Ron Carter, Brendan and Me…

I like to think that anything I play on will be commercially viable and I’m not afraid to say that. When musicians get together, whatever their level, something special can come out. I think if you’re looking for it, you’re not going to find it. As it turns out, those records you mentioned (Herbie Hancock’s Maiden Voyage, Freddie Hubbard’s Red Clay, Wayne Shorter’s Speak No Evil or Jobim’s Wave) happen to be important ones, whether it pertains to the advancement of sound or concept. We weren’t looking to make a famous record, only to have a great time playing and making as good a recording as possible.
Ron Carter Interview 2014

***Pick ‘Em (1975) signed by Ron, Kenny Barron, Ben Riley, Buster Williams***

You ever see an anchor? It’s down at the bottom, rusty. No one knows it’s there; no one gives a shit that it’s there, holding the boat back. Anchor of the band? That means the band’s not going anywhere. That’s not what I do, man. My job is to knock your socks off. An anchor is dead weight; it’s corroded. If you want to think of me as an item, think of me as a nice guy who wears great ties and plays bass, I can live with that.
Ron Carter on Miles Davis calling him the "anchor" of his second quintet (1963-1968)

***Spanish Blue (1974) signed by Ron, Billy Cobham, Sir Roland Hanna, Hubert Laws***

For me, it's a highlight anytime someone calls me to make a recording with them, when any artist not only in New York but in the world, calls me to make a recording. To bring the music to the highest level, that's always my greatest moment. Any really good record date gives me another chance to make the music work. That's what I do.
Ron Carter

***Uptown Conversation (1969) signed by Ron***

I got the bass I have now in 1959 and borrowed money to pay for it since I didn’t have enough when I moved to NY. I’ve been playing this bass for all these years. Bass players I think look for a second fiddle and...secondary instruments and I have three or four that didn’t quite pan out. But I have a second one I’ve made some adjustments to and it’s coming together. What’s happening now is that airlines won’t let you take your instrument on board – and it’s forced us to play whatever instrument is at the gig. We call that a “bass du jour."
Ron Carter Interview 2014

***Alone Together (1972) signed by Ron, Jim Hall***

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Ron Carter is the most prolific and recorded jazz bassist in history, appearing on over twenty-two hundred recordings. An enormous body of work, this reflects Ron's participation on albums with Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Freddie Hubbard, Hank Jones, Lee Morgan, Horace Silver, and McCoy Tyner, among many others. Surprisingly, I do not have all of Ron's recordings (yet!), but I do have a bunch.

Maiden Voyage (19) signed by Ron, Herbie Hancock, George Coleman — ***Maiden Voyage (1965) signed by Ron, Herbie Hancock, George Coleman***

Empyrean Isles (19) signed by Ron, Herbie Hancock — ***Empyrean Isles (1964) signed by Ron, Herbie Hancock***

Born in Ferndale Michigan, Ron moved to Detroit when he was ten and pursued the study of classical music, the cello and double bass. Though he was aware of the vibrant jazz scene in Detroit in high school, his interests were Bach, Bartok and Handel. As he noted, "I started playing (cello) at ten years old and switched to bass at seventeen...this was around January 1955. My parents scraped by and got me a cello and encouraged me. Then I traded in my cello and got a bass from the local music store downtown and had a paper route to pay it off." That paper route yielded a bountiful return!

***Peg Leg (1978) signed by Ron, Kenny Barron, Ben Riley, Buster Williams***

Upon graduation, Ron attended The Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York where he continued his classical studies as a bassist with dreams of joining a symphony. Though he had considerable talent, he had no opportunities as symphony orchestras in the 1950s generally did not hire African-Americans. As the (not so) great conductor Leopold Stokowski told Ron, that while he loved his talent, the board of directors of The Houston Symphony Orchestra "was not ready for a colored man to be in their orchestra." Classical music's stupidity, arrogance and intransigence was jazz music's gain and good fortune.

After college, Ron started gigging around New York City and got jobs with pianist Jaki Byard and drummer Chico Hamilton. Ron's first recording was playing bass and cello on Eric Dolphy's Out There in 1960. Largely improvised in the studio, Out There is an aptly titled, avant-garde jazz excursion which features the compositions of Charles Mingus and Dolphy, a colleague in the Chico Hamilton band. Ron's big break was joining the Miles Davis Quintet in 1963 with Miles, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams. This groundbreaking quintet released fourteen albums,including E.S.P (1965) which featured three Ron Carter compositions. After leaving Miles in 1968, Ron continued his studio work, appearing on thousands of sessions and releasing forty-eight albums as a leader in his remarkable and indefatigable career.

***Blues Farm (1973) signed by Ron, Bob James***

His recording philosophy was simple: "Whenever I play, I think about what note will make the other musicians' notes sound the best. I'm always listening, and at each moment I want to pick a note that will make the other musicians think. I want to push the music to a higher level." As Ron brought his brilliance to each session, not only jazz musicians benefited, he also recorded with Roberta Flack, Lena Horne, Billy Joel, Gil Scott-Heron, Paul Simon, and hip-hop avatar A Tribe Called Quest.

