Bill Carrothers

[shawn·m]

Bill Carrothers has been a professional pianist for over 20 years. He has played many venues throughout the U.S. and Europe including the Village Gate, Knitting Factory, Birdland, Blues Alley, New Morning (Paris), the Audi Jazz Festival in Brussels, the Nevers Jazz Festival (where he shared the bill with Abbey Lincoln), the Montreal Jazz Festival, Jazz Middelheim, and the Marciac Festival in France. In October of 2000, Mr. Carrothers headlined the Rising Star Tour throughout Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. He has been a leader on ten recordings, all of which have received critical acclaim. His sideman credits have included some of the greatest names in jazz, including Joe Beck, Scott Colley, Buddy DeFranco, Dave Douglas, Curtis Fuller, Eric Gravatt, Drew Gress, Tim Hagans, Billy Higgins, Lee Konitz, James Moody, Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Gary Peacock, Dewey Redman, Charlie Rouse, James Spaulding, Bill Stewart, Ira Sullivan, Toots Thielemans, and Benny Wallace. He lives with his wife Peg and their two children in Mass City, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. His other interests include history, snowmobiles, carpentry, and computers.

DISCOGRAPHY

As a leader:
A Band In All Hope - Ye Who Enter Here (Bridge Boy)
The Blues And The Greys (Bridge Boy)
After Hours (GoJazz)
The Artful Dodger (Bridge Boy)
The Language Of Crows (Bridge Boy)
Duets with Bill Stewart (Birdology)
Swing Sing Songs (Birdology)
The Electric Bill (Birdology)
Ghost Ships (Sketch)
Armistice 1918 (Sketch)

As a sideman:
Bill Stewart - Telepathy (Blue Note)
Bill Stewart - Snide Remarks (Blue Note)
Dave Douglas - Moving Portrait (DIW)
Jay Epstein - Long Ago (IGMOD)
Scott Colley - Subliminal (Criss Cross)
Ira Sullivan - After Hours (GoJazz)
Peg Carrothers - Blue Skies (Bridge Boy)
Phil Grenadier - Playful Intentions (FSNT)

Awards:
Bill Carrothers - Armistice 1918:
2004 Grand Prix l'academie Charles Cros

Bill Carrothers - Duets with Bill Stewart:
Winner of the French Diapason d'Or de l'année (2000)
Winner of a German Schallplatten Preis
A Top 10 disc of 1999 in Jazzman Magazine

Bill Carrothers - After Hours:
Top 10 Disc of 1999 (Jazz Magazine)

Wendy Lewis/Bill

[shawn·m]

Bill Carrothers
Armistice 1918
Sketch (Ryko)
2004

Website
www.bridgeboymusic.com

AAJ CD Reviews
Armistice 1918 by John Kelman
The Electric Bill by Phil DiPietro
Duets With Bill Stewart by Jim Santella
The Language Of Crows by Jim Santella
After Hours, Vol. 4 by JimSantella
The Blues And The Greys by Jim Santella

[Bill Carrothers]

Hi everyone,

The folks at AAJ have graciously asked me to join this thread and I'm hoping some people out there have questions or thoughts to bounce off me. As a starter, I thought I'd put up a little bit of a piano lesson I gave to a man about 6 years ago. He taped it, transcribed it, and sent me a copy. You can find the whole lesson here:
http://www.carrothers.com/billyboy/pianolesson.htm

Of course, please don't necessarily limit yourself to my starter. Ask or say anything you want (except about my Black Ops years in the CIA).

_______________________________

Vince: Yeah. Basically, I've heard you in concert, and I'd just like to know more about what your philosophy is, as far as where you get your harmonies, where … I guess how you approach the whole thing, your concept and philosophy.

