John Wallace Carter (September 24, 1929 – March 31, 1991) 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

clarinet, saxophone, and flute player. He is noted for the acclaimed ''Roots and Folklore'' series, a five-album

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

set inspired by

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

life and experiences.

Biography

Born in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, Carter attended I.M. Terrell High School, and played music with schoolmates Ornette Coleman and Charles Moffett in the 1940s. Carter earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from Lincoln University in Jefferson, Missouri in 1949, and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

in 1956. He also studied at the North Texas State and University of California at Los Angeles. From 1961, Carter was based mainly on the West Coast. There he met

Bobby Bradford Bobby Lee Bradford (born July 19, 1934) is an American jazz trumpeter, cornetist, bandleader, and composer. In addition to his solo work, Bradford is noted for his work with John Carter, Vinny Golia and Ornette Coleman. In October 2009, Brad ...

in 1965, with whom he subsequently worked on a number of projects, notably the New Jazz Art Ensemble. He also played with Hampton Hawes and Harold Land. In the 1970s Carter became well known on the basis of his solo concerts. At New Jazz Festival Moers in 1979, he and the German clarinet player Theo Jörgensmann performed on three days. Afterwards Carter received complimentary reviews and wide recognition from around the world. He and Jörgensmann met again in 1984. The program of the Berlin JazzFest was built around the clarinet. After Carter's solo performance, he and Jörgensmann also played together. Between 1982 and 1990, Carter composed and recorded ''Roots and Folklore: Episodes in the Development of American Folk Music'', five albums focused on African Americans and their history. The complete set was acclaimed by jazz critics as containing some of the best releases of the 1980s. A clarinet quartet with Perry Robinson, Jörgensmann and Eckard Koltermann was planned for 1991, but Carter did not recover from a non-malignant tumor. Later that year he was inducted into the ''Down Beat'' Jazz Hall of Fame.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

*1969: ''Seeking'' (

Revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...

/ Hatology) *1969: '' Flight for Four'' (

Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' () is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the sea forever. The myths and ghost stories are likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dutch East India C ...

) *1970: '' Self Determination Music'' (Flying Dutchman) *1972: ''Secrets'' (Revelation) *1975: ''No U-Turn – Live in Pasadena, 1975'' (Dark Tree) *1977: ''Echoes from Rudolph's'' (Ibedon) *1979: ''Variations on Selected Themes for Jazz'' ''Quintet'' (

Moers Moers (; older form: ''Mörs''; Dutch language, Dutch: ''Murse'', ''Murs'' or ''Meurs'') is a German List of cities and towns in Germany, city on the western bank of the Rhine, close to Duisburg. Moers belongs to the district of Wesel (distric ...

) *1980: ''Suite of Early American Folk Pieces for Solo Clarinet'' (Moers) *1980: ''Night Fire'' (Black Saint) *1982: ''Tandem 1'' ( Emanem) *1989: ''Comin' On'' (hat Art) with Bobby Bradford *1996: ''Tandem 2'' (Emanem) *1982: '' Dauwhe'' (Black Saint) *1986: '' Castles of Ghana'' ( Gramavision) *1987: '' Dance of the Love Ghosts'' (Gramavision) *1988: ''Fields'' (Gramavision) *1989: ''Shadows on a Wall'' (Gramavision)

As sideman

With Tim Berne * ''The Five Year Plan'' (Empire, 1979) With Clarinet Summit * ''You Better Fly Away'' ( MPS, 1979) * ''Clarinet Summit'' ( India Navigation, 1983) * ''Clarinet Summit, Vol. 2'' (India Navigation, 1983) * ''Southern Bells'' (Black Saint, 1987) With Vinny Golia * ''Spirits in Fellowship'' ( Nine Winds, 1977) * ''Live at the Century City Playhouse - Los Angeles, 1979'' (Dark Tree, 2017) * ''Compositions for Large Ensemble'' (Nine Winds, 1982) With Richard Grossman * ''In the Air'' (Nine Winds Records, 1991) With Julius Hemphill * '' The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony'' (New World, 2021) With John Lindberg * ''The East Side Suite'' (Sound Aspects Records, 1983) With James Newton * ''The Mystery School'' (India Navigation, 1980) * ''Water Mystery'' (Gramavision, 1986) With Horace Tapscott * '' The Dark Tree'' (Hat ART, 1991 989

References

External links

Detailed discography, with personnel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, John 1928 births 1991 deaths American jazz clarinetists American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists American jazz flautists Avant-garde jazz musicians Musicians from Fort Worth, Texas University of Colorado alumni Lincoln University (Missouri) alumni University of North Texas College of Music alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni Emanem Records artists Moers Music artists 20th-century American saxophonists Jazz musicians from Texas 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Flying Dutchman Records artists Gramavision Records artists 20th-century American flautists DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame members