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Ron Carter: When Skies Are Grey...
by C. Andrew Hovan
Sometimes knowing the whole story can enhance the appreciation of a work of art. In the case of When Skies Are Grey..., the death of Carter's wife around the same time as the recording session helped make the disc a tangible example of the human spirit overcoming adversity. Far from the gloomy state that its title might suggest, this record could arguably be one of the bassist's finest efforts to date, and that's saying something considering that his capacious catalog ...
Continue ReadingRon Carter: When Skies Are Grey...
by Jim Santella
While a Latin jazz element is his focus for this project, veteran Ron Carter’s recordings always hold the mainstream of jazz in high regard. A quiet session that swings, the bassist’s latest album swirls through the tradition with a light conga tinge. Bob Freedman’s intricate arrangements place the bassist in roles ranging from opening obbligato to soothing melody and focused improvisation. Pianist Stephen Scott brings a fresh approach to the session, particularly on Ray Bryant’s “Cubano Chant,” where he stretches ...
Continue ReadingRon Carter: When Skies Are Grey
by AAJ Staff
Ron Carter's expansive interests long have included investigations into the nature of Latin music, and then the recording of his own interpretations of it. Fusing his legendary experience as a bassist extraordinaire with the rhythmic displacements and variety of Latin music, Carter's seeming ease and his statesman-like approach to the instrument have made the music accessible without sacrificing its complexity or inspirational value .Carter's interest in Latin music regained recorded fulfillment recently with his CD of Brazilian music, ...
Continue ReadingRon Carter: Parade
by Derek Taylor
The decade of the 70s was a time of artistic uncertainty in jazz. Faced with a dwindling audience many musicians buckled under to commercial pressures and diluted their sounds to fit into the frameworks of popular trends. While this is nothing new in music, there was something particularly bromidic about 70s pop and remaining economically viable often meant playing music that catered to broader audiences and incorporated heavy arrangements and high production values. Ron Carter was just one of many ...
Continue ReadingRon Carter: Brazilian Charm
by AAJ Staff
All About Jazz: You have said that Brazilian changes are different from the ways that Americans adapt Brazilian tunes. Do you think you were true to the Brazilian changes in your latest album, Orfeu? Ron Carter: Absolutely. Definitely. AAJ: What's different about Brazilian changes that Americans can't seem to grasp? RC: Well, most American musicians haven't heard Brazilian musicians play. All they hear is Americans trying to play Brazilian music. Fortunately for me, I've ...
Continue ReadingBarry Harris: Magnificent!
by C. Andrew Hovan
By the time pianist Barry Harris recorded his first session as a leader in 1958, Breakin' It Up for the Argo label, Charlie Parker had already been dead for three years and the be-bop movement that he had helped usher in was already giving way to the more visceral advance of hard bop and the beginning strains of Ornette Coleman's “new thing" approach. For Harris, who was a died-in-the-wool be-bopper, this meant coming on the scene a bit too late ...
Continue ReadingBarry Harris: Magnificent!
by Derek Taylor
Despite the suspicious absence of modesty in the title of this disc this is one trio that definitely lives up to their chosen moniker. One tour through the eight tunes that these three players hew to their own devices is all that’s necessary to discover that their contention is no idle boast. Harris is the comparative veteran of the group. A consummate keyboardist, Harris rose to maturity during the bumpy birth of bebop out of swing. As a result his ...
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