Ron Carter
(born May 4, 1937, Ferndale, Michigan) is an American jazz double-bassist. His unique sound has made him a long sought after studio man. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that instrument. He also has recorded a large body of classical work, and he contributed to the film score for Desperate Characters
(1971).
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RON CARTER TICKETS
EVENT | DATE | AVAILABILITY |
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Ron Carter's Golden Striker Trio Tickets 10/1 | Oct 01, 2024 Tue, 7:00 PM | | Ron Carter's Golden Striker Trio Tickets 10/1 | Oct 01, 2024 Tue, 9:30 PM | | Ron Carter's Golden Striker Trio Tickets 10/2 | Oct 02, 2024 Wed, 7:00 PM | | Ron Carter's Golden Striker Trio Tickets 10/2 | Oct 02, 2024 Wed, 9:30 PM | | Ron Carter's Golden Striker Trio Tickets 10/3 | Oct 03, 2024 Thu, 7:00 PM | |
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Early life and career
Carter started to play
cello at the age of 10, but when his family moved to Detroit, he ran into difficulties regarding the racial
stereotyping of classical musicians and instead moved to bass. He attended the historic
Cass Technical High School in Detroit, and, later, the
Eastman School of Music, where he played in its Philharmonic Orchestra. He gained his bachelor's degree at Eastman in 1959, and in 1961 a master's degree in double bass performance from the
Manhattan School of Music.
His first jobs as a jazz musician were with
Jaki Byard and
Chico Hamilton. His first records were made with
Eric Dolphy (another former member of Hamilton's group) and
Don Ellis, in 1960.
His own first date as leader,
Where?
, with Dolphy and
Mal Waldron and a date also with Dolphy called
Out There
with George Duvivier and
Roy Haynes and Carter on cello; its advanced harmonics and concepts for 1961 were reminiscent of the then current
third stream movement on cello by Carter.
Fame
Carter came to fame via the second great
Miles Davis quintet in the early 1960s, which also included
Herbie Hancock,
Wayne Shorter and
Tony Williams.
Carter joined Davis's group in 1963, appearing on the album
Seven Steps to Heaven
and the follow-up
E.S.P.
, the latter being the first album to feature the full quintet. It also featured three of Carter's compositions (the only time he contributed compositions to Davis's group). He stayed with Davis's regular group until 1968 (when he was replaced by
Dave Holland), and participated in a couple of studio sessions with Davis in 1969 and 1970. Although he played electric bass occasionally during this period, he has subsequently eschewed that instrument entirely, and now plays only acoustic bass. Carter was close with Davis and even revealed to an interviewer in 1966 that the famous trumpeter's favorite color was fuchsia.
[1]
Carter also performed on some of Hancock, Williams and Shorter's recordings during the sixties for
Blue Note Records. He was a sideman on many Blue Note recordings of the era, playing with
Sam Rivers,
Freddie Hubbard,
Duke Pearson,
Lee Morgan,
McCoy Tyner,
Andrew Hill and many, many others.
His work included some non-jazz albums as well, notably as the bassist on Gil Scott-Heron's album 1971 album "Pieces of a Man", which included the song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised".
Later career
After leaving Davis, Carter was for several years a mainstay of
CTI Records, making albums under his own name and also appearing on many of the label's records with a diverse range of other musicians.
He appears on the alternative hip-hop group
A Tribe Called Quest's influential album
The Low End Theory
on a track called "Verses from the Abstract". He also appears as a member of the jazz combo,
The Classical Jazz Quartet.
Carter was Distinguished
Professor Emeritus of the Music Department of The
City College of New York, having taught there for twenty years,
[2] and received an honorary Doctorate from the Berklee College of Music, in Spring 2004.
Ron Carter is a pipe smoker and has been featured in a few advertisements for tobacco pipes, clothing lines, and basses.
Ron Carter appears in the advertisements for a Tully's chilled coffee beverage in Japan.
Discography
As leader
- 1961: Where?
