Ron Carter

Ron Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that instrument. He was elected to the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame in 2012.

Biography
Carter was born in Ferndale, Michigan. He 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 harmonies and concepts were in step with the third stream movement.

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 only 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 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 to 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, Horace Silver and others.

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. Notable musical partnerships in the '70s and '80s included Joe Henderson, Houston Person, Hank Jones, and Cedar Walton. During the 1970s he was a member of the New York Jazz Quartet.

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. In 1994, Carter appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African American community, was heralded as "Album of the Year" by TIME. In 2001, Carter collaborated with Black Star and John Patton to record "Money Jungle" for the Red Hot Organization's compilation album, Red Hot + Indigo, a tribute to Duke Ellington.

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 2005. He joined the faculty of the Juilliard School in New York City in 2008, teaching bass in the school's Jazz Studies program.

Carter made a notable appearance in Robert Altman's 1996 film, Kansas City. The end credits feature him and fellow bassist Christian McBride duetting on "Solitude".

Ron Carter sits on the Advisory Committee of the Board of Directors of The Jazz Foundation of America as well as the Honorary Founder's Committee. Carter has worked with the Jazz Foundation since its inception to save the homes and the lives of America's elderly jazz and blues musicians including musicians that survived Hurricane Katrina.

Carter appeared as himself in an episode of the HBO series Treme entitled "What Is New Orleans."

Carter's authorized biography, Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes, by Dan Ouellette was published by ArtistShare in 2008.

In 2013, Carter was one of four judges at Jazz at Lincoln Center's 18th Annual Essentially Ellington competition and festival.

As leader

 * 1961: Where? (Prestige Records) with Eric Dolphy, Charlie Persip, Mal Waldron, George Duvivier
 * 1966: Out Front (Prestige)
 * 1969: Uptown Conversation (Embryo Records)
 * 1973: Blues Farm (CTI)
 * 1973: All Blues (CTI)
 * 1974: Spanish Blue (CTI)
 * 1975: Anything Goes (Kudu)
 * 1976: Yellow & Green (CTI)
 * 1976: Pastels (Milestone)
 * 1977: Piccolo (Milestone)
 * 1977: Third Plane (Milestone)
 * 1978: 1+3 (JVC) trio live with Hank Jones or Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams
 * 1978: A Song For You
 * 1978: Peg Leg (Milestone)
 * 1978: Standard Bearers
 * 1979: Parade
 * 1980: New York Slick (Milestone)
 * 1980: Patrao
 * 1980: Empire Jazz
 * 1980: Pick 'Em (Milestone)
 * 1981: Super Strings (Milestone)
 * 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) trio with Kenny Barron and Lewis Nash
 * 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 featuring his quartet Stephen Scott, piano, Payton Crossley, drums and Roger Squitero, percussion
 * 2008: Jazz and Bossa
 * 2011: Ron Carter's Great Big Band (Sunnyside Records)

