Bassist Ron Carter, ahead of his 88th birthday on Sunday, held the first of four nights of performances at Blue Note Jazz Club on Tuesday, April 29.
He hit the stage with the Pianist Renee Rosnes, saxophonist Jimmy Greene and Drummer Payton Crossley. Carter glided through several songs with his mastery of the instrument while performing.
Carter has been performing for over 50 years and will keep playing for as long as he can at a high level. In the middle of the set, Carter played ‘Happy Birthday’ notes to himself, pleasing the crowd.
“My grandfather was affiliated with the Stan Kenton orchestra, and due to that, the overlap between big band and great jazz from that era. I grew up as a young child, listening to all sorts of amazing jazz and all the influences that Mr. Carter has been a part of, and I would be remiss in my grandfather’s honor and memory, if I were not here tonight to witness this for his birthday celebration,” said longtime fan Al French. “How do you find his music at being a bassist myself, I find that his relationship with the music, with the instrument and with the soul that he’s able to bring out in expression is just unsurpassed. I think that he is just remarkable in terms of his understanding of depth and finding relationships to emotion and his tones that he goes up and down the neck with, and like anybody else, he speaks in a language on that binge unlike anybody else ever has, and that’s why he’s influenced so many other people.”
“I have to see the living legend perform one more time. I saw him in Tokyo; he is truly a master at working his instrument. I hope he performs forever,” said fan Betty Duval.
For more information about Carter and his tour, visit roncarterjazz.com. For more information about Blue Note, visit bluenotejazz.com/nyc.
