Ron Carter

Bio

Ron Carter (Ferndale, 1937) is a legendary and limitless musician and double bass player. The epitome of class and elegance, Carter is amongst the greatest jazzists of all times and his prodigious technique makes him a brilliant musician and a world-class artist.

After having approached the study of cello and classical music, and having encountered numerous difficulties due to racist stereotypes, Carter decided to devote himself to the study of contrabass and to move to New York.

In New York, he joined, in 1963, the Miles David Quintet, where he stayed until 1968. In the early Seventies, Carter played in the New York Bass Choir and in the New York Jazz Quartet together with Michael Legrand and artists such as Hubert Laws, Stanley Turrentine, and George Benson.

In 1976, together with pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Ben Riley, Carter founded his first quartet, in which he played an instrument he invented himself: it is a “small” bass that has a higher tuning than the standard one, thanks to which it emerges in the rhythmic section.

Alongside this experience, Carter composed “Call Sheet Blues” used in the soundtrack of the film Round Midnight (1985), which granted him a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition.

In 1994, Carter won a second Grammy Award for his contribution to the album A Tribute to Miles (1994), and subsequently signed a contract with record label Blue Note, for which he published The Bass and I (1997), So What (1998) and Orfeu (1999).

In the following years, Carter continued his activity as a musician, publishing numerous studio albums and tributes to legendary jazzists: important to remember were surely When Skies Are Grey (2001), Stardust (2002) a tribute to bassist Oscar Pettiford and Dear Miles (2006) an album recorded to celebrate Miles Davis.

In 2011, Carter started his big-band musical project and founded Ron Carter’s Great Big Band, with which he played Robert M.Freedman’s arrangements and collaborated with pianist Mulgrew Miller and drummer Lewis Nash.

One year later, Carter was included in the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame and subsequently, together with drummer Gerry Gibbs, published two albums: Thrasher Dream Trio (2013) and We’re Back (2014).

After some collaborations with artists like the saxophonist Houston Pearson, the pianist Ethan Iverson and the writer/poet/painter Danny Simmons, in February 2020 Ron Carter performed in Italy for two special evenings at Real Teatro Santa Cecilia in Palermo.

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