Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937)
is an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
,
and is also a
cellist
The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
who has recorded numerous times on the instrument.
In addition to a solo career of more than 60 years, Carter is well-known for playing on numerous iconic
Blue Note
Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...
albums in the 1960s, as well as being the anchor of trumpeter
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...
's "
Second Great Quintet" from 1963-1968.
Beginning with ''
Where?'' in 1961, Carter's studio albums as leader also include ''
Uptown Conversation'' (1969), ''
Blues Farm'' (1973), ''
All Blues'' (1973), ''
Spanish Blue'' (1974), ''
Anything Goes'' (1975), ''
Yellow & Green'' (1976), ''
Pastels
A pastel () is an art medium that consists of powdered pigment and a binder (material), binder. It can exist in a variety of forms, including a stick, a square, a pebble, and a pan of color, among other forms. The pigments used in pastels are ...
'' (1976), ''
Piccolo
The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...
'' (1977), ''
Third Plane'' (1977), ''
Peg Leg
A peg leg is a prosthesis, or artificial limb, fitted to the remaining stump of a human leg, especially a wooden one fitted at the knee. Its use dates to antiquity.
History
By the late 19th century, prosthetics vendors would offer peg legs as c ...
'' (1978), ''
A Song for You'' (1978), ''
Etudes'' (1982), ''
The Golden Striker'' (2003), ''
Dear Miles'' (2006), and ''Ron Carter's Great Big Band'' (2011).
Early life
Carter was born in
Ferndale, Michigan
Ferndale is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit on the Woodward Corridor, Ferndale borders Detroit to the north, roughly northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a ...
.
His father was a bus driver for the city of Detroit.
At the age of 10, he started playing the
cello
The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
, switching to bass while at
Cass Technical High School
Cass Technical High School (simply referred to as Cass Tech) is a four-year Public magnet high school in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. from the University Cultural Center Association, retrieved June 9, 1001 It was established in 19 ...
.
He earned a B.A. in music from the
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1921 by celebrated industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman, it was the ...
(1959) and a master's degree in music from the
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory
A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...
(1961).
While at
Eastman, Carter began the shift from classical to jazz when he,
Pee Wee Ellis and other friends put together a house band to play at the
Pythodd Room, a club on Clarissa Street in segregated
Rochester, where he met players on the
Chitlin Circuit who encouraged him to go to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.
Carter's first jobs as a jazz musician were playing bass with
Chico Hamilton
Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton (September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleader, f ...
in 1959, followed by freelance work with
Jaki Byard,
Cannonball Adderley
Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s.
Adderley is perhaps best remembered by the general public for the 1966 soul ...
,
Randy Weston,
Bobby Timmons, and
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...
.
One of his first recorded appearances was on Hamilton alumnus
Eric Dolphy
Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and bandleader. Primarily an alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist, and flautist, Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain ...
's ''
Out There'', recorded on August 15, 1960, and featuring
George Duvivier on bass,
Roy Haynes
Roy Owen Haynes (March 13, 1925 – November 12, 2024) was an American jazz drummer. In the 1950s, he was given the nickname "Snap Crackle" for his distinctive snare drum sound and musical vocabulary. He is among the most recorded drummers in ja ...
on drums, and Carter on cello. The album's advanced harmonies and concepts were in step with the
third stream movement. In early October 1960, Carter recorded ''
How Time Passes'' with
Don Ellis
Donald Johnson Ellis (July 25, 1934 – December 17, 1978) was an American jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer, and bandleader. He is best known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of time signatures. Later in his ...
, and on June 20, 1961, he recorded ''
Where?'', his first album as a leader, featuring
Dolphy
Rodolfo Vera Quizon Sr. (July 25, 1928 – July 10, 2012), known professionally as Dolphy, was a Filipino comedian and actor. He is widely regarded as the country's "King of Comedy" for his comedic talent embodied by his long roster of works ...
on alto sax, flute, and bass clarinet;
Mal Waldron
Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Wa ...
on piano;
Charlie Persip on drums; and
Duvivier playing basslines on tracks where Carter played cello.
Career
1960s–1980s
Carter was a member of the second
Miles Davis Quintet in the mid 1960s, which also included
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...
