Finding the Right Notes

by Ron Carter, Dan Ouellette

Overview

RON CARTER is among the most original, prolific, and influential bassists in jazz history, with more than 2,200 albums to his credit, an accomplishment honored in the 2015 Guinness Book of World Records. He has recorded with greats including: Tommy Flanagan, Gil Evans, Lena Horne, Bill Evans, B.B. King, the Kronos Quartet, Dexter Gordon, Wes Montgomery, and Bobby Timmons, Jaki Byard, Eric Dolphy and Cannonball Adderley.

From 1963 to 1968, Ron was a member of the classic and acclaimed Miles Davis Quintet. He was named Outstanding Bassist of the Decade by the Detroit News, Jazz Bassist of the Year by Downbeat magazine, and MVP by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He earned two Grammy awards, one in 1993 for Best Jazz Instrumental Group, and another in 1998 for "Call Sheet Blues" from the film "Round Midnight".

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780989982511
Publisher:	Retrac Productions
Publication date:	11/01/2014
Pages:	448
Sales rank:	677,219
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

RON CARTER is among the most original, prolific, and influential bassists in jazz history, with more than 2,200 albums to his credit, an accomplishment honored in the 2015 Guinness Book of World Records. From 1963 to 1968, Ron was a member of the classic and acclaimed Miles Davis Quintet. He was named Outstanding Bassist of the Decade by the Detroit News, Jazz Bassist of the Year by Downbeat magazine, and MVP by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He earned two Grammy awards, one in 1993 for Best Jazz Instrumental Group, and another in 1998 for "Call Sheet Blues" from the film "Round Midnight".He has recorded with greats including: Tommy Flanagan, Gil Evans, Lena Horne, Bill Evans, B.B. King, the Kronos Quartet, Dexter Gordon, Wes Montgomery, and Bobby Timmons, Jaki Byard, Eric Dolphy and Cannonball Adderley.Far more than a major influencer in jazz, Carter has appeared on seminal recordings in spoken word (with A Tribe Called Quest, Gil Scott Heron) rock (Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, Billy Joel, Paul Simon) and even classical music, with his arrangements and recordings. At age 85 he continues to record, tour the world with his trio, quartet, nonet and big band. He has written a series of books teaching his signature bass method, and recently he re-invented music transcription with his Chartography method.

Table of Contents

Prelude

Foreword Nat Hentoff 3

Introduction 9

Chapter 1 The Grand Carnegie Jubilee 19

Part I The Early Years

Chapter 2 Early Years: Ferndale/Detroit 37

Snapshot: Carter Family Reunion, 2006 47

Chapter 3 Early Years: Ron at Cass Tech 50

Chapter 4 Eastman/Rochester: Hope and Deferral 57

Chapter 5 Early Years: New York City 74

Photo Gallery 1 89

Part II The Miles Years

Chapter 6 The Miles Years, Part 1: Beginnings 99

Chapter 7 The Miles Years, Part 2: The Legacy 108

Chapter 8 The Miles Years, Part 3: After the Breakup 133

Colloquy: Rudy Van Gelder on Ron Carter 147

Part III Recording as a Leader

Chapter 9 The CTI Years: The Reign of Creed 153

Chapter 10 Milestone Records: The House of Keepnews 167

Chapter 11 EMI: Somethin' Else/Blue Note 175

Photo Gallery 2 185

Part IV The Freelance Years

Chapter 12 Sideman: The Carter Effect-Comfort and Provocation 195

Snapshot: The Joey & Bill Show 213

Chapter 13 Jingles: A Different Kind of Session 218

Chapter 14 Film: Celluloid Jazz 222

Snapshot: The Tales of Christian McBride 231

Chapter 15 Brazil: Bass Undulation 242

Chapter 16 Classical Meets Jazz 252

Chapter 17 Pedagogical Ron: A Retired Schoolteacher, Working on Weekends 258

Snapshot: Sergio Larios on Pops 278

Photo Gallery 3 283

Part V Contemporary Ron

Chapter 18 The Art of Jazz Criticism 293

Chapter 19 The Ron Carter-Jim Hall Duo: Hugging Buddies 302

Chapter 20 The Striker Trio: Panning for Gold 315

Chapter 21 Quantum Quartets 327

Colloquy: Q&A-The Quartet Questions Ron 340

Chapter 22 The Nonet 347

Chapter 23 The Commingling of Jazz and Hip-Hop 356

Colloquy: Blindfold Test Live 363

Part VI The Art & Science of the Bass

Chapter 24 The Art of the Bass 377

Colloquy: Bass Roundtable 386

Part VII Appendices

Appendix 1 In Their Own Words: Anecdotes and Opinions 397

Appendix 2 Infrequently Asked Questions 409

Appendix 3 Selected Awards & Honors 413

Appendix 4 Selected Discography 415

Acknowledgments 426

Index 429