Jazz Camp Faculty

Carmen Quill

Carmen Quill is an upright bassist, composer, and songwriter working mainly in jazz, improvised and experimental music. Carmen leads a trio with Jacob Sacks and Billy Hart; co-leads the band tilt (Kalia Vandever, Isabel Crespo Pardo); and is a core member of the band Scree (Ryan El-Solh, Jason Burger). She is known for her sound and versatility on the double bass, her captivating performances as a solo artist, and her intuitive sensitivity as an improviser. 

Carmen’s debut solo recording, Don’t Get Comfy / Nowhere (2021), “thrives on the meeting of reservation and vulnerability, and its songs feel as emotional and virtuosic as a power ballad yet are sparse and withholding as a Rembrandt” (Pitchfork). Carmen has performed internationally as a solo artist and as a core collaborator on works including Asa Horvitz’s GHOST, a music-based choreographic piece supported by Musiktheatertage Wien, Het HEM, and others. She has performed with various projects on notable stages including at Big Ears Festival, Carnegie Hall, Winter Jazz Fest, Vision Festival, and brutWien. Carmen is a 2025 Next Jazz Legacy Awardee (New Music USA).

Carmen has taught at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Roosevelt High School (Seattle), and Seattle JazzED in addition to teaching private lessons, ensemble classes and workshops since 2014.