RON CARTER

"I'd like to know where all of his tales comes from. I've got to get me some of that!"-Bill Cosby

"...an acknowledged master..." -The Wall Street Journal

"(Carter) is arguably the gretest bass player jazz have ever known." -Philadelphia Inquirer

"Carter is a standard-bearer on his instrument..."-Jazziz

"One of jazz's most venerable bassists."-Jazz Times

"Ron Carter Has Become the Mercedes-benz of bass players."-Stereo Review

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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 cello. He also has recorded a large body of classical work, and he contributed to the film score for Desperate Characters (1971).

Early life and education

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 where he played in the Eastman School of Music's Philharmonic Orchestra. He gained his bachelor's degree in 1959, and in 1961 a master's degree in double bass performance from the Manhattan School of Music.

Career

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.

Carter is an acclaimed cellist who has performed on record numerous times with the cello, notably 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.

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.

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, 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.

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Ron Carter is among the most original, prolific, and influential bassists in jazz. With more than 2,000 albums to his credit, he has recorded with many of music's greats: Tommy Flanagan, Gil Evans, Lena Horne, Bill Evans, B.B. King, the Kronos Quartet, Dexter Gordon, Wes Montgomery, and Bobby Timmons. In the early 1960s he performed throughout the United States in concert halls and nightclubs with Jaki Byard and Eric Dolphy. He later toured Europe with Cannonball Adderley. From 1963 to 1968, he was a member of the classic and acclaimed Miles Davis Quintet. He was named Outstanding Bassist of the Decade by the Detroit News, Jazz Bassist of the Year by Downbeat magazine, and Most Valuable Player by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. 

In 1993 Ron Carter earned a Grammy award for Best Jazz Instrumental Group, the Miles Davis Tribute Band and another Grammy in 1998 for Call 'Sheet Blues', an instrumental composition from the film 'Round Midnight. In addition to scoring and arranging music for many films, including some projects for Public Broadcasting System, Carter has composed music for A Gathering of Old Men, starring Lou Gosset Jr., The Passion of Beatrice directed by Bertrand Tavernier, and Blind Faith starring Courtney B. Vance. Carter shares his expertise in the series of books he authored, among which are Building Jazz Bass Lines and The Music of Ron Carter; the latter contains 130 of his published and recorded compositions.

Carter earned a bachelor of music degree from the Eastman School in Rochester and a master's degree in double bass from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. He has also received two honorary doctorates, from the New England Conservatory of Music and the Manhattan School of Music, and was the 2002 recipient of the prestigious Hutchinson Award from the Eastman School at the University of Rochester. Carter has lectured, conducted, and performed at clinics and master classes, instructing jazz ensembles and teaching the business of music at numerous universities. He was Artistic Director of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Studies while it was located in Boston and, after 18 years on the faculty of the Music Department of The City College of New York, he is now Distinguished Professor Emeritus although, as a performer, he remains as active as ever.

Source: http://www.roncarter.net/officialSite.html

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A legendary player with one of the most recognizable tones in all of jazz, bassist Ron Carter has appeared on literally thousands of recordings over the course of his nearly fifty-year career. Aside from his distinguished career leading his own units, he has played with a who’s who of jazz players of the last half-century, and established himself as one of the genre’s all-time greats.

Source: http://www.artistshousemusic.org/videos/legendary+jazz+bassist+ron+carter+on+being+a+bassist+and+bandleader

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Ron Carter aspired to be a classical cellist, but ended up as a bass player who helped shape modern jazz. He was a member of Miles Davis' classic 1960s quintet, the group whose dauntless experiments with form and musical landscape vastly contributed to the jazz palette in the decades since. Today Carter is one of the most esteemed performers, recording artists, and jazz educators around, and his life story can be found in a new biography entitled "Ron Carter - Finding the Right Notes" by Dan Ouellette. 

The book is the first to be published by ArtistShare, a fan-funded music network that compensates artists directly for their work, and allows audiences a chance to witness the creative process. The biography is available now for pre-order on Oullette's website, where you can also watch videos and listen to podcasts of interviews with Ron Carter.

