Liane Carroll

Official Biography (courtesy of Liane Carroll)

Liane Carroll was born in London and raised in Hastings UK, where she currently lives with her husband, bassist Roger Carey. She started playing the piano at the age of three, under the tutorage of concert pianist Phyllis Catling, but soon developed a deep passion for everything jazz, soul and beyond. Both of her parents were singers and, following their divorce when Liane was six, she stayed with her mother and sister at her grand-parents’ house, where she was lovingly encouraged to carry on making as much of a racket as possible.

In Hastings, at the age of 15, she started to appear in a band called ‘Gemini’ and various others as both a singer, pianist and composer. In 1998 she joined Trevor Watts’ ‘Moire Music’ featuring Liam Genockey, Nana Tsiboe and Simon Picard, where they would embark on several world tours.?After leaving the band, she appeared with many varied line-ups, including the Dave Holdsworth band, featuring bassist Roger Carey, and drummer Dave Trigwell.

In 1990, she formed her own trio, married Roger Carey, now the resident bass player in the band, and continued to work with many visiting outfits, including two recordings and a tour with Gerry Rafferty, two tours with US guitar legend Jerry Donahue, and many European tours with the legendary Long John Baldry. At the same time, she met and started touring with guitarist/songwriter Peter Kirtley and joined the band alongside Steve Lamb (bass) and Greg Leppard (drums). As a unit, they record a charity song, ‘Little Children’ (written by Kirtley) for the children of Brazil, with Sir Paul McCartney.

Since 1993, Liane has appeared as a headline act at the legendary Ronnie Scotts Jazz Club, where she has also recorded two live CD’s for their Jazz House label.

In 2001, as well as keeping busy with her trio and solo work, she joined the live Drum & Bass outfit, ‘London Elektricity.’ Tours took them to New Zealand, Brazil (where they headlined to 50,000 people) and the 2005 Glastonbury Festival in UK. While the fast-burning soul/dance music was a slight departure from Liane’s own work with her trio, it would prove an incredibly exciting time in her career, involving the release of ‘Hospital Accapellas’, ‘Billion Dollar Gravy’ and ‘Power Ballads’ CDs.

2003 saw the launch of her first solo album, ‘Billy No Mates,’ a haunting and intimate collection of standards and originals, for the Independent label, Splash Point Records. The album was critically acclaimed, went on to win her two BBC Jazz Awards in 2005. She is the only musician ever to have picked up two of these awards in the same year.

In 2005, she released ‘Standard Issue,’ with Splash Point, this time at Abbey Road studios, famous for its luscious piano sound. The album featured her trio, as well as special guests; Ian Shaw, a long-time friend and collaborator, and Bobby Wellins, perhaps our most beloved tenor saxophonist. It would also prove a hit with the critics and in 2006, enabled her to pick up the Marston Pedigree Jazz Award. She would later become the subject of an hour long television programme for the BBC, which featured a performance by Liane and her trio at the Brecon Jazz Festival.??

In 2007, she continued a busy touring schedule with her trio as well as performing solo at the piano at many of the UK's more intimate settings. In May she picked up the award for 'Best female jazz vocalist' at the first ever Ronnie Scotts Jazz Awards, and in June her trio make a head-line appearance at Glastonbury Festival, which went out live to over 300,000 listeners on BBC Radio 3. Her eagerly awaited second solo album, 'Slow Down,' was released in September the same year with Splashpoint Records, and launched to a sell-out audience at the 606 Club in London. ‘Slow Down’ received superb reviews and was picked by the Sunday Times as one of their top five jazz albums of the year. A track from the album was also featured by Mojo Magazine in their 'Mojo's Top 10' Playlist selection.??

February 2008, Liane released her first DVD 'Liane Carroll Trio LIVE,' which featured a performance from the Brecon Jazz Festival originally broadcast as a documentary on BBC4. Liane went on to pick up the 2008 Parliamentary Jazz Award for 'Musician Of The Year.' Later that year Liane formed an exciting new collaboration with the acclaimed Scottish jazz pianist Brian Kellock, and in November the pair toured throughout Scotland, at which The Herald declared, "This may well be British jazz's greatest double act." During the tour Liane and Brian recorded a live album at the Blue Lamp in Aberdeen. "Live At The Lampie" (Splash Point Records) was released on May 11th 2009 and launched at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in London to rave reviews.