Bill: Well, first of all, something I noticed in your playing right away, which is part of my philosophy and that is maybe different from what you were just doing there is --

First of all, I love this music. I love to play, I love to improvise. I like to be in front of a crowd, I'm a natural ham, I love it. That's just how it is for me. The bigger the crowd, the higher the pressure, the better I play. I just like it, you know? I enjoy … I'm not like the Bill Evans-type where I'm really scared to play in public, and have had to overcome that; a lot of guys are like that, man, and have a lot of trouble with that. They play great, yet they're still real nervous about playing in public, and that's natural for guys who are just like that, more of a introverted personality type. I'm not that way at all. I used to perform as a little kid -- in front of my parents' friends, anybody, that kind of thing. So -- with that out of the way, I love to play. I love the music. That's the biggest thing. You know, whenever I give a clinic, that's the biggest key, and it sounds really simple and trite but to give you the nuts and bolts, well, that is the nuts and bolts. You gotta love this stuff. You just gotta love it. It's like a drug, I have to have it. And when I sit down at the piano, I just love the instrument, and I love what I'm doing and one of the ways that manifests itself -- and something I noticed that you were just doing-- is the way you touch the piano. Be very aware of how you're touching the piano. It's like touching a woman, it's like a person. Again, I'm not real into the new-agey kind of stuff, but -- there is a kind of philosophy of how you come to the instrument, how you bring yourself, more like a respect. So when you play the piano it's more like a partnership, it's not a command. When you sit at a typewrite or your PC terminal, it's a command. You sit and you type and you issue commands. At the piano, it's more like a partnership.

Vince: A much more organic thing?

Bill: Yeah. And you see a lot of piano players -- like I noticed with you. I can see a little barrier even just in that little bit of your playing, just a little bit of a barrier between you and the instrument, like a-- I'm not trying pick on you, but just the warmth of the sound. Like the difference between…

[Bill plays some choppy whole-toney stuff]

…or this….

[Bill plays much more expressively and thoughtfully. More sustained, deeper harmonies]

Just think of the piano like, uh ….the way I think of the touch and the feel of playing the piano is like the way you would massage someone's skin. In other words, when you massage you don't go like this [pokes fingertip on his arm], you keep your hands on the subject. Have you ever given a massage or that kind of thing?

Vince: I've rubbed some feet in my time.

Bill: Ok. Well, along those lines. When you massage someone, you don't go like this [pokes arm], you go like this [massages arm]; you keep you hands on the subject when you work. Even if you aren't using your hands [at some point], you kind of move your hands like this, without losing the contact.

If you watch piano players like Horowitz, their hands rarely leave the keyboard. It's almost like they could play blind. And that's a good exercise. That's something you might want to try: play blindfolded. I did that for a while. Just started tying something around my head, or just not looking, closing my eyes and trying to play -- because it'll help eliminate pulling your hands away from the keyboard a lot. Now in the classical tradition, they'll give all sorts of this stuff - I don't buy it, and I never have, and most really great pianists don't do it if you watch them: Richter, Horowitz, and Gould. Glen Gould never did this kind of stuff [mimics hand flourishes]. You see these guys at recitals and they're like … [obnoxious hand flourishes]… fuck that. It doesn't work, in my opinion.

When I'm playing my best, my hands almost never leave the keyboard. Maybe just to make leaps and stuff [because] you can't climb your way up there. A really good example would be to watch someone who's blind play. Watch Marcus Roberts. Watch the way he's playing, the technique that he uses. Because he can't get visual cues, he has to constantly-- you, know for him, it's a measuring system. For him, for his hands being in a certain position is a measuring system, so he can't lose contact with the keys. Otherwise he's lost. If you picked Marcus Roberts up in the middle of a tune, took him off the bench and put him back down, he'd have to touch [the keys] first.

So that's one thing, as far as my philosophy, is to try and make that buttery sound. Try to coax that sound out of the piano. I don't try to "get" the sound, I try to coax the sound out. I don't know, maybe it's hard to explain ultimately. You kind of have to fiddle with it, you just have to approach the piano from that quiet place where…. And that's another thing. You know when I try to play, I don't care what I'm doing beforehand or afterwards, I don't have any regimen like some people do: having to be alone for the hour before I play, or having to soak my hands in cold water, I don't do any of that. I can be talking about snowmobiles right up until I have to get up on the bandstand. But when you sit down at the piano, it's like, "Focus." All that other shit is dead: my sled, my girlfriend, my folks in the audience -- all that stuff is junk. How many CDs am I gonna sell tonight? What did I have for lunch? Nice ass…. Whatever, it's all gone now.

So that's how I approach it. As far as the nuts and bolts of how to play….

Vince: How did you start out, and how did you get to where you are…besides just a lot of practice?

Bill: Well, a lot of practice, and a lot of luck too. You know, I've never been a real big technique practicer...

Vince: I was going to ask that too. How do you practice?