,
Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter (August 25, 1933 – March 2, 2023) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader. Shorter came to mainstream prominence in 1959 upon joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, for whom he eventually became the primary comp ...
and drummer
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 Dave Holland or David Holland may refer to:
*Dave Holland (bassist)
David Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English double bassist, bass guitarist, cellist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has ...
), and participated in a couple of studio sessions with Davis in 1969 and 1970. Although he played
electric bass
The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an electric but with a longer neck and scale leng ...
occasionally during this era of early
jazz-rock fusion
Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...
, he has subsequently stopped playing that instrument, and in the 2000s plays only double bass.
Carter also performed on some of Hancock, Williams and Shorter's recordings during the 1960s for
Blue Note
Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...
.
He was a
sideman
A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform live with a solo artist, or with a group in which they are not a regular band member. The term is usually used to describe musicians that play with jazz or rock artists, whether solo o ...
on many Blue Note recordings of the era, playing with
Sam Rivers,
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...
,
Duke Pearson,
Lee Morgan
Edward Lee Morgan (July 10, 1938 – February 19, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. One of the key hard bop musicians of the 1960s and a cornerstone of the Blue Note Records, Blue Note label, Morgan came to prominence in his la ...
,
McCoy Tyner
Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet from 1960 to 1965, and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Masters, NEA J ...
,
Andrew Hill,
Horace Silver
Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s.
After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sch ...
, and others. He also played on soul-pop star
Roberta Flack
Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, Folk music, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm ...
's album ''
First Take'' and
Gil Scott Heron's ''
Pieces of a Man'', including the iconic bass-line on "
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" is a satirical poem and Black Liberation song by Gil Scott-Heron. Scott-Heron first recorded it for his 1970 album ''Small Talk at 125th and Lenox'', on which he recited the lyrics, accompanied by congas a ...
".
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 1970s and 1980s included
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and very occasional flute player. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day an ...
,
Houston Person
Houston Person (born November 10, 1934) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing music, swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. He re ...
,
Hank Jones
Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians have described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts h ...
,
Gabor Szabo and
Cedar Walton
Cedar Anthony Walton Jr. (January 17, 1934 – August 19, 2013) was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and c ...
. During the 1970s he was a member of the
New York Jazz Quartet. In 1986, Carter played double bass on "
Big Man on Mulberry Street" on
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...
's album ''
The Bridge''. In 1987, Carter won a Grammy for "an instrumental composition for the film" ''
Round Midnight''.
1990s–2000s

In 1994, he won his second
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
for Best Jazz Instrumental Group for a tribute album to Miles Davis. He appeared on the
alternative hip hop
Alternative hip-hop (also known as alternative rap and experimental hip-hop) is a subgenre of hip-hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising "hip-hop group ...
group
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,[Q-Tip< ...](_blank)
's influential album ''
The Low End Theory'' on a track called "Verses from the Abstract".
Carter also recorded 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
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
''. 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
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.
Born and raised in Washington, D ...
.
Beginning in the 1990s, Carter became a Distinguished
Professor Emeritus
''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus".
...
of the music department of
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...
, having taught there for 20 years, and received an honorary doctorate from the
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...
in spring 2005. He joined the faculty of the
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...
in New York City in 2008, teaching bass in the school's Jazz Studies program. Carter made an appearance in
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...
's 1996 film, ''
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
'', at the center of which is a jazz club called the Hey Hey Club. The film's end credits feature Carter and fellow bassist
Christian McBride
Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 400 recordings as a sideman, and is a nine-time Grammy Award winner.
McBride has performed and recorded with a number of jaz ...
duetting on "
Solitude
Solitude, also known as social withdrawal, is a state of seclusion or isolation, meaning lack of socialisation. Effects can be either positive or negative, depending on the situation. Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one may wo ...
" at the club, owned by a black gangster called Seldom Seen, who was played by a "show-stealing"
Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte ( ; born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, actor, and civil rights activist who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. Belafonte ...
. (In a 2023 tribute, Carter would reveal how it came about that Belafonte had been his landlord.)
