected as a Thornton School of Music Burt Bacharach Scholar.
Andrew recorded his debut solo album recently, which features bassist Michael Pope and drummer Jonathan Barber, consisting of original compositions and arrangements of jazz standards. Alliterations will be released on May 24th, and today Glide is excited to offer an exclusive premiere of the song “Arrive”. In a similar vein to jazz pianists like Vince Guaraldi, Andrew Carroll wields a quiet, calming power both as a player and as a bandleader. The composition feels free-flowing and at times whimsical as Carroll seems to be dancing on the keys. Bassist Michael Pope also weighs in with a truly impressive solo with Jonathan Barber keeping complex yet in-the-pocket time on the drums.
Andrew Carroll describes the inspiration and process behind the song:
“Humility is a quality common to the majority of my favorite artists and influences. It is rare that musicians feel their abilities have reached their culmination. This striving desire allows us all to maintain our inspiration throughout the hardships we endure. ‘Arrive’ fantasizes this journey and asks what it would be like to reach this point of tranquil attainment. The common-tone melody in this piece is centered around a three-bar phrase which symbolizes the circular, longing irony of never being able to grasp this finite emotion. ‘Arrive’ captures some of the finest performances by Michael Pope and Jonathan Barber on the album ‘Alliterations,’ as they both interpret this melody with grace, finesse, and artistic elegance.”
LISTEN:
