| Long Bio | dob dod b. 1937 034133
In the early 1960's, Ron Carter performed throughout the United States in nightclubs and concel"t halls with Eric Dolphy,
i Byard, and Wes Montgomery, then toured with Cannonball Adderly. He was a member ofthe Miles Davis quintet from h7;)3-1968, along with Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, and Wayne Shorter.
Mr. Carter was among the few bassists who continued to play acoustic bass when many turned to electric bass. "It was a conscious choice," he says. "I felt a responsibility to present a viable alternative to the popular electric sound:' One of Mr. Carter's chief accomplishments has been to create bass lines so harmonically and rhythmically rich that soloists have had to respond to his challenge. As he puts it: "A good bassist determines the direction of any balnd:' Often Mr. Carter uses gong-like tones and glissandos in his work. Once his trademark, these ringing notes has now become part of every modern bassist's arsenal.
When he first thought of forming his own group, Mr. Carter was presented with a new challenge. Traditionally, the bass was not considered a lead instrument. He found a solution in the piccolo bass, an instrument om~-halfthe size of a full-size (4/4) bass. He tuned the instrument to bring out an unusual sound quality that stands out in an ensemble. Backed by a quartet of piano, drums, percussion, and an additional bass, this puts Mr. Carter out front and creates one of the most distinctive and unusual jazz formations ever heard.
Mr. Carter won a Grammy award in 1988 for the instrumental composition, "Call Sheet Blues," from the movie, Round Midnight. He scored and arranged music for a number of other films and television movies. Also and author, Mr. Carter wrote Building a Jazz Bass Line, Ron Carter Comprehensive Bass Method, Ron Carter Bass Lines, and the Music of Ron Carter, which contains 140 of his published and recorded compositions.
As a recording artist, Mr. Carter has more than 1000 albums to his credit as a leader and supportiv,e collaborator. His solo bass recording ofthe Bach Cello Suites on compact disc was Certified Gold in 1988. His many awards include citations by the Japan All-Star Jazz Poll and the Swing Journa(Readers Poll. He was voted Outstanding Bassist ofthe Decade by the Detroit News. Downbea(magazine named him Jazz Bassist ofthe Year, and The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences named him the Most Valuable Player, Acoustic Bass.
Mr. Carter earned a Bachelor of Music Degree form the Eastman School of Music and a Master's Degree in double bass from the Manhattan School of Music, where he later returned to teach. He has lectured, conducted, alnd performed at clinic, instructed jazz ensembles, and has taught the business of music at several universities, as well as at the Harlem School for the Arts. He is currently professor of music at the City College of New York. |
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