Walk into any record store, head to the jazz section, and pull out an album (or tune into your favorite jazz public radio station). There is a very good chance that NEA Jazz Master Ron Carter appears on that recording. Carter is the most recorded jazz bassist, as officially certified by Guinness, and over the course of 2,200 albums and counting — from his track record with Miles Davis in the 1960s to his album with Jack DeJohnette and Gonzalo Rubalcaba, which won a Grammy in 2022 — Carter’s discography reads like a definitive history of jazz. His chameleonic command of musical situations paired with his technical chops have made him a first-call bassist since he first landed on the scene — and have shown him flourishing in spaces outside of jazz. (Records with the likes of Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon, and A Tribe Called Quest only further illustrate Carter’s reach.)
In celebration of Ron Carter’s birthday, Jazz Night decided to do something special — a hang and listening party with Ron Carter and our host Christian McBride. For the occasion, our host and Ron handpicked tracks to check out from his mind-boggling catalog, along with some must-hear stories and a much-deserved moment in the spotlight for the G.O.A.T. of jazz bass. “Like most bass players, we always feel like nobody knows we’re there.” says Carter. “We’re really back here doing something.”
Set List:
Freedom Jazz Dance (Eddie Harris)
Circle (Miles Davis)
Solar (Davis)
Sunshower (Kenny Barron)
New York Standard Time (Ron Carter)
Compared To What (Roberta Flack)
Brandenburg Concerto 3 (J.S. Bach)
Solitude (Eddie DeLange, Duke Ellington, Irving Mills)
Credits:
Writer and Producer: Trevor Smith; Consulting Editor: Katie Simon; Host: Christian McBride; Executive Producer at NPR Music: Suraya Mohamed; Vice President of Visuals and Strategy at NPR: Keith Jenkins; Executive Producers: Anya Grundmann and Gabrielle Armand.
Special thanks to JoAnne Jiminez, Sascha Van Oertzen
Hear Jazz Night In America every Monday night at
8 p.m. E.T. on Jazz90.1.