Source: http://jazz.about.com/b/2009/01/30/ron-carter-biography.htm

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Biography by Ron Wynn

The epitome of class and elegance, though not stuffy, Ron Carter has been a world class bassist and cellist since the '60s. He's among the greatest accompanists of all time, but has also done many albums exhibiting his prodigious technique. He's a brilliant rhythmic and melodic player, who uses everything in the bass and cello arsenal; walking lines, thick, full, prominent notes and tones, drones and strumming effects, and melody snippets. His bowed solos are almost as impressive as those done with his fingers. Carter has been featured in clothing, instrument, and pipe advertisements; he's close to being the bass equivalent of a Duke Ellington in his mix of musical and extra-musical interests. Carter's nearly as accomplished in classical music as jazz, and has performed with symphony orchestras all over the world. He's almost exclusively an acoustic player; he did play electric for a short time in the late '60s and early '70s, but hasn't used it in many, many years. 

Carter began playing cello at ten. But when his family moved from Ferndale, MI, to Detroit, Carter ran into problems with racial stereotypes regarding the cello and switched to bass. He played in the Eastman School's Philharmonic Orchestra, and gained his degree in 1959. He moved to New York and played in Chico Hamilton's quintet with Eric Dolphy, while also enrolling at the Manhattan School of Music. Carter earned his master's degree in 1961. After Hamilton returned to the West Coast in 1960, Carter stayed in New York and played with Dolphy and Don Ellis, cutting his first records with them. He worked with Randy Weston and Thelonious Monk, while playing and recording with Jaki Byard in the early '60s. Carter also toured and recorded with Bobby Timmons' trio, and played with Cannonball Adderley. He joined Art Farmer's group for a short time in 1963, before he was tapped to become a member of Miles Davis' band. 

Carter remained with Davis until 1968, appearing on every crucial mid-'60s recording and teaming with Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams to craft a new, freer rhythm section sound. The high-profile job led to the reputation that's seen Carter become possibly the most recorded bassist in jazz history. He's been heard on an unprecedented number of recordings; some sources claim 500, others have estimated it to be as many as 1,000. The list of people he's played with is simply too great to be accurately and completely cited. Carter's been a member of New York Jazz Sextet and New York Jazz Quartet, V.S.O.P. Tour, and Milestone Jazzstars, and was in one of the groups featured in the film Round Midnight in 1986. 

He's led his own bands at various intervals since 1972, using a second bassist to keep time and establish harmony so he's free to provide solos. Carter even invented his own instrument, a piccolo bass. Carter's also contributed many arrangements and compositions to both his groups and other bands. He's done duo recordings with either Cedar Walton or Jim Hall. Carter's recorded for Embryo/Atlantic, CTI, Milestone, Timeless, EmArcy, Galaxy, Elektra, and Concord, eventually landing at Blue Note for LPs including 1997's The Bass and I, 1998's So What, and 1999's Orfeu. When Skies Are Grey surfaced in early 2001, followed a year later by Stardust, Carter's tribute to the late bassist Oscar Pettiford. In 2006 another tribute album was released, Dear Miles, dedicated to Miles Davis, also on Blue Note.

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… Using Nothing But His Bass

When Warren Murchie of Global Bass informed me that he had arranged my recent interview with the great Ron Carter, my first reaction was -- FEAR. Ron, undeniably one of the most influential bassists in the world, has done so many interviews during this long career. I ought to know, I had studied them all. I worried that Ron would be disinterested, and his responses laconic. I told Warren that I would rise to the challenge, and do a story about Ron like no other. I reasoned that it would be a labor of love to write about a man who has been an icon to thousands of musicians around the world -- with this writer being at the top of the list. 

Now more than ever, I truly believe that everyone has a destiny, and that all things, good and bad, happen for a reason. How else can one explain how Ron picked up the bass one day … and ended up changing the world! Was it fate that Ron Carter would eventually make the acquaintance of Miles Davis and become a part of the illustrious quintet that gave us quite possibly the most celebrated, beloved music of our times? How else can we explain the fact that when Miles Davis brought his musicians together to record, everything fell into place so perfectly, as if it were truly meant to be -- even down to the studio chosen. Rudy Van Gelder's studio, nestled away in an undisclosed location in Englewood, New Jersey, became the place where the revolutionary music was to be forever documented into our hearts and minds. It was clear to me that it was fate that led me to interview a man I had all but worshiped for so many years.

