Barbara Carroll
Ellen with Barbara Carroll
Barbara Carroll’s distinguished career in piano jazz has stretched over the entire period of the modern jazz era, from the 1940s to the present day. In the ‘40s, she came to New York and, undeterred by the difficulties female musicians faced, established herself as a successful, admired jazz pianist. Club dates and record contracts followed, and she played all over the country. Later, she took up a long-term gig at the Bemelmans Bar at the Hotel Carlyle, and she currently performs regularly at Birdland.
She met Ellen when Ellen and her family bought a second home in South Salem New York, two doors away from where Barbara lived with her husband and daughter. A warm friendship, and then work together on songs followed. One of their favorites, included in the Single Tunes section of this website, is their ironic homage to the City of the Angels, “La-la-la-la-la-LA.”