Bill: Well, earlier on, when I studied with Bobby Peterson, he had me doing just major scales, two hands, four octaves. Up and down, all twelve majors. He didn't have me do any of the minors, you know, once you know your major scales, they're all there…

Vince: …the modes…

Bill: …it's just a matter of which note you start on. And I think that after you play a while that doesn't [matter]. I never did that, anyway. I never practiced all the modes, starting from every key and every note [in that key] --- nah.

After a while, I found that once I had some of the technique together, I didn't want to hear the piano played that way. I just didn't want to hear it. It was a drag. I'd rather have even less technique, keep my fingers in a constant state of chaos, and have it be honest, and have me love the piano -- when I sit down, it's like, [whispers] "ahhhhh, that's the sound I want." -- than to be super up and super together and crisp and clear and impressive and sitting down to manipulate the piano. You hear guys that do that. They're great players; I've heard some really great players where I still hear that barrier between them and the instrument, they're just sitting at the piano.

Vince: Too "lick"-y?

Bill: Yes. They're lick-y and emotionally very cool. Very cool and detached. And for some people, maybe that's their thing, they like that, but for me, I don't like that. For my own self, I'm a warm person and I want a warm feeling. And when I play, I don't want to impress people. I don't want people to leave the club and say, "Wow! That guy's unbelievable! Did you see his right hand? Man that guy kicks ass." That's not what I want to hear. What I'm trying to get anyway, is someone to leave the club and say, "Wow. I'm in a different place emotionally than when I came in the door. I felt something. He moved me." That's the ultimate compliment for me. It's not "he impressed me", but "he moved me."

And that's the job of the artist. The artist's job is not to impress. I mean, you can look at a painting -- and you can look at the technique, and as an up-and-coming artist, you do, you admire the various brush strokes and the detail, and what techniques they've used -- but ultimately, what gets you to become an artist in the first place, the thing that drew you to it in the first place, hopefully has nothing to do with the technique. It's "Wow, that guy -- Chagall, just jumps off the page at you. It's there" And then later, you go in and start [admiring technique].

So, as far as practicing, I do it as little as possible, but it is very critical.

_____________________________________________


I guess my questions for the group are: How important in your own playing or listening is technique and/or practicing? How do you define a "good" piano sound (or any instrument's sound)? What are the emotional things you look for in the music?

As a follow-up question...When you're bowling and you hit a 7/10 split, which pin do you shoot for...right or left? Do you have a system for choosing which one? Personally, I go for the pin that gives me the dirtiest look.

Bill

[chris may]

Hi Bill - I would just like to say that I think Armistice 1918 is a masterpiece and I congratulate you on evoking so vividly and unforgettably the horrors of warfare, without once falling back on the easy option of cheap sound effects and dramatic bombast. It is an album I shall treasure in my collection - but not one that I am likely to play very often: it does its job too well and too gutwrenchingly. Your triumph is my enigma!

I'd be interested to know if any other people are in the same position with the album, emotionally.

[Bev Stapleton]

I too am very impressed by "Armistice 1918". The way the contemporary pieces are taken and shaped in different ways to give a varied but unified musical experience over the two discs is very impressive.

I've long held an interest in the First World War and have taken many school parties over to Ypres and the Somme to try and convey the immensity of that awful war. There have been many musical interpretations and reactions to the war - Britten, Frank Bridge and Arthur Bliss immediately come to mind. There are a wonderful series of concerts and CDs gradually appearing from collaborations of UK and Belgian, French and German musicians working in the folk music field that have painted their own pictures of the conflict and the human lives lying behind it:

http://www.coopeboyesandsimpson.co.u..._world_war.htm

I've found "Armistice 1918" an equally moving experience. I played it this year on Armistice Day. Very affecting.

[monk]

Hi Bill,

I read your lesson with Vince already a few years ago and immediately printed it out. It is a constant source of inspiration for me since then! Thank you very much!

I have experienced (tried) most things you say in the lesson and absolutely agree with you.

Many people think that piano is a percussion instrument and that you have to bang around on it in order to play jazz. Like you, I never liked that - that "attacking the keys from above". It's so unloving, so "violent", it has so little sensitiveness...

