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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

double bassist The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar ...

. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy awards, and is also a

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D ...

who has recorded numerous times on that instrument. Some of his studio albums as a leader include: ''

Blues Farm ''Blues Farm'' is an album by bassist Ron Carter recorded at Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey in 1973 and released on the CTI label.All Blues "All Blues" is a jazz composition by Miles Davis first appearing on the influential 1959 album ''Kind of Blue''. It is a twelve-bar blues in ; the chord sequence is that of a basic blues and made up entirely of seventh chords, with a VI in the t ...

'' (1973), ''

Spanish Blue Spanish Blue is the second single released by Australian rock group, The Triffids in 1982. The single was produced by Les Karski ( The Nauts, Ray Arnott, Midnight Oil) for the White Label Records imprint of Mushroom Records, owned by Michael Gudi ...

'' (1974), '' Anything Goes'' (1975), '' Yellow & Green'' (1976), '' Pastels'' (1976), ''

Piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the s ...

'' (1977), ''

Third Plane ''Third Plane'' is an album by jazz bassist Ron Carter, released on the Milestone label in 1977. It features performances by Carter, Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams. A second selection of five tracks recorded by the trio during the same day's ...

'' (1977), '' Peg Leg'' (1978), ''

A Song for You "A Song for You" is a song written and originally recorded by rock singer and pianist Leon Russell for his first solo album '' Leon Russell'', which was released in 1970 on Shelter Records. A slow, pained plea for forgiveness and understand ...

'' (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. It forms part of the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,190. Ferndale is well known in the Detroit area for its LGBT population and p ...

. He started to play

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, ...

at the age of 10, and switched to bass while in high school. 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. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music ...

(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 in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in m ...

(1961). 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 ...

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 saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single " Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", w ...

, Randy Weston, Bobby Timmons, and

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

. 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 alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to ga ...

's '' Out There'', recorded on August 15, 1960, and featuring

George Duvivier George Duvivier (August 17, 1920 – July 11, 1985) was 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, with its roots in ...

on bass, Roy Haynes 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 ''How Time Passes'' is the debut album by trumpeter Don Ellis recorded in 1960 and released on the Candid label.

'' 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 li ...

, and on June 20, 1961, he recorded '' Where?'', his first album as a leader, featuring Dolphy on alto sax, flute, and bass clarinet; Mal Waldron on piano;

Charlie Persip Charles Lawrence Persip (July 26, 1929 – August 23, 2020), known as Charli Persip and formerly as Charlie Persip (he changed the spelling of his name to Charli in the late 1960s), was an American jazz drummer. Biography Born in Morristown, N ...

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 pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he hel ...

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles D ...

and drummer Tony Williams. Carter joined Davis's group in 1963, appearing on the album ''

Seven Steps to Heaven 7 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 7 or seven may also refer to: * AD 7, the seventh year of the AD era * 7 BC, the seventh year before the AD era * The month of July Music Artists * Seven (Swiss singer) (born 1978), a Swiss recording artist ...

'', 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 era of early jazz-rock fusion, 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. 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 ...

on many Blue Note recordings of the era, playing with

Sam Rivers Sam Rivers may refer to: * Sam Rivers (jazz musician) Samuel Carthorne Rivers (September 25, 1923 – December 26, 2011) was an American jazz musician and composer. Though most famously a tenor saxophonist, he also performed on soprano saxophone ...

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 ...

Duke Pearson Columbus Calvin "Duke" Pearson Jr. (August 17, 1932 – August 4, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer. ''Allmusic'' describes him as having a "big part in shaping the Blue Note label's hard bop direction in the 1960s as a record pro ...

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, Morgan came to prominence in his late teens, recording on John Coltrane's '' Blue Train'' ...

, McCoy Tyner, Andrew Hill, Horace Silver, and others. He also played on soul-pop star

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles " The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", " Killing Me Softly with His Song", " Feel Like Makin' Love", " W ...

's album '' First Take''. 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. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent l ...

, Houston Person,

Hank Jones Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored ...

, 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 co ...

. 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, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since th ...

's album '' The Bridge''.