- 1966: Out Front
(Prestige Records)
- 1969: Uptown Conversation
- 1973: All Blues
(CTI Records)
- 1973: Blues Farm
- 1974: Spanish Blue
- 1975: Anything Goes
- 1976: Yellow & Green
- 1976: Pastels
- 1977: Piccolo
- 1978: Peg Leg
(Milestone)
- 1978: Standard Bearers
- 1979: Parade
- 1980: New York Slick
(Milestone)
- 1980: Patrao
- 1990: Carnaval
- 1991: Meets Bach
(Blue Note)
- 1992: Friends
(Blue Note)
- 1994: Jazz, My Romance
(Blue Note)
- 1995: Mr. Bow Tie
(Blue Note)
- 1995: Brandenburg Concerto
(Blue Note)
- 1997: The Bass and I
- 1998: So What
(Blue Note)
- 1999: Orfeu
(Blue Note)
- 2001: When Skies Are Grey
(Blue Note)
- 2002: Stardust
(Blue Note)
- 2003: The Golden Striker
(Blue Note)
- 2003: Eight Plus
- 2003: Ron Carter Plays Bach
- 2006: Live at The Village Vanguard
- 2007: Dear Miles
- 2008: Jazz and Bossa
As sideman
With Miles Davis
- Quiet Nights
(1962)
- Four & More
- My Funny Valentine
- Live at the Plugged Nickel
- Miles Smiles
- ESP
- Miles in the Sky
- Seven Steps to Heaven
- The Sorcerer
- Filles de Kilimanjaro
- Water Babies
- Nefertiti
With Herbie Hancock
- Empyrean Isles
- Maiden Voyage
- Speak Like a Child
- VSOP
'''With
McCoy Tyner
- The Real McCoy
- Expansions
- Trident
- Counterpoints
- Fly with the Wind
- Supertrios
- Extensions
WIth Tadd Dameron
With Charles Tolliver
- Paper Man
(1969) - Black Lion Records
With others
- Bobby Timmons - In Person
(1961)
- Toshiko Akiyoshi - Toshiko at Top of the Gate
(1968)
- George Benson - Giblet Gravy
(1968)
- Bob Brookmeyer - Bob Brookmeyer and Friends
(1962)
- Billy Cobham - Spectrum
(1973)
- Harry Connick, Jr. - Harry Connick Jr.
(1987)
- Eric Dolphy - Out There
(1960)
- Roberta Flack - First Take
(1970), Quiet Fire
(1971), Killing Me Softly
(1973)
- Johnny Frigo - Live from Studio A in New York City
(1988)
- Jim Hall - Alone Together
(1986), Concierto
- Coleman Hawkins - Night Hawk
(1961) with Eddie Davis and Tommy Flanagan
- Joe Henderson - Power to the People
, The State Of The Tenor: Live At The Village Vanguard
- Freddie Hubbard - Red Clay
(1970), First Light
(1971)
- Andrew Hill - Grass Roots
, Lift Every Voice
, Passing Ships
- Bobby Hutcherson - Components
(1965)
- Milt Jackson - Sunflower
(1972)
- Quincy Jones - Gula Matari
(1970)
- Helen Merrill - Duets
(1987)
- Wes Montgomery - So Much Guitar
(1961), Tequila
, California Dreaming
- Oliver Nelson - Sound Pieces
- New York Jazz Quartet - In Concert in Japan
(1975)
- Austin Peralta - Maiden Voyage
(2006)
- Sam Rivers - Fuchsia Swing Song
, Contours
- Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil
(1964), The All Seeing Eye
(1965)
- Grace Slick-Manhole
(1973)
- A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory
(1991)
Concert Filmography
As a Leader
- 2003: Ron Carter & Art Farmer: Live at Sweet Basil
with Cedar Walton and Billy Higgins [3]
As a Sideman
- 2002: Herbie Hancock Trio: Hurricane!
with Ron Carter and Art Farmer [4]
References
- http://danouellette.artistshare.com/default.aspx
- Ron Carter Official Website
- VIEW DVD Listing
- VIEW DVD Listing