Encounters with Ron Carter
Updated: Jun 6
Memories of Ron Carter
I have been a fan of Ron Carter’s for many years and have had the good fortune to know him personally and have had the opportunity to take some lessons with him. I used to listen incessantly to the many recordings he made with several artist on the CTI Jazz label such as Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine and Hubert Laws just to name a few. Of course I was blown away with his work with the iconic Miles Davis group with George Coleman, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and the amazing young drummer Tony Williams. So when the opportunity to hear him live presented itself I jumped on it. The first time I heard Ron live was at a club in Los Angeles called “Concerts by the Sea” in Redondo Beach around 1974. He was performing with a stellar band called the New York Quartet. The personel was Ben Riley on drums, Frank Wess on Tenor and flute, Roland Hanna on piano and Mr. Ron Carter on bass. I was totally inspired by Ron’s performance that evening and how everything he did was so purposeful and rhythmically dynamic. I was very ambivalent to approach him after their first set, but I mustered up enough courage to approach him. As I said earlier I was just learning how to play the bass violin and needed help in finding the right method books. So I approached Ron Carter and told him how much I enjoyed his playing and I asked him if he knew of any good bass method books I could check out. He stood quietly in his typical Ron Carter fashion and said to me “ Check out the Simandl bass method book” and that was the extent of our first meeting.
The next time I heard Ron Carter perform was at San Francisco State College. A very dear friend of mine who was a student at the college invited me to the event. Ron was giving a performance and lecture seminar on the stage at the campus theater. I believe the year was around 1975. I remember that Ron was giving a lecture on bass technique while demonstrating with just his bass and an amplifier on the stage. After he had finished performing he opened up the room for a question and answer period. I remember that this young long haired college student blurted out to Ron “How is Miles Davis doing”? Ron was visibly perturbed by the question and blurted back “How am I doing”? Ron then said “I am sorry if I came off so curt, but this whole Miles Davis thing has become like an albatross around my neck.” That particular incident is all I remember of that day aside from the fact that I really enjoyed Ron Carter’s seminar, which was very informative and enlightening.
The next time I heard Ron Carter perform was at the original Keystone Korner in San Francisco. My friend who told me about the Ron Carter seminar also happened to be employed at the famous Jazz club The Keystone Korner. She informed me that Ron would be performing there with his group and I told her that I would like to check out the show. As luck would have it I was able to get in as her guest, for which I will always be grateful. When I arrived at the club I realized that there were two bassist performing in the group and Ron’s bass looked more like a cello on steroids. It turned out that Ron would be performing on a piccolo bass, which I had never seen or heard before. The other bassist, who I had never heard of was George Mraz, from Czechoslovakia and he was performing on a full size instrument. I later learned that Buster Williams was the regular bassist in the group, but for some reason was not able to make that particular performance. I became a George Mraz fan that evening, because I had never heard a bassist play in the upper register so fluidly with such impeccable intonation. Ron sounded great as ever while playing in his typical Ron Carter fashion, but now in a higher range due to the tuning of the piccolo bass. As I recall it was a very enjoyable evening that will always be imbedded in my memory.
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