I have had lessons with a German classical guy who named his approach "Resonance method". It's really good and really practical and "down to earth". Central point for him is to get a "really resonating" sound, a sound that projects, that fills the room, that reaches the listeners. And he teaches what one can do to achieve that sound: 3dimensional freedom of body movement; stillness of mind with really receptive listening; free breathing; relaxed fingers instead of cramped curling and much more.

And it's really amazing that on his clinics, after a short time, everyone is capable to distinguish a "good", resonating sound from a not so good one and to see what the player does to prevent him from getting the optimal sound! It seems to be kind of "objective" and universal...

And also astonishing is that, although he doesn't play jazz, he immediately recognizes if I don't really hear and "mean" what I play! When I go on "autopilot" because my mind is distracted. It's immediately hearable in the sound, the phrasing and the timing whether the music is sincere and whether the musician is really playing from that inner stillness and listening!

One of his mottos is: "Sound before technique", that means, you have to produce a good sound first and develop the technique on that basis - not first wiggling your fingers as fast as possible and then hoping that a good sound and evenness will develop over time, like most people do.

Bill, thank you very much also for your great music! I heard you sometime ago live in a German jazz club, and for me it was one of the most memorable concerts of my life, because really good playing, inventiveness, communication and humor came together in a rare way!

Best Wishes,
Monk

[Bill Carrothers]

Hi,

To Chris and Bev,
Thank you for your kind words regarding Armistice 1918. I hesitate to say "fun", but the recording was really cathartic (sp?) for me to make. I had been studying that time period for a couple of years and after reading and thinking about all that pain and horror, I felt a certain amount of relief putting it on tape.

Monk,
What you say about attacking the keys from above is interesting. I see that more and more in piano players. Certainly it can yield very musical results (Don Pullen, Cecil Taylor, McCoy), but for me, I've never heard the sound of a piano that way. I remember playing with Eric Gravatt years ago and he said to me, "When the audience is talking and not listening, don't play louder, play softer." Have you ever noticed in the movies that the scariest and most intense bad guys are the ones who speak very softly? An example might be Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs or Christopher Walken in almost anything. This to me is the crux of intensity, not volume of sound but rather packing your intensity into a quiet sound. When you're trying to emotionally grab an audience, I think it carries better. And alot of that has to do with focus; being able to focus your mind like a magnifying glass until the point burns. I'm not sure how you learn that, except by playing every night like it's your last night on earth.

Bill

[monk]

Yeah, very good point, Bill!

And regarding the focus...I think what very much helps is to really focus the attention on the ACTUAL SOUND, on what's sounding NOW.

For example, when I play a long note on the piano, then I can really hear my way along that long note - how it "develops", how it becomes softer...and then the next note will be just right, with the right dynamic, at the right time.

But when I just focus on the "attack" of the note, on its beginning, and then just hold it and focus on something else (a big danger especially in piano!), then the connection to the next note will be not so good.

I think focus in music means: I always focus on what is sounding now, and that determines clearly and effortlessly which sound has to follow next.

If I don't focus on what's sounding now, I have to make efforts (intellectually and/or muscular) to play a halfway coherent continuation. But even with these efforts, it will be not of the same quality as with the right focus.

That's one of the reasons not-so-good players become quickly exhausted or unconcentrated. They're too much in the "mind" and too little in the real listening.

I think besides you, Bill, Marc Copland is a very good example of a jazz pianist who really listens to the sound that is here and now. Didn't he report that he for a long time only practiced long chords and ballads and listened to the different overtones of the piano?

Best Wishes,
Monk

[Bill Carrothers]

Hi Monk,

I think it differs from person to person what focus means. To me it's an intensity and concentration of mind and heart. But I can see that to you it means being in the moment, with your sound and with your playing. To someone else, it may mean having a "blank mind" while they play, sort of a Zen thing. Ultimately, whatever works is what you should do. The proof's in the pudding, as they say, which is why you need to trust what YOU think about how to approach the whole music thing. What works for me may not work for you. I never transcribed, for instance, and that worked for me, to not commit things to paper. I like the music to ring in my head and then come out on its own time. But some other musicians have had great success with transcribing. I have alot of amateur interests in my life (woodworking, computers, politics, constitutional law, history, home restoration, anatomy, blah, blah, blah...), and for me, that helps me have more focus when I get to the piano. I'm a big believer in having width as a person. It makes your art better. Practice less, listen more, and don't forget to LIVE.