As sideman
With Pepper Adams With Toshiko Akiyoshi With Gene Ammons With Gato Barbieri With George Benson With Bob Brookmeyer With Kenny Burrell With Henry Butler With Jaki Byard With Donald Byrd With Billy Cobham With Alice Coltrane With Harry Connick, Jr. With Chick Corea With Tadd Dameron With Miles Davis With Eli Degibri With Paul Desmond With Eric Dolphy With Lou Donaldson With Charles Earland With Don Ellis With Art Farmer With Roberta Flack With Bill Frisell With Johnny Frigo With Red Garland With Stan Getz With Astrud Gilberto With Giorgio With Benny Golson With Johnny Griffin With Jim Hall With Chico Hamilton With Johnny Hammond With Herbie Hancock With Barry Harris With Eddie Harris With Gene Harris With Coleman Hawkins With Joe Henderson With Andrew Hill With Freddie Hubbard With Bobby Hutcherson With Jackie and Roy With Milt Jackson With Ivan "Boogaloo Joe" Jones With Quincy Jones With Sam Jones With Steve Kuhn and Gary McFarland With Yusef Lateef With Hubert Laws With Junior Mance With Herbie Mann With Helen Merrill With Wes Montgomery With Airto Moreira With Oliver Nelson With David "Fathead" Newman With the New York Jazz Quartet With Hermeto Pascoal With Duke Pearson With Houston Person With Austin Peralta With Sam Rivers With Shirley Scott With Gil Scott-Heron With Don Sebesky With Marlena Shaw With Wayne Shorter With Horace Silver With Grace Slick With Phoebe Snow With Sonny Stitt With Ed Summerlin With Gábor Szabó With Livingston Taylor With Bobby Timmons With Charles Tolliver With A Tribe Called Quest With McCoy Tyner With Mal Waldron With Grover Washington Jr. With Randy Weston With Kai Winding
 * Encounter! (Prestige, 1968)
 * Toshiko at Top of the Gate (1968)
 * The Black Cat! (Prestige, 1970)
 * My Way (Prestige, 1971)
 * Got My Own (Prestige, 1972)
 * Big Bad Jug (Prestige, 1972)
 * Chapter Three: Viva Emiliano Zapata (Impulse!, 1974)
 * Chapter Four: Alive in New York (Impulse!, 1975)
 * Giblet Gravy (1968)
 * Bob Brookmeyer and Friends (1962)
 * A Generation Ago Today (Verve, 1967)
 * Blues - The Common Ground (Verve, 1968)
 * Night Song (Verve, 1969)
 * God Bless the Child (CTI, 1971)
 * The Village (Impulse!, 1987)
 * Here's Jaki (New Jazz, 1961)
 * Hi-Fly (New Jazz, 1962)
 * Out Front! (Prestige, 1964)
 * Jaki Byard with Strings! (Prestige, 1968)
 * Electric Byrd (Blue Note, 1970)
 * Kofi (Blue Note, 1969–70)
 * Spectrum (1973)
 * Ptah, The El Daoud (Impulse!, 1970)
 * Harry Connick Jr. (1987)
 * Inner Space (Atlantic, 1973)
 * The Magic Touch (Riverside 1962)
 * Quiet Nights (Columbia, 1962)
 * Four & More
 * My Funny Valentine
 * "Live in Milan 1964"
 * Live at the Plugged Nickel
 * Miles Smiles
 * ESP
 * Miles in the Sky
 * Seven Steps to Heaven
 * Sorcerer
 * Filles de Kilimanjaro
 * Water Babies
 * Nefertiti
 * Israeli Song (2010)
 * Summertime (A&M/CTI, 1968)
 * From the Hot Afternoon (A&M/CTI, 1969)
 * Bridge Over Troubled Water (A&M/CTI, 1970)
 * Skylark (CTI, 1973)
 * Pure Desmond (CTI, 1975)
 * Out There (Prestige, 1960)
 * Far Cry (Prestige, 1960)
 * Lush Life (1967)
 * Sophisticated Lou (1973)
 * Kharma (Prestige, 1974)
 * How Time Passes (Candid, 1960)
 * New Ideas (New Jazz, 1961)
 * The Many Faces of Art Farmer (Scepter, 1964)
 * First Take (1970)
 * Quiet Fire (1971)
 * Killing Me Softly (1973)
 * Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian (Nonesuch, 2006)
 * Live from Studio A in New York City (1988)
 * Red Garland's Piano (1957)
 * Voices (1967)
 * Gilberto with Turrentine with Stanley Turrentine (CTI, 1971)
 * Party Of The Century (2010)
 * Pop + Jazz = Swing (Audio Fidelity, 1961) - also released as Just Jazz!
 * Free (Argo, 1962)
 * White Gardenia (Riverside, 1961)
 * The Kerry Dancers (Riverside, 1961–62)
 * Concierto (CTI, 1975)
 * Live at Village West (1984)
 * Telephone (1985)
 * Alone Together (1986)
 * The Further Adventures of El Chico (Impulse!, 1966)