1990s–2000s

In 1987, Carter won a Grammy for "an instrumental composition for the film" '' Round Midnight''. In 1994, he won another

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Best Jazz Instrumental Group for a tribute album to Miles Davis. 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 appeared 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 continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

''. In 2001, Carter collaborated with

Black Star Black Star or Blackstar may refer to: Astronomy *Black star (semiclassical gravity), a theoretical star built using semiclassical gravity as an alternative to a black hole *Saturn, referred to as "Black Star" in ancient Judaeic belief Literature ...

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 pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...

. Carter is a Distinguished

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

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 within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

, having taught there for 20 years, and received an honorary doctorate from the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

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. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely ...

in New York City in 2008, teaching bass in the school's Jazz Studies program. Carter made an appearance in Robert Altman'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 th ...

''. The end credits feature him and fellow bassist Christian McBride duetting on "

Solitude Solitude 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 work, think, or rest without distu ...

". Carter sits on the advisory committee of the board of directors of The Jazz Foundation of America 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 destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

.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 ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (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 ...

. Carter was elected to the ''

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 which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Ch ...

'' Jazz Hall of Fame in 2012. In August 2021, Carter was the featured guest in a 47-minute video interview with YouTuber 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 Blue Note Jazz Club is a jazz club and restaurant located at 131 West 3rd Street in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on September 30, 1981, by owner and founder Danny Bensusan, with the Nat Adderley Quintet being the featur ...

featuring Russell Malone and

Donald Vega Donald Vega is a Nicaraguan-born American jazz pianist and music composer. Early life Vega was born in Masaya, Nicaragua, a town well known for its handicrafts. He was born with a severe cleft palate, for which he has had many surgeries to corr ...

Discography

* '' Where?'' (New Jazz, 1961) * ''

Uptown Conversation ''Uptown Conversation'' is the second album led by the jazz double bass player Ron Carter, recorded in 1969 and first released on the Embryo label.Embryo An embryo is an initial stage of development of 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 spe ...

, 1969) * '' Alone Together'' (

Milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...

, 1972) with Jim Hall * ''

Blues Farm ''Blues Farm'' is an album by bassist Ron Carter recorded at Van Gelder Studio in New Jersey in 1973 and released on the CTI label.CTI, 1973) * ''

All Blues "All Blues" is a jazz composition by Miles Davis first appearing on the influential 1959 album ''Kind of Blue''. It is a twelve-bar blues in ; the chord sequence is that of a basic blues and made up entirely of seventh chords, with a VI in the t ...

'' (CTI, 1973) * ''

'' (CTI, 1974) * '' Anything Goes'' ( Kudu, 1975) * '' Yellow & Green'' (CTI, 1976) * '' Pastels'' (Milestone, 1976) * ''

'' (Milestone, 1977) * ''

'' (Milestone, 1977) * '' Peg Leg'' (Milestone, 1978) * ''

'' (Milestone, 1978) * ''

1 + 3 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length&nb ...

'' (

JVC JVC (short for Japan Victor Company) is a Japanese brand owned by JVCKenwood corporation. Founded in 1927 as the Victor Talking Machine Company of Japan and later as , the company is best known for introducing Japan's first televisions and for ...

, 1978) * ''

Carnaval Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival ty ...

'' (

Galaxy A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System ...

, 1983) with

, Sadao Watanabe and Tony Williams – recorded in 1978 * ''

Pick 'Em ''Pick 'Em'' is an album by bassist Ron Carter which was recorded at Van Gelder Studio in 1978 and released on the Milestone label in 1980.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 celebrations of s ...

'' (Milestone, 1979) * '' New York Slick'' (Milestone, 1979) * '' Patrão'' (Milestone, 1980) * '' Parfait'' (Milestone, 1982) – recorded in 1980 * '' Empire Jazz'' ( RSO, 1980) * '' Super Strings'' (Milestone, 1981) * '' Heart & Soul'' (

Timeless Timeless (or atemporal) or timelessness (or atemporality) may refer to: * Agelessness, the condition of being unaffected by the passage of time * Akal (Sikh term), timelessness in Sikhism * Eternity, timeless existence or infinite duration * Im ...