Regarding Marc Copland, I don't know if what you were saying about his use of ballads and long chords is true. I think you'll have the chance to ask him on this very same bulletin board in a few months. He's a great player so whatever he was doing, it worked.

Bill

[KolumBUZZ]

Hello Bill. I am a fan having heard your work with Bill Stewart. I admire your distinctive harmonic sensibility and the very human

As per your questions...

To me the greatest thing that eludes a lot of pianists, whether you're talking about straight-ahead cats or more progressive people, is the use of dynamics and space. AND-- variegation of legato and staccato phrasing, which tends to go along with dynamics though it is its own animal as well. I bore of pianists who play smooth, flowing legato lines all the time just as easily as I will bore of those who play staccato/percussively all the time. I have never been a very big Bill Evans fan and I fell out of love with McCoy Tyner even though his playing was quite revelatory- "modern"--- for me when I first heard it. My own playing still shows his direct influence but I am working on getting beyond him....dealing with Paul Bley's thoughts on music is helping.

With my criteria then it's natural then that the most compelling pianists to me are Ahmad and Herbie. Ahmad, as it is well known, is a master of space, but to me the way he variegates his touch is equally compelling. There is so much texture in his overall sound as a result. He'll stab these huge wide chords abruptly and then slide into playing some kind of "pretty" melodic figure. And then he'll leave you hanging as to what exactly is coming next...It's really quite stimulating. I'm not even always all that fond of his choice of material, but there is no one I'd rather hear playing "My Funny Valentine"...

That said, I wish there was a piano player outside the straight ahead realm who had the brilliance that Ahmad does. My own playing veers ever more outside but I don't feel there's anybody out there doing anything I really appreciate. Cecil Taylor frankly doesn't do it for me, never has. It's not that I don't "get it" either- his whole aesthetic just doesn't jibe with me.

Re: playing percussive, I wanted to comment on something Monk said:
"Many people think that piano is a percussion instrument and that you have to bang around on it in order to play jazz. Like you, I never liked that - that "attacking the keys from above". It's so unloving, so "violent", it has so little sensitiveness."

...I'd say it's a bit of a misconception to believe that people "think" the piano is a percussion instrument and so proceed accordingly. It is possible that some piano players may have had this abstract idea first and then developed their playing around it, but I would say that most players who choose to play this way fundamentally "hear" the piano this way. It's perception, not a matter of abstract belief. You sit down at the piano, you start playing, and you find that you like hitting the keys a certain way (and hopefully, I think more often than not- because of the way it sounds and not because it gives you some kind of power kick.) I don't think any of the great percussive players were just of a mindset to give the piano a beating, if you will.... Plus, what you interpret as "violent" sounds others would argue were powerfully cathartic. The same reason I didn't get free jazz until 4 or 5 years ago.


Finally- on the subject on technique. My attitude is to develop technique from trying to play what I want to hear. Fortunately for me, a lot of the more technical, pianistic things aren't what I'm hearing anyway!!

My issue isn't technique but in broadening my harmonic palette. I hate making conscious study of theory and yet I know that I have hit somewhat of a harmonic wall in my own playing.

[KolumBUZZ]

(I realize I didn't complete my opening paragraph- doh! ...."very human PHRA-SING.")

[Bill Carrothers]

Originally Posted by KolumBUZZ

To me the greatest thing that eludes a lot of pianists, whether you're talking about straight-ahead cats or more progressive people, is the use of dynamics and space. AND-- variegation of legato and staccato phrasing, which tends to go along with dynamics though it is its own animal as well. I bore of pianists who play smooth, flowing legato lines all the time just as easily as I will bore of those who play staccato/percussively all the time. I have never been a very big Bill Evans fan and I fell out of love with McCoy Tyner even though his playing was quite revelatory- "modern"--- for me when I first heard it. My own playing still shows his direct influence but I am working on getting beyond him....dealing with Paul Bley's thoughts on music is helping.

I agree. Peaks and valleys in one's phrasing, texture, and overall approach are very important, as long as it isn't only for dramatic effect. If it comes from a natural place within you, great. If it's a "go-to" move, not so great. I think even a totally untrained ear (perhaps especially an untrained ear), can sniff out the honesty, or lack of it, immediately, without knowing the whys and hows.

