Connie Crothers

Connie Crothers | Lenny Popkin Quartet | New York Night | NA1008

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Bop in a light, relaxed groove, performed at a live date at the Blue Note in New York City. The program consists largely of easily swinging bop tunes, including some originals by Popkin and Crothers — her “Prez Says” is particularly delightful. They play two knotty Lennie Tristano compositions, too: “Leave Me” and “Lennie-Bird.” And there’s one ballad cover, “You Go to my Head,” which is a tour de force for Popkin’s sensuous tenor. This club date was in December, but this quartet plays like spring is here for good. — John Baxter, Option, Jan./Feb. 1991 Continue reading →

Connie Crothers Quartet | music is a place | NA1043

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They may have started as members of the Lennie Tristano school of jazz, but the members of this highly evolved and polished quartet, as much a collective as the band of pianist Crothers, has ventured far beyond the tenets of Tristano. They take liberties with time, tone, tempo, dynamics and attack that would horrify more orthodox Tristanoites. The lesson they do take to heart is the valuable one of perseverance, of the importance of playing their music as often as possible, or, as Crothers says, “I put a ton of time behind everything I do . . . I spend time with music. It’s a joy! Never work.” Continue reading →

Max Roach | Connie Crothers | Swish | NA1001

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“Swish” reissues Crothers’ 1982 duets with Max Roach, who is definitely not a student of the Tristano school of passive drumming. The relative freedom of the duet setting fits the tension and energy of Crothers’ uninhibited playing much better. Roach is always fascinating in a duet, where he expands his role, occupying the open spaces in unexpected, always musical ways. Here, he focuses on different elements of the drum kit with each piece to give the largely improvised performances their distinctive character. The ways in which Roach reacts to and provokes Crothers are reminiscent of Roach’s Historic Concerts (1979) duets with Cecil Taylor. — Jon Andrews, Downbeat — August 1994 Continue reading →

Connie Crothers Quintet | Live Outpost Performance Space Albuquerque, New Mexico | NA1041

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From piece to piece the music moves smoothly from accurate melodies to intense interaction then soft and mysterious textures that allow poet Mark Weber’s poetry to come through. Through many gestures that could be modal, harmonically static, bebop harmony, dense or open, vertical or horizontal, there is a lot more conversation going on than in many standard jazz quintets. — Francis Lo Kee Continue reading →

Notes from New York | a New Artists Record Sampler | NA1034

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“NOTES FROM NEW YORK” is a sampler of the New Artists’ catalog, not so much a “greatest hits” collection, as an overview that features virtually all the talented musicians that have recorded for the label. Each of the performances rewards repeated listenings… This independent label’s future looks quite bright as it continues to infuse jazz with feeling, creativity, and fresh ideas.” — Scott Yanow, Editor, All Music Guide To Jazz. Continue reading →