# Barbara Carroll

Barbara Carroll (born Barbara Carole Coppersmith; January 25, 1925 – February 12, 2017) was an American jazz pianist and vocalist.

## Early life and career

Carroll was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. She began her classical training in piano at age eight, but by high school decided to become a jazz pianist. She attended the New England Conservatory of Music for a year, but left it as it conflicted with working for bands. In 1947 Leonard Feather dubbed her "the first girl ever to play bebop piano." In the following year her trio, which featured Chuck Wayne on guitar and Clyde Lombardi on bass, worked briefly with Benny Goodman. Later Charlie Byrd replaced Wayne and Joe Shulman replaced Lombardi. After Byrd's departure, Carroll decided to have it be a drums, bass, and piano trio.
In the 1950s, Carroll and her trio worked on Me and Juliet by Rodgers and Hammerstein. The decade saw her career ebb due to changing musical tastes and personal concerns.

## Later career

In 1972 she revived her career due to a renewed interest in her work. In 1975 she was asked by Rita Coolidge to work on a session for A&M. In 1978 she toured with Coolidge and Kris Kristofferson. In the following two decades she became known as a cabaret performer.

## Personal life

In September 1954, Carroll married jazz bassist Joe Shulman, a member of the trio. He died from a heart attack in 1957 at age 33. She subsequently married agent and photographer Bert Block, with whom she had a daughter, Suzanne Block Glatt. Block died of emphysema in 1986. In 2011, Carroll married advertising executive Mark Stroock, a union that lasted until her death at 92.

## Awards and honors

In 2003, Carroll was awarded the Kennedy Center's Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Lifetime Achievement Award.
Carroll was honored as The New Jewish Home's Eight Over Eighty Gala 2015 honoree.

## Discography

| Year | Title | Label | Notes |
| 1952 | Barbara Carroll | Atlantic LP-132, Piano Panorama Series Vol. III | 10" LP; reissued 1957 as Ladies of Jazz with Mary Lou Williams 10" |
| 1953 | Barbara Carroll Trio | RCA Victor LJM-1001, Livingston Binaural 1081-BN (1996) | Trio, with Joe Shulman (bass), Herb Wasserman (drums) |
| 1955 | Lullabies in Rhythm | RCA Victor LJM-1023 | With Joe Shulman (bass), Ralph Pollack (drums) |
| 1956 | Have You Met Miss Carroll? | RCA Victor LPM-1137 | Trio, with Joe Shulman (bass), Ralph Pollack (drums) |
| 1956 | We Couldn't Just Say Goodbye | RCA Victor LPM-1296 | Trio, with Joe Shulman (bass), Joe Petti (drums) |
| 1957 | It's a Wonderful World | RCA Victor LPM-1396 | Trio, with Joe Shulman (bass), Albert Monroe (drums) |
| 1957 | Lookin' For A Boy | Savoy MG 12097 | Joint release with Marianne McPartland Trio, Adelaide Robbins Trio |
| 1957 | Funny Face | Verve MGV-2063 | Trio, with Joe Shulman (bass), Joe Petti (drums) Also known as Plays The Best of George and Ira Gershwin |
| 1958 | Barbara | Verve MG V-2095 | With Joe Shulman (bass), Bill Faite (drums) |
| 1958 | Flower Drum Song | Kapp K-1113 | Orchestra directed by Bill Byers |
| 1959 | Satin Doll | Kapp K-1193 | Orchestra directed by Jack Elliot |
| 1964 | Fresh From Broadway! The Hit Tunes Of "Hello, Dolly!" & "What Makes Sammy Run?" | Warner Bros. W1543 | Orchestra directed by Glenn Osser |
| 1967 | Live! Her Piano And Trio | Warner Bros. WS 1710 | With Beverly Peer (bass), Dick Sheridan (drums) |
| 1976 | Barbara Carroll | Blue Note BN-LA645-G | With Chuck Domanico (bass), Colin Bailey (drums) |
| 1977 | From the Beginning | United Artists Records UAG 30168 | With Hugh McCracken (guitar), Steve Gadd (drums) and strings conducted by Gene Orloff |
| 1979 | The Barbara Carroll Trio (also released as Why Not?) | Jazz Vault JV-114 (SESAC N-3201/02) | With Alan Mack (bass), Joe Boppo (drums), recorded 1959 |
| 1981 | At the Piano | Discovery DS-847 | Solo |
| 1991 | Live at the Carlyle | DRG 91407 | With Claudio Roditi (trumpet & flugelhorn), Jay Leonhart (bass), Akira Tana (drums) |
| 1994 | This Heart of Mine | DRG 91416 | With Jerome Richardson (tenor sax, alto sax), Art Farmer (trumpet), Jay Leonhart and Frank Tate (bass; separately), Joe Cocuzzo (drums) |
| 1994 | Old Friends | Audiophile Records ACD-254 | With Phil Bodner (reeds), Jay Leonhart (bass), Grady Tate (drums) |
| 1995 | Everything I Love | DRG 91438 | With Randy Sandke (trumpet), Bucky Pizzarelli (guitar), Jay Berliner (guitar acoustic), Jay Leonhart (bass), Joe Cocuzzo (drums), James Saporito (percussion) |
| 1996 | All In Fun | After 9 TWCD-2007 | |
| 2001 | One Morning in May | After 9 302 062143.2 | |
| 2004 | Live at Birdland | Harbinger HCD-2301 | With Jay Leonhart (bass), Joe Cocuzzo (drums) |
| 2005 | Sentimental Mood | Venus TKJV-19163 | With Jay Leonhart (bass), Joe Coccuzzo (drums) |
| 2006 | I Wished On the Moon | Venus TKCV-36398 | With Jay Leonhart (bass), Joe Coccuzzo (drums) |
| 2010 | Something to Live For | Harbinger HCD-2601 | Trio with Jay Leonhart (bass), Alvin Atkinson (drums) plus Ken Peplowski (tenor sax, clarinet); recorded live in concert |
| 2010 | How Long Has This Been Going On? Live at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola | Harbinger HCD-2701 | Trio with Jay Leonhart (bass), Alvin Atkinson (drums) plus Ken Peplowski (tenor sax, clarinet); recorded live in concert |
| 2016? | Barbara Carroll Plays at Birdland | Birdland | With Jay Leonhart (bass); in concert |