I'm curious about something you said, "My own playing still shows his direct influence but I am working on getting beyond him (McCoy)." What do you mean by that? How are you doing it?

Originally Posted by KolumBUZZ

That said, I wish there was a piano player outside the straight ahead realm who had the brilliance that Ahmad does. My own playing veers ever more outside but I don't feel there's anybody out there doing anything I really appreciate. Cecil Taylor frankly doesn't do it for me, never has. It's not that I don't "get it" either- his whole aesthetic just doesn't jibe with me.

Is there someone besides a piano player that you feel has the qualities you're looking for? I ask because Bill Frisell is someone who's been a big help to me. The problem is, I'm not sure what you mean by straight ahead or more outside. These kinds of descriptions can mean different things to people. I don't consider Frisell to be straight ahead, but probably some others would. But he's not particularly outside either. To me, it all comes back to storytelling. Frisell is a great storyteller. Hank Jones is a great storyteller. Miles Davis was a great storyteller. Monk. Sinatra. Billie Holiday. Sting. Ravel, Charles Ives. All great storytellers. Each used the sounds they needed to use to tell the stories they needed to tell. If you find your playing is veering more and more outside, cool, so long as it's in the service of telling a good story. If it needs to veer back inside, that's cool too. Whatever your story needs.

Originally Posted by KolumBUZZ

Re: playing percussive, I wanted to comment on something Monk said:
"Many people think that piano is a percussion instrument and that you have to bang around on it in order to play jazz. Like you, I never liked that - that "attacking the keys from above". It's so unloving, so "violent", it has so little sensitiveness."

...I'd say it's a bit of a misconception to believe that people "think" the piano is a percussion instrument and so proceed accordingly. It is possible that some piano players may have had this abstract idea first and then developed their playing around it, but I would say that most players who choose to play this way fundamentally "hear" the piano this way. It's perception, not a matter of abstract belief. You sit down at the piano, you start playing, and you find that you like hitting the keys a certain way (and hopefully, I think more often than not- because of the way it sounds and not because it gives you some kind of power kick.) I don't think any of the great percussive players were just of a mindset to give the piano a beating, if you will.... Plus, what you interpret as "violent" sounds others would argue were powerfully cathartic. The same reason I didn't get free jazz until 4 or 5 years ago.

I agree that what one person thinks is violent, another hears as powerfully cathartic. But there is another possible reason for a harder-edged, brittler, and/or percussive sound at the piano besides the contention that they like it that way. I suspect that many jazz musicians don't really consider their sound. Habit. I've always played like this, so this is how I play. It's more about what they play (how hip are my lines?) rather than how they sound playing them. In the classical world, you can't even make it to first base without having a great sound on your instrument. It's assumed. In the jazz world, sound production seems like it's often times taking a back seat to content. Every great jazz musician I can think of, Miles, Trane, Jarrett, Herbie, Cannonball, Tony Williams, and all the others I love the most, when I think about their music, I don't hear a great phrase or a great solo or a great CD. I hear their sound.

Originally Posted by KolumBUZZ

Finally- on the subject on technique. My attitude is to develop technique from trying to play what I want to hear. Fortunately for me, a lot of the more technical, pianistic things aren't what I'm hearing anyway!!

My issue isn't technique but in broadening my harmonic palette. I hate making conscious study of theory and yet I know that I have hit somewhat of a harmonic wall in my own playing.

I think it's really great that you say that alot of the technical, pianistic things are not what you're hearing anyway. Takes honesty and courage to say that. I've had a running battle with that for years; The battle between developing technique that I don't really hear, but is impressive to play, or keeping my fingers in a state of chaos to ensure their honesty. I came down on the side of keeping my fingers in the dark and away from patterns rather than having "moves" that don't come from anyplace real inside me. I'd rather sound bad than glib.

You mention that you feel like you've hit a small harmonic wall in your playing. Something that was helpful for me along those lines was to study 20th century classical orchestra scores. My personal favorite was (and is) Charles Ives, but many others are great too. Prokofiev, Messiaen, Dutilleux, etc...But also church hymn books. Playing 4 part church harmony in a very consonant way can help you see harmonic windows to the outside. Another thing that helped me was to try spreading your harmony out at the piano. Traditional jazz teaching (meaning Bill Evans and beyond) keeps piano chords tight and dense, especially in the left hand. Try spreading them way out with 9ths and 10ths, inner motion between the two thumbs, and experimentation. You can even just sit at the piano and make chords at random, seeing which ones work and which don't, adjusting them and then cataloging them in your head. I found many interesting sounds this way, by random plunking. So there's my confession...never underestimate the power of sheer luck.

