Paul Carr (musician)

Paul Carr

Dr Paul Carr

Paul Carr is an English Guitarist who first emerged during the mid to late 1980's as a member of the James Taylor Quartet. Prior to this he worked as a London based freelance musician, mainly on the London jazz scene. His style is based on the fusion players of the 1970's and 1980's, and since the early 1990's he has been more involved in Popular Music education. He is currently head of The University of Glamorgan's [http://cci.glam.ac.uk/themusicacademy Roland Music Academy] in Cardiff. After studying popular music in the early 1980's at Newcastle College, he continued to undertake a teaching degree at Middlesex University, followed by a PhD under the supervision of pioneering British composer [http://www.gavinbryars.com Gavin Bryars] . In addition to his performance and composition work, Paul Carr's research interests are varied. Recent projects have included a paper on the stylistic impact of jazz electric guitarists who have fused the jazz aesthetic with other music forms, a solo album, and a number of initiatives into the work of [http://www.palatine.ac.uk/development-awards/323 Frank Zappa] , including an investigation into his use of [http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journalarticles.php?issn=17503159&v=1&i=1&d=10.1386/smt.1.1.41/1 musical theatre] . Over the last three years, he has had numerous transcription songbooks published through ‘Wise Publications’, and currently acts as an external examiner for Popular Music related awards at Bath Spa University, and Leeds University. He now lives in South Wales with his family and continues to compose and perform at a local level.

Recent Publications

1) Carr, P and Hand, R.J. (2007) ‘Frank Zappa and musical Theatre: ugly ugly o’phan Annie and really deep intense, thought-provoking Broadway symbolism’. Studies in Musical Theatre 1:1, pp.41 – 56, dol: 10.1386/smt.1.1.41/1

2) Carr, P and Hand, R.J. (2008)’Twist n’ frugg in an arrogant gesture: Frank Zappa and the musical-theatrical gesture’ [http://www.popular-musicology-online.com/issues/05/carr.html Popular Musicology Online] (March 2008).

Recording Career

Album credits inc:

• Get Organised James Taylor Quartet (Polydor 1988)• It Doesn’t Matter (EP) James Taylor Quartet (Polydor 1989)• Breakout (EP) James Taylor Quartet (Polydor 1990)• Freedom Samba The Jazz Renegades (Polydor 1990)• Certain Kind of Freedom Various (Polydor 1990)• The Freedom Principal Various (Polydor 1990)• Summertime Heavy Shift (1991)• The BBC Sessions James Taylor Quartet (Night Tracks 1996)• Transformation The Paul Carr Group (MP3 2000)• Greatest Hits James Taylor Quartet (2001)• Hammondology James Taylor Quartet (2002)• Walking Distance Paul Carr (2005

Transcription Publications

The Big Brit Pop Chord Songbook, Wise Publications, 2004, ISBN 1844490920

The Best of Fleetwood Mac Chord Songbook, Wise Publications, 2004, ISBN 0711998817

The Classic Rock Songbook (Wise Publications, 2004, 1–84449-477–2)

The Essential Acoustic Album, Wise Publications, 2004, ISBN 0711934010

The Big Guitar Chord Songbook – The Fifties, Wise Publications, 2005, ISBN 0–7119-4050–9

The Big Guitar Chord Songbook – More Seventies Hits, Wise Publications, 2006, ISBN 0–7119-4048–7

50 Reggae Hits For Buskers, Wise Publications, 2007, IBSN 978–1-84609–742-3

Book Reviews

Carr, P. Review of Satchmo: The Lewis Armstrong Encyclopaedia, by Michael Meckna. Popular Music, Volume 24, Issue 02, May 2005, pp 304–305

Carr, P. Review of The Sound of Stevie Wonder:His Words and Music, by James E. Perone, Popular Music, Forthcoming – 2008

Carr, P. Review of How Britain Got The Blues: The Transmission and Reception of American Blues Style in the United Kingdom, by Reberta Freund Schwartz. Popular Music, Forthcoming – 2008

Carr, P. The Encyclopaedia of Popular Music, by Colin Larkin, Popular Music, Forthcoming – 2008

Recent Conference Presentations

“No one had ever heard a guitar played like that before”: The assimilation of jazz aesthetics in the work of post 1970’s electric guitarist composers De-Canonizing Music History: International Symposium For Histories of Popular Music, Jazz, and Folk Music. Helsinki Sibelius Academy. November 2007

Piaculum. Improvisation Continuums: theorising practice across disciplines. Cardiff School of Creative and Cultural Industries. April 2007

Stuff That Is Not Normal: Frank Zappa, Halloween and Horror. Halloween: An International Conference. Glasgow Caledonian University. October-November 2006

Twist n’ frugg in an arrogant gesture: Frank Zappa and the musical-theatrical gesture. Second International Conference on Music and Gesture. Royal Northern College of Music and Drama, July 2006

Ugly Orphan Annie and Really Deep, Intense, Thought-Provoking Broadway Symbolism. Song, Stage & Screen – Interdisciplinary approaches to the stage and Screen. University of Portsmouth, April 2006

An analysis of post 1970’s electric guitarists who have fused the jazz aesthetic with other music forms. Inscriptions in the Sand: The Eighth Literature and Humanities Conference. Eastern Mediterranean University, Cyprus, May, 2005

Recent Guest Lectures

Locating Frank Zappa in a Multidisciplinary Context: An Introduction. Aalborg University, Denmark, March 2008

Frank Zappa: A Case Study in Musical Research. Trinity College. Carmarthen, October 2007

Related Links

[http://www.myspace.com/paulcarrgroup Paul Carr My Space Site]