Concert at Cooper Union

NA1002

Connie Crothers, solo piano

1. Carol's Dream
2. All The Things You Are
3. Wow
4. This One Is Free
5. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
6. What Is This Thing Called Love
7. You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To

TRILOGY
8. Prediction
9. In the Blues Mode
10. Love as a Force in History

Recorded live in concert

BIO: CONNIE CROTHERS

QUOTES & REVIEWS

A lioness on the keyboard.
— Jean Quist, Jazz Nu

Powerful two-handed style ... percussive and explorative. Her sudden descent to a crystal-toned delicacy permits the lyrical aspects to blossom with an awe-inspiring beauty. Her closing "Trilogy" is a study in mood shifts, ranging from deep foreboding to a spirited explosion of joy.
— John Sutherland, Coda

This lady's inspiration was the late pianist and teacher Lennie Tristano, but her creative gifts are her own. Recorded during a solo piano performance early in '84, this set incorporates two of her own pieces, "Carol's Dream" and "Trilogy." The latter's segments are "Prediction," "In the Blues Mode" and "Love As a Force in History." The ebb and flow of rhythmic tensions, the harmonic inversions and the sweeping melodic lines are constant sources of surprise and revelation.

Crothers' adaptations of standards generate a similar level of wonderment and almost qualify as new compositions under her guidance. Receiving this original brand of interpretation are "All the Things You Are," "What Is This Thing Called Love" and "I Didn't Know What Time It Was."

For all the density and compression of her style, Crothers has a clean, articulate approach that leaves a strong impression of assurance and direction. Even with a faulty instrument on this occasion, she generates a sound that takes nothing away from her development of the music.
— Lois Moody, The Ottawa Citizen