Cheers,
Bill

[xricci]

Hi Bill,

Two off-piano topic questions...

I've always found myself drawn to and reading about World War II. What was it about WWI that captured your imagination? Did it have something to do with the level of mechanization?

I thought I read somewhere on your site that you really dig riding your snowmobile. Where do you typically ride it and do you ride it often in the winter? I lived in Erie, PA (huge snowfall) for a few years back in the 70s and it seemed like most of my neighbors had one. They made Erie winters a helluva lot more fun.

Mike

[xricci]

P.S. And I agree, Armistice 1918 is a masterpiece. I have a promotional copy and played it extensively a few weeks back. Unfortunately, the promo version did not include the booklet. Can you fill me in on what's inside?

[Bill Carrothers]

Hi Mike,

First off, thanks for your support of Armistice 1918! I didn't know you only had a promo copy. I'll get a store copy in the mail to you tomorrow. In the mean time, here are links to the liner notes
http://www.bridgeboymusic.com/ad1918...ay%20notes.htm

pictures
http://www.bridgeboymusic.com/ad1918/gallery/index.htm

and poems
http://www.bridgeboymusic.com/ad1918/ww1poetry.htm

When we perform this show live, we also have a slide show that plays behind us which really stirs the pot nicely during the music. It also helps for people who have no idea what kind of concert they've come to. It provides a few reference points for them.

I too have had a long-standing interest in WW2. From the age of about 9 I felt a connection to that time period and wanted to know all I could about it. By age 16, I had an embarrassing amount of useless facts and trivia bouncing around in my head. At one time, I could name every tank, every plane, retrace the movements of every unit in Operation Market Garden, Operation Bagration, etc...I used to rattle on about these things to my folks who mostly just shook their heads and tried to look supportive and interested. I've lost some of it now, but every once in a while I burp up some long ago bit of trivia.

Anyway, The Civil War and WW1 were natural stems out from the core of interest I've always had in WW2. WW1 in particular lends itself to many different angles of thought. It was the first mechanized war. It was the first truly world war. It was the first time massive armies (1,000,000 men) were moved from continent to continent rapidly and then sent into battle. It was the precurser to WW2. It was the 19th century's violent shove into the 20th century. History, unfortunately, is primarily a study of war. Hopefully, in my children's lifetime, humanity will learn to get along, and then my grandchildren's grandchildren will no longer have war as the centerpiece of world history. But it's not looking promising.

Also, great music has come out of wars. I don't know if it's the suffering or the upheaval, but the periods in or around a war tend to produce some great music.

Sleds... It's so funny that you should ask me that today. We finally got some snow up here last night! Thanksgiving is very late for snow around here. Usually we have a couple of feet on the ground by now. I think my son and I are going to go out later today and wind up the Yamaha and take in the beauty of some two-cycle motor fumes. "I love the smell of motor oil in the morning...It smells like....victory."

If you want to get detailed about sledding...it's changed alot since the 70's! I own a 1996 Yamaha V-Max 600. Twin mikuni carbs, top speed about 95mph. I also have a '90 Polaris Indy 500 and a 1978 Yamaha 440 Exciter. The '78 is a neat little sled I'm holding onto for my kids one day. It's light, fast, and easy to dig out of a snowbank. The really great sleds out there now are the new Yamaha 4 strokes. Great machine! Gets 25 miles to the gallon, only needs an overhaul every 40K miles (as opposed to my two stroke which is good for about 7-9K before a rebuild), it's quieter, smoother, and puts out a lot less fumes. And it's got plenty of zip. It's the future of snowmobiling and one day I SHALL have one. In the mean time, I'll keep rebuilding and patching up the old 600. We get about 300 inches of snow annually so there'll be plenty of riding before the year is over. The U.P. has one of the most extensive trail systems in the USA. The trail goes by behind our house so it's just a hop, skip and jump to a great trail. They skim them about 3 times a week so they're real smooth and cut nicely.

Well, enough for now...Have a great Thanksgiving!

Cheers,
Bill