Lee Carroll’s C the Beat
Keyboardist Lee Carroll has enjoyed musical collaborations spanning decades, genres, and continents. After attending Berklee College in Boston, the Cave City, KY native began his professional career co-founding the jazz fusion group Fly By Night. He moved to Nashville, then toured with country bands, including multi-year stretches touring with The Judds (Naomi and Wynonna) and Exile, with whom he recorded albums for Epic and Arista Records.
In 2010, Carroll moved back to Lexington and began collaborations and innovations across the local music community. Carroll has performed with bands including Tin Can Buddha, The Northside Sheiks, and Coralee & the Townies. Since founding the nonprofit GreenRoom Exchange with his wife Connie Milligan, Carroll has brought to Lexington prominent musicians from Cuba, Senegal, and Ghana and partnered with Festival Latino de Lexington, Origin Jazz Series, Lexington Chamber Orchestra, and the Roots & Heritage Festival. Carroll also co-produces large musical events, most recently “1971, the Greatest Year in Music”, that bring together many local artists.
Carroll’s C the Beat includes multiple generations of Lexington’s most respected musicians: Tripp Bratton, Thomas Usher, Jonathan Barrett, and Robert Frahm. With a unique synthesis of musical genres, C the Beat’s foundational jazz sound blends influences from funk, R&B, gospel, and Cuban and African traditions. In 2021, the band released the EP Dance Dance and a dozen additional singles, now available on all streaming services.