Carter sits on the advisory committee of the board of directors of The
Jazz Foundation of America
The Jazz Foundation of America (JFA) is a non-profit organization based in Manhattan, New York that was founded in 1989. Its programs seek to help jazz and blues musicians in need of emergency funds and connect them with performance opportunitie ...
and on 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
Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
.
[Pt. 2 Jazz Angels Jazz Foundation of America's Wendy Oxenhorn on HammondCast KYOURADIO.]
Carter appeared as himself in an episode of the HBO series ''
Treme'' entitled "What Is New Orleans".
His authorized biography, ''Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes'' (), by Dan Ouellette, was published by ArtistShare in 2008.
2010s and later
In 2010, Carter was honored with France's premier cultural award, the medallion and title of Commander of the
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...
. Carter was elected to the ''
DownBeat
''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...
'' Jazz Hall of Fame in 2012.
In August 2021, Carter was the featured guest in a 47-minute video interview with
YouTuber
A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...
and musician
Rick Beato. In November 2021, the Japanese government honored Carter with
The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette. Japanese officials credited Carter with helping to popularize jazz in Japan and facilitating cultural exchange. In April 2022 Carter sat in with Bob Weir at Radio City Music Hall. In May 2022, Carter celebrated his birthday by releasing a
Tiny Desk Concert recorded at the
Blue Note Jazz Club featuring
Russell Malone and
Donald Vega.
Carter continues to record as a sideman, most recently appearing on Daniele Cordisco's 2023 album "Bitter Head." In August 2024 he was inducted into the
Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame
Documentary films
''Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes'' is a documentary film about Carter's career, produced and directed by Peter Schnall. It was released in November of 2022 on
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
.
Personal life
Carter was married to Janet Hasbrouck Carter, a champion of African and African-American art; she died in 2000. He had two sons, Ron Carter Jr and Myles Carter who was a painter and graffiti artist. Myles’ death, from a stroke, is discussed in the Documentary "Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes."
He describes himself as a science fiction enthusiast.
Discography
* ''
Where?'' (New Jazz, 1961)
* ''
Uptown Conversation'' (
Embryo
An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sp ...
, 1969)
* ''
Alone Together'' (
Milestone
A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway, railway line, canal or border, boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks like Mileage sign, mileage signs; or they c ...
, 1972) with
Jim Hall
* ''
Blues Farm'' (
CTI, 1973)
* ''
All Blues'' (CTI, 1973)
* ''
Spanish Blue'' (CTI, 1974)
* ''
Anything Goes'' (
Kudu
The kudus are two species of antelope of the genus '' Tragelaphus'':
* Lesser kudu, ''Tragelaphus imberbis'', of eastern Africa
* Greater kudu, ''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'', of eastern and southern Africa
The two species look similar, th ...
, 1975)
* ''
Yellow & Green'' (CTI, 1976)
* ''
Pastels
A pastel () is an art medium that consists of powdered pigment and a binder (material), binder. It can exist in a variety of forms, including a stick, a square, a pebble, and a pan of color, among other forms. The pigments used in pastels are ...
'' (Milestone, 1976)
* ''
Piccolo
The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...
'' (Milestone, 1977)
* ''
Third Plane'' (Milestone, 1977)
* ''
Peg Leg
A peg leg is a prosthesis, or artificial limb, fitted to the remaining stump of a human leg, especially a wooden one fitted at the knee. Its use dates to antiquity.
History
By the late 19th century, prosthetics vendors would offer peg legs as c ...
'' (Milestone, 1978)
* ''
A Song for You'' (Milestone, 1978)
* ''
1 + 3
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
'' (
JVC, 1978)
* ''
Carnaval'' (
Galaxy
A galaxy is a Physical system, system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar medium, interstellar gas, cosmic dust, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek ' (), literally 'milky', ...
, 1983) with
Hank Jones
Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians have described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts h ...
,
Sadao Watanabe and
Tony Williams – recorded in 1978
* ''
Pick 'Em'' (Milestone, 1980) – recorded in 1978
* ''
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...