***Keep Your Soul Together (1974) signed by Ron, Freddie Hubbard, George Cables***

I have seen Ron Carter many times through the years in New York City jazz clubs and they were memorable shows. From small groups - a fabulous trio in 2008 with French composer/pianist Michel LeGrand and drummer Lewis Nash at Birdland - to larger bands - the Ron Carter Nonet at the Blue Note which featured a string quartet with piano, bass, drums and Ron playing a Piccolo bass (an upright bass usually tuned an octave higher to allow for soloing in a higher register). Each time I met with him, Ron was kind and affable while he signed his vinyl.

***The Kicker (1967) signed by Ron, Joe Henderson, Kenny Barron, Louis Hayes***

***Piccolo (1978) signed by Ron, Kenny Barron, Buster Williams***

For me, the most memorable Ron Carter performance was at the Iridium in New York City in April, 2010. A basement club on Broadway, just up from Times Square, the Iridium is intimate with seats for maybe one hundred-twenty five. Ron was reunited with an old Rochester, New York friend, tenor saxophonist and composer Pee Wee Ellis, best known for his stint with James Brown in the mid-1960s and co-writer of the JB hits, "Cold Sweat" and "Say It Loud - I'm Black And I'm Proud." Joining Pee Wee and Ron were pianist Mulgrew Miller and drummer Jimmy Cobb. Yes, the Jimmy Cobb, the last living link to Miles Davis' transcendent Kind Of Blue, probably the best known jazz album and certainly, its best selling. Erin and I decided to bring the whole family to the show, so Kendall (age 12), Brendan (age 10) and Camryn (age 8) joined in the revelry. Fortunately, the smoky, basement jazz clubs of yore no longer exist, they are a faded (and absurd) memory like smoking sections on airplanes.

***Blue Moses (1973) signed by Ron, Randy Weston***

We were seated at a table and settled in for the show about ten feet from the small stage. The band came out and played mostly jazz standards in a straight ahead groove - "There Is No Greater Love", "Airegin" from the Sonny Rollins' songbook, and Tadd Dameron's "Good Bait." This marked the first time that Ron and Pee Wee had played together in more than fifty years and it was great to hear such good friends and master musicians perform so seamlessly. Sadly, there was no funk from the James Brown canon, just a mid tempo groover, "Blue Bell Pepper", a new track off Different Rooms, Pee Wee's recent CD.

***Monk Suite (1984) signed by Ron, David Harrington, Hank Dutt, Joan Jeanrenaud, John Sherba***

After the show, Erin and I took the kids back stage to meet the band and they were extremely nice, as I'm sure they were not used to meeting such young and enthusiastic fans in a nightclub. I told Ron that my son Brendan was playing electric bass in a band and that they had recently brought down the house at an intermediate school recital. I neglected to mention that they played a cover of "Stacy's Mom", a wholly inappropriate song for Grades 3-5, that escaped the (less than) rigorous censorship of the school administration. Ron looked down at my young son, "That's wonderful news. You know what you must do?" Brendan looked up quizzically. Ron, tall and lean with long slender fingers, 6'3" and growing taller, intoned sternly, "You must practice, practice, practice. Everyday you must practice! That's what I do. That's what you must do." Brendan nodded quietly, he didn't seem rattled or intimidated, but I sure as hell was! We thanked Ron for the advice and the great performance, and left.

***Big Bags (1962) signed by Ron, Milt Jackson, Hank Jones, James Moody, Willie Ruff, Jerome Richardson, Jimmy Heath, Clark Terry, Doc Severinsen***

Ron Carter, as virtuosic as he is prolific, always evolving and exploring. And recording! As he once said, "I've been playing this instrument for over fifty years. Every day, I'm finding new combinations of notes to play, and wondering and wondering why I didn't think of that before.”

***In Concert (1973) signed by Ron, Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine***

Addendum: 6 August 2021

I was blessed to see Ron Carter, the redoubtable bassist, perform with his exquisite quartet at the Blue Note in New York City. It was a wonderful night of live music and his other members - Renee Rosnes on piano, Jimmy Greene on tenor sax, Payton Crossley on drums - performed brilliantly. They opened with “All Blues,” segued into “Corcovado “ then a beautiful ballad and an unaccompanied “You Are My Sunshine” which the maestro picked, plucked and thwacked to the delight of everyone. Before launching into a sumptuous version, Ron disclosed that “My Funny Valentine” was his favorite song and finished the evening with a rollicking “ You And The Night And The Music,” a fitting coda to a sprawling suite of mesmerizing musicianship, or just another Ron Carter performance!

Before the set, I had a chance to visit with Ron in his dressing room and he was gracious to sign some more vinyl. He greeted me warmly, “It’s great to see you.” I almost looked behind me to see if someone else had come in. I mentioned that this was my first live show in New York City and Ron smiled, “Yes, I know. I need this and I’m glad you’re here.” I handed him his book which I had just purchased, ‘Hey, I got your book.’ “That’s not important,” he said with a long pause, at least 4 beats, “You need to read the book.” After he signed it, he handed it back to me and pointed at the inscription, “You know what those are? They’re repeating clefs, so Thank You, Thank You, Thank You…” I thanked Ron for his time and offered a fist bump as I was about to leave. He ignored the fist bump and clasped my forearm and drew me near, “Thank you for coming, I really need this.” Yes, Maestro, we all do, it was beautiful moment with an equally beautiful man.