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Four-time Grammy-winner, NEA Jazz Master, composer, activist, and educator Terri Lyne Carrington is set to unveil a remarkable musical treasure to the world. TLC & Friends, Carrington's debut album recorded in October 1981 when she was just 16 years old, will finally see a wide release via Candid Records on June 16, providing a rare glimpse into the early talents of this extraordinary multi-faceted artist.
Though it is Carrington’s very first session, TLC & Friends features an epic and enviable lineup of collaborators, including Kenny Barron on piano, George Coleman on saxophone, and Buster Williams on bass. Her father Sonny Carrington also contributes saxophone to the Sonny Rollins classic “Sonnymoon for Two.” The album masterfully showcases Carrington's artistry as a drummer and composer, highlighted by the standout original track "La Bonita," a refreshing interpretation of Billy Joel's beloved composition, "Just The Way You Are,” alongside scorching renditions of standards like "Seven Steps To Heaven," and “What Is This Thing Called Love,” which is available for streaming on all platforms today. The Candid release features original liner notes by Terri Lyne and Sonny, a new essay by Dianne Reeves and more. The full album will be released on vinyl, CD, and across all digital platforms. Pre-order HERE.
“It's been over 40 years since this album was recorded,” Carrington writes in a new reflection included with TLC & Friends. “My Dad has been nudging me for quite some time to release this because (in his words) I have not done a legitimate ‘blowing session’ album since then. Generally, it's difficult for me to listen to myself from the past, but after all this time, I can smile. It's hard not to due to the amazing musicians that so graciously recorded with me in the fall of 1981, a few months after my 16th birthday.”
TLC & Friends captures Carrington at the outset of an auspicious recording career, but by age 16, she was nearly a veteran. Hailing from a family of musicians - in addition to her father, Carrington’s grandfather and fellow drummer Matt Carrington, performed with Chu Berry and Fats Waller - Carrington first shared the stage with Rahsaan Roland Kirk at age five. By ten she became the youngest musician in Boston ever to receive a union card, and was impressing audiences with Clark Terry and his All-Stars. At age eleven, Carrington was awarded a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, when the school’s founders Lawrence and Alma Berk, heard her sit in with the great Oscar Peterson at the suggestion of Ella Fitzgerald (today Carrington teaches at the school and is the founder of the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice). Carrington would go on to perform with dozens of other legends including B.B. King, Dizzy Gillespie, Illinois Jacquet, Nat Adderley, Jon Hendricks, and many more before she was old enough to drive, and drum masters Art Blakey, Roy Haynes, Max Roach, Buddy Rich and Elvin Jones invited her to sit in with their bands.
Earlier this year Terri Lyne Carrington won the Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, with another Candid Records release new STANDARDS Vol. 1, a groundbreaking project, created to further acknowledge and shed light on women composers in jazz. new STANDARDS Vol. 1 has been celebrated by The New York Times, NPR, Billboard, The Guardian, Stereogum, a Jazziz cover story, Boston Globe and more for its groundbreaking mission and ambition.
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