 * Wild Horses Rock Steady (Kudu, 1971)
 * The Prophet (Kudu, 1972)
 * Higher Ground (Kudu, 1973)
 * Empyrean Isles (Blue Note)
 * Maiden Voyage (Blue Note)
 * Speak Like a Child (Blue Note)
 * VSOP (Columbia)
 * Quartet (Columbia, 1981)
 * Magnificent! (Prestige, 1969)
 * The In Sound (Atlantic, 1965)
 * Mean Greens (Atlantic, 1966)
 * The Tender Storm (Atlantic, 1966)
 * Plug Me In (Atlantic, 1968)
 * Excursions (Atlantic, 1966–73)
 * How Can You Live Like That? (Atlantic, 1976)
 * Gene Harris of the Three Sounds (Blue Note, 1972)
 * Night Hawk (Swingville, 1960)
 * The Hawk Relaxes (Moodsville, 1961)
 * Power to the People (Milestone)
 * The State of the Tenor, Vols. 1 & 2 (Blue Note)
 * Grass Roots (Blue Note, 1968)
 * Lift Every Voice (Blue Note, 1969)
 * Passing Ships (Blue Note, 1969)
 * Red Clay (CTI, 1970)
 * Straight Life (CTI, 1970)
 * First Light (CTI, 1971)
 * Components (Blue Note, 1965)
 * Time & Love (CTI, 1972)
 * Big Bags (Riverside, 1962)
 * Invitation (Riverside, 1962)
 * Milt Jackson at the Museum of Modern Art (Limelight, 1965)
 * Milt Jackson and the Hip String Quartet (Verve, 1968)
 * Sunflower (CTI, 1972)
 * Goodbye (CTI, 1973)
 * Olinga (CTI, 1974)
 * Introducing the Psychedelic Soul Jazz Guitar of Joe Jones (Prestige, 1967)
 * Black Whip (Prestige, 1973)
 * Gula Matari (CTI, 1970)
 * Down Home (Riverside, 1962)
 * The October Suite (Impulse!, 1966)
 * The Three Faces of Yusef Lateef (Riverside, 1960)
 * Laws' Cause (Atlantic, 1968)
 * Crying Song (CTI, 1969)
 * Afro-Classic (CTI, 1970)
 * The Rite of Spring (CTI, 1971)
 * Wild Flower (Atlantic, 1972)
 * Morning Star (CTI, 1972)
 * Carnegie Hall (CTI, 1973)
 * In the Beginning (CTI, 1974)
 * The Chicago Theme (CTI, 1974)
 * Happy Time (Jazzland, 1962)
 * Glory of Love (CTI, 1967)
 * Duets (1987)
 * So Much Guitar (1961)
 * Tequila
 * California Dreaming
 * Free (CTI, 1972)
 * Sound Pieces (1966)
 * Happenings (1966)
 * Mr. Gentle Mr. Cool : A Tribute To Duke Ellington (1994, Kokopelli Records)
 * In Concert in Japan (1975)
 * Hermeto (1971)
 * Slaves Mass (1976)
 * Sweet Honey Bee (Blue Note, 1966)
 * Sweet Buns & Barbeque (Prestige, 1972)
 * Maiden Voyage (2006)
 * Fuchsia Swing Song (Blue Note, 1964)
 * Contours (Blue Note, 1965)
 * On a Clear Day (1966)
 * Mystical Lady (Cadet, 1971)
 * Superstition (Cadet, 1973)
 * Pieces of a Man (1972)
 * Giant Box (CTI, 1973)
 * The Rape of El Morro (CTI, 1975)
 * From the Depths of My Soul (1973)
 * Speak No Evil (Blue Note, 1964)
 * The All Seeing Eye (Blue Note, 1965)
 * Silver 'n Brass (Blue Note, 1975)
 * Silver 'n Wood (Blue Note, 1976)
 * Silver 'n Voices (Blue Note, 1976)
 * Silver 'n Percussion (Blue Note, 1977)
 * Silver 'n Strings Play the Music of the Spheres (Blue Note, 1978)
 * The Hardbop Grandpop (1996)
 * A Prescription for the Blues (1997)
 * Manhole (1973)
 * Second Childhood  (1976)
 * Satan (Cadet, 1974)
 * Ring Out Joy (Avant-Garde, 1968)
 * Spellbinder (Impulse!, 1966)
 * Mizrab (CTI, 1972)
 * In Harmony (1980)
 * In Person (1961)
 * Born to Be Blue! (1963)
 * The Soul Man! (1966)
 * Got to Get It! (1967)
 * Paper Man (1969) - Black Lion Records
 * The Low End Theory (1991)
 * The Real McCoy (Blue Note)
 * Expansions (Blue Note)
 * Trident (Milestone)
 * Counterpoints (Milestone)
 * Fly with the Wind (Milestone)
 * Supertrios
 * Extensions
 * The Quest (1961)
 * Inner City Blues (Kudu, 1971)
 * All the King's Horses (Kudu, 1972)
 * Soul Box (Kudu, 1973)
 * Uhuru Afrika (Roulette, 1960)
 * Blue Moses (CTI, 1972)
 * Tanjah (Polydor, 1973)
 * The Incredible Kai Winding Trombones (Impulse!, 1960)
 * Israel (A&M/CTI, 1968) with J. J. Johnson
 * Betwixt & Between (A&M/CTI, 1969) with J. J. Johnson
 * Stonebone (A&M/CTI (Japan), 1969) with J. J. Johnson

Filmography

 * 2003: Ron Carter & Art Farmer: Live at Sweet Basil with Cedar Walton and Billy Higgins
 * 2002: Herbie Hancock Trio: Hurricane! with Ron Carter and Billy Cobham