As I write this article, in the background, someone is babbling about Madonna's new, controversial video, a video that is too violent to be shown on television. When asked, Madonna apparently stated that the purpose of the video was to "raise questions and open dialogue." Ron Carter accomplished this objective armed with only the revolutionary sounds of his bass. When I was a six-year old child, my Dad (a trumpet player who toured the world with Tito Puente), introduced me to the music of Miles, Tito, and Freddie Hubbard. The music alone raised the questions, and dialogue inevitably followed about true art, and the distinctive soul of an excellent musician. I distinctly remember staring at the photo of Ron Carter on the back of his LP entitled Peg Leg, which my Dad just happened to have lying around the house. With his pipe and beard, Ron looked so dignified, sort of like a college professor. And in truth, that is exactly what he is to so many. Ron's playing on the LP was quite scholarly indeed -- it was vintage Ron Carter. It was a primer on truly advanced upright bass playing. The fifths, major sixths, the funky double stops, the piccolo bass, the growling tone, and the low C's (courtesy of Ron's fingerboard extension), were all there for me to hear, absorb, and learn. I vividly remember, as a teenager, listening to Freddie Hubbard's great LP entitled Polar AC (produced by Creed Taylor). Ron absolutely knocked me out with his opening riff to the title track, outlining the D to D sus chord changes with style. "Naturally" was the first track on side 2 of the LP, and was arranged by Grammy Award winner Don Sebesky. Ron's bass sounded awesome, and when he played those low C's on his fingerboard extension towards the end of the verses, I knew I was hearing something special. Can you come up with more inspiring dialogue?

The truth is that we were all privileged to have had Ron Carter to lend us inspiration, but who inspired Ron? I asked Ron if there were any particular bassists to whom he listened when he starting out. He responded: "Primarily, no. I listened to J.J. Johnson and [baritone saxophonist] Cecil Payne. J.J. was a trombone player who was able to make the instrument do something other than slip and slide. He found a way to play all those notes, and all those intervals without going past the bell of his horn. Cecil Payne came up when you had Gerry Mulligan and Harry Carney all playing with the same basic sound. Cecil was able to find his own quality that's clearly a personal approach to the instrument as far as sonics are concerned."

You see, Ron learned the merits of developing a personal sound and style partly from his exposure to JJ and Cecil Payne. This is perhaps one of the most important lessons you can learn from Ron. It is critical to develop your own style regardless of what instrument you play. Be inspired from listening to others, but don't plagiarize. Innovate, don't imitate! It is the only way to have staying power.

Ron has a brand new CD entitled When Skies Are Grey. It is a classy, Latin influenced collection of music all anchored by Ron's bass mastery. According to Ron, arranger Bob Freedman played a big part in the tight focused sound of the CD. Ron has worked with Freedman since the 1970's (Freedman was the arranger on the Peg Leg LP in 1977). "He's a wonderful arranger", Ron acclaims, "he's worked with Lena Horne, Harry Belafonte, just a wonderful arranger. I like the way he writes. I like the way he works. I like what he does."

Like all true innovators, Ron's mindset on When Skies Are Grey was not to compete with or copy the great Latin bands of today. "I wasn't trying to imitate guys like Tito Puente, because they do what they do with all those pieces much better than I can with a quartet. I was trying to acknowledge their presence on the Jazz scene, and have people go away feeling that if you don't have three violins, five trumpets, [and] six percussionists, you can still play the Latin beat."

Percussionist Steve Kroon, pianist Stephen Scott, and drummer Harvey Mason all added their unique styles and sound that make this record a wonderful piece. I was surprised to find Harvey Mason on this CD (thinking that he was primarily a funk/R&B drummer). I voiced this to Ron who replied, "I often hear that comment that people are surprised to see Harvey in a Jazz setting, and it really surprises me, because I've always known Harvey as a jazz drummer, I don't know him through all the other music everyone seems to associate him with." 

