By Jason Boucher

Legend in the house! Ron Carter and his quartet recently performed at Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and it was tremendous.

Carter, now 85, was a member of the second Miles Davis Quintet in the mid 1960s, which included Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and drummer Tony Williams. He began his professional career with Chico Hamilton in 1959, but his first recording was in 1961 with the late great sax player Eric Dolphy on his album, Out There (Prestige Records). Carter played cello.

Carter also performed on many albums from of Hancock, Williams and Shorter’s Blue Note recordings during the 1960s. He was the legendary sideman on many Blue Note recordings of that era, playing with everyone from Freddie Hubbard, Duke Pearson, Lee Morgan, McCoy Tyner, Andrew Hill, and Horace Silver. He also played on soul-pop star Roberta Flack’s album First Take and later on he played bass with hip hop group, A Tribe Called Quest. 

His quartet consisted of: 

Renee Rosnes, Piano

Jimmy Greene, Saxophone

Payton Crossley, Drums