Biography
Connie Crothers belonged to that regrettably crowded circle of exceptional jazz improvisers long overlooked by the broader audience. Her relative obscurity had nothing to do with any shortfall in technique or invention, since both qualities abounded in her work. The chief non-musical reason for the oversight likely stemmed from her steadfast allegiance to Lennie Tristano, himself among the most overlooked figures in jazz history. The intricate, hyper-linear contours of her playing often reflected her teacher’s characteristic restraint, yet an intellectual method never prevented genuine feeling from surfacing. Her performances carried an unmistakable intensity; beneath a composed demeanor she could turn strikingly outgoing. What most distinguished her approach was the liberty she both expressed and utilized inside the familiar confines of the jazz small group.
She began piano studies and composition at nine, appearing regularly in recitals and concerts that sometimes featured her own pieces. At the University of California, Berkeley, she majored in music with a focus on composition. Finding scant affinity with prevailing compositional trends, she redirected her energies toward jazz. Drawn to Tristano’s recordings, she relocated to New York in 1962 to study directly with him; lessons, both formal and informal, continued for a decade. In 1972 she started giving private performances for modest audiences at Tristano’s residence. After roughly a year of such events, he arranged her debut public concert, a solo recital at Carnegie Hall. Her first recording, the 1974 album Perception, appeared on SteepleChase. The following year she returned to Carnegie Hall alongside tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh, drummer Roger Mancuso, and bassist Joe Solomon.
In 1979 Crothers and saxophonist Lenny Popkin jointly produced the Lennie Tristano Memorial Concert at New York’s Town Hall and co-established the Lennie Jazz Foundation. Two years later she recorded the duo album Swish with drummer Max Roach; the project was issued on New Artists Records, the label she and Roach founded and which would continue to document her work for decades. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s she performed both unaccompanied and with ensembles that at various times featured Popkin, alto saxophonist Richard Tabnik, tenor saxophonist Charlie Krachy, bassist Cameron Brown, and drummer Carol Tristano. Entering the new century she remained central to ensembles devoted to the Tristano aesthetic while preserving a distinctly personal voice. She died of lung cancer in Manhattan in August 2016 at the age of 75.
She began piano studies and composition at nine, appearing regularly in recitals and concerts that sometimes featured her own pieces. At the University of California, Berkeley, she majored in music with a focus on composition. Finding scant affinity with prevailing compositional trends, she redirected her energies toward jazz. Drawn to Tristano’s recordings, she relocated to New York in 1962 to study directly with him; lessons, both formal and informal, continued for a decade. In 1972 she started giving private performances for modest audiences at Tristano’s residence. After roughly a year of such events, he arranged her debut public concert, a solo recital at Carnegie Hall. Her first recording, the 1974 album Perception, appeared on SteepleChase. The following year she returned to Carnegie Hall alongside tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh, drummer Roger Mancuso, and bassist Joe Solomon.
In 1979 Crothers and saxophonist Lenny Popkin jointly produced the Lennie Tristano Memorial Concert at New York’s Town Hall and co-established the Lennie Jazz Foundation. Two years later she recorded the duo album Swish with drummer Max Roach; the project was issued on New Artists Records, the label she and Roach founded and which would continue to document her work for decades. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s she performed both unaccompanied and with ensembles that at various times featured Popkin, alto saxophonist Richard Tabnik, tenor saxophonist Charlie Krachy, bassist Cameron Brown, and drummer Carol Tristano. Entering the new century she remained central to ensembles devoted to the Tristano aesthetic while preserving a distinctly personal voice. She died of lung cancer in Manhattan in August 2016 at the age of 75.
Albums
Live