'' (Milestone, 1979)
* ''
New York Slick'' (Milestone, 1979)
* ''
Patrão'' (Milestone, 1980)
* ''
Parfait
Parfait ( , , ; meaning "perfect") is either of two types of dessert. In France, where the dish originated, parfait is made by boiling cream, egg, sugar and syrup to create a custard-like or meringue-like puree which is then frozen. The Amer ...
'' (Milestone, 1982) – recorded in 1980
* ''
Empire Jazz'' (
RSO, 1980)
* ''
Super Strings'' (Milestone, 1981)
* ''
Heart & Soul'' (
Timeless, 1981) with
Cedar Walton
Cedar Anthony Walton Jr. (January 17, 1934 – August 19, 2013) was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and c ...
* ''
Etudes'' (
Elektra/Musician, 1982)
* ''
Live at Village West'' (
Concord Jazz
Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the ...
, 1984) with Jim Hall – recorded in 1982
* ''
Telephone
A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...
'' (Concord Jazz, 1984) with Jim Hall
* ''
All Alone'' (
EmArcy, 1988)
* ''
Something in Common'' (
Muse
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
, 1990) with
Houston Person
Houston Person (born November 10, 1934) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing music, swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. He re ...
– recorded in 1989
* ''
Duets'' (EmArcy, 1989) with
Helen Merrill
Helen Merrill (born Jelena Ana Milcetic; July 21, 1929) is an American jazz vocalist. Her first album, the eponymous 1954 recording ''Helen Merrill (album), Helen Merrill'' (with Clifford Brown on EmArcy), was an immediate success and associat ...
* ''
Now's the Time'' (Muse, 1990) with Houston Person
* ''
Eight Plus'' (Victor (Japan), 1990)
* ''
Panamanhattan'' (
Dreyfus Jazz, 1991) with
Richard Galliano
Richard Galliano (born 12 December 1950, Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes) is a French accordionist of Italian heritage. Allmusic biography/ref>
Biography
He was drawn to music at an early age, starting with the accordion at 4, influenced by his father ...
– recorded in 1990
* ''
Mr. Bow-tie'' (Somethin' Else, 1995)
* ''
The Bass and I'' (Somethin' Else, 1997)
* ''
So What?'' (Somethin' Else, 1998)
* ''
Orfeu'' (Somethin' Else, 1999)
* ''
When Skies Are Grey...'' (Somethin' Else, 2000)
* ''
Dialogues
Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is ch ...
'' (
HighNote, 2000) with Houston Person – recorded in 2000
* ''
Stardust'' (Somethin' Else, 2001)
* ''
The Golden Striker'' (Somethin' Else, 2002)
* ''
Just Between Friends'' (HighNote, 2008) with Houston Person – recorded in 2005
* ''
Dear Miles'' (Somethin' Else, 2006)
* ''
Chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
'' (HighNote, 2016) with Houston Person – recorded in 2015
* ''An Evening with Ron Carter and Richard Galliano'' (In+Out, 2017) with
Richard Galliano
Richard Galliano (born 12 December 1950, Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes) is a French accordionist of Italian heritage. Allmusic biography/ref>
Biography
He was drawn to music at an early age, starting with the accordion at 4, influenced by his father ...
* ''
Remember Love'' (HighNote, 2018) with Houston Person
Filmography
* 2003: ''Ron Carter & Art Farmer: Live at Sweet Basil'' with
Cedar Walton
Cedar Anthony Walton Jr. (January 17, 1934 – August 19, 2013) was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and c ...
and
Billy Higgins
Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop.
Biography
Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, be ...
* 2002: ''Herbie Hancock Trio: Hurricane!'' with Ron Carter and
Billy Cobham
William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
He was inducted into the '' Mode ...
* 2019: ''
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool''
* 2022: ''
Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes''
References
External links
Ron Carter Library Official WebsiteDTM Interview 1DTM Interview 22006 Interview with Ron Carter*
Ron Carter Interview — NAMM Oral History Library (2005)*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Ron
1937 births
20th-century American guitarists
21st-century American double-bassists
African-American guitarists
African-American jazz musicians
American jazz bass guitarists
American jazz cellists
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American male jazz musicians
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Grammy Award winners
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Living people
Mainstream jazz double-bassists
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20th-century American double-bassists
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