Rabble Without A Cause
Wednesday November 10th, 2010 with Bernard Stepien
Bill Carrothers - Armistice 1918

Bill Carrothers, I would almost say, according to a legend started music without much formal training, which of course also means not reading music. However, his acute analysis of worn out standards to reveal new details is well known and may point even more towards an academic pianist such as Ran Blake. One of the most interesting side of his work is his quasi-musicological exploration of war time music. His first project on the songs of the American Civil War raised much attention. His second project in 2003 that we will focus on tonight, Armistice 1918 was about the First World War. Again, it was a collection of songs of the time interspersed with Carrothers own compositions to revisit this era 's music. It won wide acclaim both in Europe and more specifically in France and the UK and in North America. The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about war times music is military music. Well, Albert Ayler took care of that but more on a peace time side. Bill Carrothers focused on the ordinary people’s music. Its treatment was probably best described by New York Times critic Ben Ratliff that described it as orderly Free Jazz. However, don't expect Cecil Taylor's energy. This is more about long distilled emotions. The material is drawn from the straight ahead Jazz with harmonies, chords, etc... but only as a raw material. The assembly is where the freedom is to be found and that part would shock even the hardiest straight ahead aficionado. more reviews on: http://www.bridgeboymusic.com/ad1918/ad1918reviews.htm