All the material on When Skies Are Grey is strong, and the musical performances stellar. From the opening tune entitled "Loose Change", the Ron Carter touch is evident. Ron lays down the opening groove as only Ron can, incorporating major fifths played harmonically into the bass line. Besame Mucho is the second tune on the CD, but before you start thinking Julio Iglesias, think again. Bob Freedman's arrangement is really fresh and hip. My favorite tracks are Corcovado (which was written by Antonio Carlos Jobim) and Mi Tiempo, a Ron Carter composition. On Corcovado, Ron plays the melody, and Stephen Scott really embellishes with some nice chord voicings. Mi Tiempo is a Ron Carter extravaganza in which Ron is the catalyst for some great interaction between Steve Kroon and Harvey Mason. To sum it up … it's all good.

As those of you who have followed his career already know, Ron has always been an innovator in regard to tone. He was the first bassist to really get that growling tone on the upright bass. I listened attentively to every aspect of When Skies Are Grey, and I noted that Ron's tone seemed a bit rounder and warmer on this particular outing. I wondered if he did anything different this time around when recording this CD. Ron replied, "As you know, when you make a record, a lot of things are out of your control. There are a lot of processes that take place after the recording is done that affect tone. There are about six processes that take place in the studio, and sometimes the engineers get it right, sometimes they don't. The bass sounds different every day, my hands feel different, but as far as the tone of the new CD, it's nothing that I'm consciously doing." 

In the studio Ron never uses an amplifier when recording his tracks. Critical to his beautiful sound are his hands. As everyone knows, that's the starting point for great bass sound. But in particular, Ron records his bass with a Neumann microphone. The instrument Ron used is the instrument that he has been playing since 1959. His bass is a Juzek, "whose parts were made in Czechoslovakia, and assembled in Germany before Germany became east and west, about 1910 or so. I have a fingerboard extension that I put on in the 1970's, probably the first extension of it's type, which now has become a standard in jazz. I use LaBella 7710's, which is a black nylon wound steel core string, and I've been using them for the last 12 years, and a David Gage (The Realist) bass pickup."

Looking to the future, I wanted to know Ron's views on Rap and Hip Hop music. Since the music industry has become such a melting pot, I wondered if there was a possibility of a future Hip Hop tinged to Ron Carter's musical offerings. "The language of a lot of the Rap stuff is pretty coarse for my age group. I don't appreciate some of the words and thoughts. If some of these rappers really want to become poets as they profess to be, they'd have people playing with them live to really affect the music." Ron further noted that "A Tribe called Quest and Dr. Dre know the jazz cats, they just haven't gotten around to feeling it essential to incorporate it into their music, especially live." One thing is for sure, although I currently do not own any Hip Hop CDs, if Dr. Dre hires Ron for an upcoming project, he's got my word that I'll buy it!

For your information, Ron is a degreed professional, with degrees from Eastman School of Music, and a Masters from the Manhattan School of Music. Ron has been teaching music at City College of New York for almost two decades. "I've been teaching full time for the past 19 years, at CCNY, City College of New York [at] 138th [Street] and Convent Avenue (212-650-5411). I teach four ensembles and seven bass students." When asked if he presently has any prodigies under his wing he replied, "They all show promise, how they do when they get out there is another story, but they all show promise."

In these times of hype and fads, it is easy to find a new "star", but increasingly difficult to find great music. We have game shows in which pretty faces are awarded record deals without having to pay their dues -- the dues every true musician must pay in order to reach a higher level. Ron Carter has paid his dues and as a result has lived and thrived in the worst of times. He is a role model for all -- black, white, whatever your ethnicity. He is proof positive that it is possible to make a living as a musician without selling your soul, "selling out", or trying to copy the flavor of the month dime a dozen bands with which we have been inundated of late.

However, it must be noted, that the music business itself does have its price. On a personal note, in the pursuit of "making it" in the music business, this writer has shelved a lot of the music and musicians that were once so important to me as a young optimistic beginner. Trying to make a name for myself and work in New York's unforgiving music seen can be overwhelming. Listening to Ron's new CD brought back all of the beautiful musical energy I once thrived upon. Ron is still here, right now, inspiring and enlightening and for this I must say … "Thank You, Ron." 