Later that year, Liane and her trio went to the US for the first time and performed to rapturous audiences at Dizzy's Jazz Club in New York’s Lincoln Center, and the Rochester Jazz Festival, before jetting off again to Ireland for a mini-tour of four venues in Belfast NI.

Liane’s shows her romantic side on the award winning album ‘Up and Down’ released in 2011 on Quiet Money Productions, featured Kirk Whalum on sax and on flugelhorn Kenny Wheeler. The James McMillan produced album received glowing reviews from Jazzwise, MOJO to The Sunday Times.
In 2012, Up and Down was voted as Best Jazz Album of the Year in the Parliamentary Jazz Award’s. Liane was also awarded ‘Best British Vocalist’
in British Jazz Awards. January 31^st 2013 sees the first JazzFM’s Awards with Liane being nominated as best UK Vocalist of 2012.

Together with trumpeter, UP and Down producer James McMillan, Liane’s new album ‘Ballads’ was released on 15^th April 2013. The album is reflective and has a different take on her previous recordings with the addition of strings. The arrangements have been especially written for Liane by Los Angeles based, Grammy winner orchestrator Chris Walden. The City of Prague Philharmonic, Gwilym Simcock, Kirk Whalum, Mark Jaimes, Steve Pearce, Roger Carey, Mark Hodgson, Chris Hill, Mark Edwards, Mark Fletcher, Ralph Salmins, Simon Gardner, Noel Langley, Andy Gathercole,

Andy Baxter, Pete Beachill, Chris Dean, Pete North, Richard Whigley,

Sammy Maine, Patrick Clahar, Julian Siegel, Ben Castle, Jamie Talbot perform. Here is a taster: Here's To Life

A sell-out local launch was held at St. Mary in the Castle, Hastings with a 40 strong orchestra, including the East Sussex Youth Orchestra string section and Mark Fletcher, Mark Jaimes, Mark Edwards, Simon Gardner… and conducted by James McMillan. This was followed by a five sell-out launch nights at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in London. Each night featured musicians from the Ballads recording, Gwilym Simcock, Mark Edwards, Ben Castle plus a 7 piece string ensemble.

In 2013 Liane guested on BBC Radio 4’s Alex Horne’s The Horne Section

The Liane Carroll Trio currently comprises: Liane Carroll (vocals/piano), Roger Carey (electric bass) and Mark Fletcher (drums).?

Liane has been fortunate and privileged to have worked with many wonderful musicians, including:?Roger Carey, Mark Fletcher, Ian Shaw, Greg Leppard, Steve Lamb, Peter Kirtley, Liam Genockey, Colin Gibson, Kenny Craddock, Nana Tsiboe, Alan Hull, Dave Mattacks, Sara Colman, Jacqui Dankworth, Tony Colman, The Jungle Drummer, Andy Waterworth, Landslide, MC Wrec, Stamina MC, Alec Dankworth, Guy Barker, Gerard Presencer, Norma Winstone, John Etheridge, Gary Husband, Tim Garland, Tim Whitehead, John Taylor, Kenny Wheeler, Trevor Watts, Dick Pearce, Bobby Wellins, John Parricelli, Veryan Weston, Phil Minton, Cleveland Watkiss, Phil Carmen, Martin Drew, Dave Trigwell, Marc Parnell, Bob Weston, Jerry Donahue, Clive Bunker, Simon Picard, Elton Dean, Jim Dvorak, Hugh Barns, Mel Collins, Gerry Rafferty, Long John Baldry, Hugh Murphy, Dave Holdsworth, Joe Lee Wilson, Julian Siegel, Liam Noble, Simon Purcell, Dave Wickens, Donna Terenzi, Jim Watson, Harvey Brough, Steve Watts, Winston Clifford, Paul Clarvis, Jim Mullen, Dick Morrissey, Neil Wilkinson, Rupert Cobb, Andy Williams, and many more…