Liane Carroll
| Liane Carroll | |
|---|---|
Liane Carroll at Union Chapel, Islington, London, November 2007
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| Background information | |
| Born |
9 February 1964 London, England |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Labels | Quietmoney, Proper, Splash Point, Hospital, Wah Wah 45s |
| Associated acts | London Elektricity, Part-Time Heroes |
| Website | www |
Liane Carroll (born 9 February 1964, London) is an English pianist and vocalist.
Jazz critic Dave Gelly of The Observer has described her as "one of the most stylistically flexible pianists around, with a marvellous, slightly husky singing voice". According to John Fordham of The Guardian, she is "a powerful, soul-inflected performer with an Ella Fitzgerald-like improv athleticism and an emotional frankness on ballads". Peter Quinn of Jazzwise, says: Liane Carroll has that rare ability to meld effortless, often transcendent vocal and piano technique, with heart stopping emotion and soul bearing power." Nick Hasted of The Independent says that she is "still frustratingly little-known" but calls her "one of Britain's most emotionally visceral and accomplished singers".
Her four albums since 2009 have each received four-starred reviews in The Guardian.
Carroll's parents were semi-professional singers who, she says, met and sang at the Country Club in Eastbourne. She grew up in a musical household in Hastings and in south London. She started learning the piano at the age of three, began composing at the age of eight, and has been a professional singer, pianist and composer since she was 15.
In 1998 Carroll joined Trevor Watts' Moiré Music band and toured overseas with them. She became a respected session musician and also worked in bands under Dave Holdsworth, Gerry Rafferty, Jerry Donohue and Long John Baldry.
She formed her own trio and recorded for Jazz Art, Bridge, and Ronnie Scott's Jazz House.
From 1996 to 2002, Carroll worked with singer-songwriter-guitarist Peter Kirtley, with whom she composed many songs. They appeared together on a charity single for Brazilian street children, on which Carroll's backing singer was Paul McCartney.
From 1996 onwards Carroll started working with Hospital Records. In 2003 she toured internationally with a band formed by Hospital Records' owner Tony Colman, playing at the Brazilian Electro Dance Music Festival in Brasilia. In the early 2000s she began recording for the Splash Point label, releasing a series of recordings that embraced jazz, R&B and the singer-songwriter tradition. From 2005 onwards, she decided to focus on her jazz work.
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