If you are serious about music, I strongly suggest picking up When Skies Are Grey. You will be listening to the most revered jazz bassist alive today -- the one and only Ron Carter. Make it your business to learn about him, you will truly enrich your life by doing so. 

On a sad note, one week before the recording of When Skies Are Grey, Ron Carter's wife passed away. It was something that I did not feel comfortable discussing with Ron at the time of the interview, but I think it is important that the readers of Global Bass send Ron their warm thoughts. Ron, the consummate professional, had to put aside his grief and head into the studio to make music. My deepest condolences to Ron and his entire family.

I would like to thank Ron Carter, Cem Kurosman, Marty Straub, and most of all, Warren Murchie for granting me this distinct honor.

Source: Tony Senatore, March 22, 2001

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Discography

As leader
 
Yellow & Green
Pastels
Anything Goes
Piccolo
All Blues
Bass and I
Stardust
The Golden Striker
Orfeu
Telepathy
New York Slick
Blues Farm
Standard Bearers
Jazz, My Romance
When Skies Are Grey
Friends
Holiday In Rio
Mr. Bow Tie
Ron Carter Plays Bach
Uptown Conversation
Carnival
So What
Peg Leg
Meets Bach
Spanish Blue
Patrao
Parade
Guitar & Bass
A Song For You
Brandenburg Concerto
Live at The Village Vanguard
Eight Plus
Dear Miles
Etudes 1982
Live at Village West with Jim Hall
Telephone with Jim Hall
Third Plane (1978) with Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams

As a sideman

Herbie Hancock - Empyrean Isles, Maiden Voyage, Speak Like A Child, V.S.O.P.
Joe Henderson - Power To The People, The State Of The Tenor: Live At The Village Vanguard
Sam Rivers - Fuchsia Swing Song, Contours
Eric Dolphy - Out There (1960)
Coleman Hawkins - Night Hawk (1961) with Eddie Davis and Tommy Flanagan
Andrew Hill - Grass Roots, Lift Every Voice, Passing Ships
Bobby Hutcherson - Components
Wes Montgomery - So Much Guitar (1961), Tequila, California Dreaming
Oliver Nelson - Sound Pieces
Miles Davis - Quiet Nights (1962), Four and 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
Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil (1964), The All Seeing Eye
Toshiko Akiyoshi - Toshiko at Top of the Gate (1968)
George Benson - Giblet Gravy (1968)
The Rascals - "See" (1969)
McCoy Tyner - The Real McCoy, Expansions, Trident, Counterpoints, Fly with the Wind, Supertrios, Extensions (1970)
Quincy Jones - Gula Matari (1970)
Freddie Hubbard - Red Clay (1970), Empyrean Isles, First Light
Donald Byrd - Electric Byrd (1970)
Roberta Flack - First Take (1970), Quiet Fire (1971), Killing Me Softly (1973)
Milt Jackson - Sunflower (1972)
Billy Cobham - Spectrum (1973)
New York Jazz Quartet - In Concert in Japan (1975)
The Wiz (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1978)
Jim Hall - Alone Together (1986), Concierto
Helen Merrill - Duets (1987)
Harry Connick, Jr. - Harry Connick Jr. (1987)
Johnny Frigo - Live from Studio A in New York City (1988)
Twin Peaks (Television Series, 2nd Season) (1990)
A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory (1991)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1993)
Austin Peralta - Maiden Voyage (2006)
Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker (2001, Vertical Jazz) (deleted)
The Classical Jazz Quartet Plays Bach (Vertical Jazz, 2002)
The Classical Jazz Quartet Play Rachmaninov (May 16, 2006, Kind of Blue)
The Classical Jazz Quartet Play Tchaikovsky (September 19, 2006)
Christmas (2006)[3]
Grace Slick-"Manhole (1973)

References

http://danouellette.artistshare.com/default.aspx
Ron Carter Official Website
allmusic ((( Classical Jazz Quartet > Discography > Main Albums )))