Excelsior Bill Carrothers

• 1 Wild Rose Lane 03:09
• 2 Trees 04:03
• 3 Amusement Park 03:01
• 4 The Commons 03:52
• 5 Holy, Holy, Holy 03:17
• 6 Lake Minnetonka 03:35
• 7 Bike Ride 03:25
• 8 Soda Fountain Happiness 02:52
• 9 Water Street - Summer 05:24
• 10 Water Street - Winter 05:19
• 11 Excelsior Bay Fireworks 04:44
• 12 Whoville 02:54
• 13 Goodbye Carousel 01:49
• 14 Cemetery On The Hill 04:37
• 15 Bygone Era 04:23
• 16 Excelsior In a Dream 04:04
• Total Runtime 01:00:28

Info for Excelsior

'Unpredictable'. This is the opinion of Bill Stewart, drummer and old time accomplice. Who could better define the pianist Bill Carrothers? His career has been atypical. Amongst his references he mentions classic composers - from Bach and Brahms to Messiaen and Dutilleux- jazzmen of every school- Monk, Tristano, Corea and Hancock if one limits oneself to the pianists and, les obviously, military marches. We owe him indeed a revival of the songs of the American Civil War ('Civil War Diaries') and a suite dedicated to the First World War 'Armistice 1918'. If he can evoke the flames of gunpowder with the 88 keys of his piano, he can also show himself peaceful, melancholic, dreamy.

This is the Bill Carrothers who retired with his family to the Minnesota countryside. The one who in « Excelsior » evokes his home village in this same state. A humble district as so many others, like those Norman Rockwell used to paint, with a lake and wooded shores and its little playground. When he entered the studio for this solitary exercise solitaire, Bill Carrothers came with nothing in his pockets, neither overall framework nor even a couple of musical phrases. 'It was the first time in my career! I simply wanted to abandon myself to a meditation on Excelsior. Express what this town meant for me in my childhood and what it means today.' His inspiration takes off without flight plan. It takes us on an intimate and intimist journey which leaves us dazzled, moved and amazed.

'For the first time in my career, and with a fair amount of trepidation, I went into the studio with absolutely nothing. No tunes, no chord structures, no plans, not even a scrap of paper in my pocket. I just wanted to meditate at the piano, considering Excelsior and what it meant to me as a child and now, as an adult. Because of this, the tracks on this album were all spontaneously created, and are presented here without alteration or editing of any kind.

Bill Carrothers, piano

Recording & Mixing Engineer: Gérard de Haro
Mastering Engineer: Nicolas Baillard
Location: Studio La Buissonne, Pernes les Fontaines, France
Recording dates: October 18 - 19 2010
Produced by Jean-Jacques Pussiau

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Booklet for Excelsior