, 1981) with

* '' 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 is a telecommunications device that permits 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 efficiently the human voice, into e ...

'' (Concord Jazz, 1984) with Jim Hall * '' All Alone'' (

EmArcy EmArcy Records is a jazz record label founded in 1954 by the American Mercury Records. The name is a phonetic spelling of "MRC", the initials for Mercury Record Company. During the 1950s and 1960s, musicians such as Max Roach, Clifford Brown, ...

, 1988) * '' Something in Common'' (

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in ...

, 1990) with Houston Person – recorded in 1989 * ''

Duets A duet is a musical composition or piece for two performers. Duets or The Duets may also refer to: Films and television * ''Duets'' (film), a 2000 film, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Giamatti and Huey Lewis * "Duets" (''Glee''), a 2010 episod ...

'' (EmArcy, 1989) with Helen Merrill * '' Now's the Time'' (Muse, 1990) with Houston Person * '' Eight Plus'' (Victor (Japan), 1990) * '' Panamanhattan'' ( Dreyfus Jazz, 1991) with Richard Galliano – recorded in 1990 * '' Mr. Bow-tie'' (Somethin' Else, 1995) * ''

The Bass and I ''The Bass and I'' is an album by the bassist Ron Carter, recorded in 1997 and originally released on the Japanese Somethin' Else label with a US release on Blue Note Records. Reception The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow observed: "As is usual ...

'' (Somethin' Else, 1997) * '' So What?'' (Somethin' Else, 1998) * '' Orfeu'' (Somethin' Else, 1999) * '' When Skies Are Grey...'' (Somethin' Else, 2000) * '' Dialogues'' ( HighNote, 2000) with Houston Person – recorded in 2000 * ''

Stardust Stardust may refer to: * A type of cosmic dust, composed of particles in space Entertainment Songs * “Stardust” (1927 song), by Hoagy Carmichael * “Stardust” (David Essex song), 1974 * “Stardust” (Lena Meyer-Landrut song), 2012 * ...

'' (Somethin' Else, 2001) * '' The Golden Striker'' (Somethin' Else, 2002) * '' Just Between Friends'' (HighNote, 2008) with Houston Person – recorded in 2005 * ''

Dear Miles ''Dear Miles'' is an album by American bassist Ron Carter recorded in 2006 and originally released on the Japanese Somethin' Else label with a US release on Blue Note Records. Reception The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow said "''Dear Miles'' is ...

'' (Somethin' Else, 2006) * ''

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

'' (HighNote, 2016) with Houston Person – recorded in 2015 * ''An Evening with Ron Carter and Richard Galliano'' (In+Out, 2017) with Richard Galliano * '' Remember Love'' (HighNote, 2018) with Houston Person

Filmography

* 2003: ''Ron Carter & Art Farmer: Live at Sweet Basil'' with

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, ...

* 2002: ''Herbie Hancock Trio: Hurricane!'' with Ron Carter and Billy Cobham * 2019: '' Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool'' * 2022: '' Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes''

References

External links

Ron Carter Library Official Website

DTM Interview 1

DTM Interview 2

2006 Interview with Ron Carter
*
Ron Carter Interview — NAMM Oral History Library (2005)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Ron African-American jazz musicians American jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists American jazz cellists American male jazz musicians Hard bop double-bassists Mainstream jazz double-bassists Orchestral jazz double-bassists Post-bop double-bassists Third stream double-bassists American jazz bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Soul-jazz bass guitarists 1937 births Living people Cass Technical High School alumni Eastman School of Music alumni Manhattan School of Music alumni City College of New York faculty Miles Davis Quintet members New York Jazz Quartet members People from Ferndale, Michigan Blue Note Records artists Chesky Records artists Milestone Records artists Prestige Records artists RSO Records artists Verve Records artists Grammy Award winners Guitarists from Detroit 20th-century American guitarists The Tony Williams Lifetime members Jazz musicians from Michigan 21st-century double-bassists V.S.O.P. (group) members The 360 Degree Music Experience members Classical Jazz Quartet members Sunnyside Records artists HighNote Records artists CTI Records artists African-American guitarists EmArcy Records artists