Connie Crothers
b. 2 June 1941, Palo Alto, California, USA. Crothers moved to New York in 1962 to study piano with Lennie Tristano and has since worked chiefly with fellow-Tristanoites. In the '70s she played with Warne Marsh, recorded the solo and trio set PERCEPTION and, in 1979, performed at the Lennie Tristano Memorial Concert. She continued to record in the '80s, both solo and in duos with altoist Richard Tabnik and the great percussionist Max Roach. Her latest releases have been with the quartet she co-leads with Lenny Popkin (tenor saxophone), featuring Cameron Brown (bass) and Tristano's daughter, Carol (drums). In common with other Tristano disciples, Crother's repertoire comprises a handful of standards that she endlessly reshapes in improvisations based on her advanced harmonic understanding.