[3] Carroll was born in St. Louis, Missouri, United States,[1] and attended Vashon and Soldan High School.
[1] Carroll joined the United States Army in 1965 and served in the 3rd Infantry Division Band in Wurzburg, Germany.
He taught theory and trumpet at The American Center in Paris and was artist in residence at the Cité internationale des arts.
He began composing music for plays with Joseph Papp at the New York Public Theater and continued to score for Broadway and WNET-TV as part of the series The American Playhouse and at McCarter Theatre.
[4] His performance and recorded history includes works with Julius Hemphill, Howard Johnson, Sam Rivers, Charlie Haden, Jack DeJohnette, Cecil Taylor, Reggie Workman, Oliver Lake, Carla Bley, Wadada Leo Smith, Jay McShann, Bobby Bradford, Roscoe Mitchell, Tim Berne and Naná Vasconcelos.