Benny Carter
Encyclopedia
Bennett Lester Carter was an American
jazz
alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer
, arranger
, and bandleader
. He was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, and was recognized as such by other jazz musicians who called him King. In 1958, he performed with Billie Holiday
at the legendary Monterey Jazz Festival
.
The National Endowment for the Arts
honored Benny Carter with its highest honor in jazz, the NEA Jazz Masters
Award for 1986. He was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
in 1987, winner of the Grammy Award
in 1994 for his solo "Prelude to a Kiss", and also the same year, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2000 awarded the National Endowment for the Arts
, National Medal of Arts
, presented by President Bill Clinton
.
in 1907, the youngest of three children and the only boy, received his first music lessons on piano from his mother. Largely self-taught, by age fifteen, Carter was already sitting in at Harlem night spots. From 1924 to 1928, Carter gained valuable professional experience as a sideman in some of New York
's top bands. As a youth, Carter lived in Harlem around the corner from Bubber Miley who was Duke Ellington
's star trumpeter, Carter was inspired by Miley and bought a trumpet, but when he found he couldn't play like Miley he traded the trumpet in for a saxophone. For the next two years he played with such jazz greats as cornetist Rex Stewart
, clarinetist-soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet
, pianists Earl Hines
, Willie "The Lion" Smith, pianist Fats Waller
, pianist James P. Johnson
, pianist Duke Ellington
and their various groups.
the following year. He played with Fletcher Henderson
in 1930 and 1931, becoming his chief arranger in this time, then briefly led the Detroit-based McKinney's Cotton Pickers
before returning to New York
in 1932 to lead his own band, which included such swing stars as Leon "Chu" Berry (tenor saxophone), Teddy Wilson
(piano), Sid Catlett
(drums), and Dicky Wells
(trombone). Carter's arrangements were sophisticated and very complex, and a number of them became swing standards which were performed by other bands ("Blue Lou" is a great example of this). He also arranged for Duke Ellington
during these years. Carter was most noted for his superb arrangements. Among the most significant are "Keep a Song in Your Soul", written for Fletcher Henderson in 1930, and "Lonesome Nights" and "Symphony in Riffs" from 1933, both of which show Carter's fluid writing for saxophones. By the early 1930s he and Johnny Hodges
were considered the leading alto players of the day. Carter also quickly became a leading trumpet soloist, having rediscovered the instrument. He recorded extensively on trumpet in the 1930s. Carter's name first appeared on records with a 1932 Crown label release of "Tell All Your Day Dreams to Me" credited to Bennie Carter and his Harlemites. Carter's short-lived Orchestra played the Harlem Club in New York but only recorded a handful of brilliant records for Columbia
, OKeh
and Vocalion
. The OKeh sides were issued under the name Chocolate Dandies.
In 1933 Carter took part in an amazing series of sessions that featured the British band leader Spike Hughes
, who came to New York
specifically to organize a series of recordings featuring the best Black musicians available. These 14 sides plus four by Carter's big band were only issued in England
at the time, originally titled Spike Hughes and His Negro Orchestra. The musicians were mainly made up from members of Carter's band. The bands (14-15 pieces) include such major players as Henry "Red" Allen
(trumpet), Dicky Wells
(trombone), Wayman Carver
(flute), Coleman Hawkins
(saxophone), J.C. Higginbotham (trombone), and Leon "Chu" Berry (saxophone), tracks include: "Nocturne," "Someone Stole Gabriel's Horn," "Pastorale," "Bugle Call Rag
", "Arabesque," "Fanfare," "Sweet Sorrow Blues," "Music at Midnight," "Sweet Sue Just You," "Air in D Flat," "Donegal Cradle Song," "Firebird," "Music at Sunrise," and "How Come You Do Me Like You Do".
in 1935 to play trumpet with Willie Lewis's orchestra, and also became staff arranger for the British Broadcasting Corporation dance orchestra and made several records. Over the next three years, he traveled throughout Europe
, playing and recording with the top British, French, and Scandinavian jazzmen, as well as with visiting American stars such as his friend Coleman Hawkins
. Two recordings that showcase his sound most famously are 1937's "Honeysuckle Rose," recorded with Django Reinhardt
and Coleman Hawkins
in Europe
, and the same tune reprised on his 1961 album
Further Definitions, an album considered a masterpiece and one of jazz's most influential recordings.
. His arrangements were much in demand and were featured on recordings by Benny Goodman
, Count Basie
, Duke Ellington
, Lena Horne
, Glenn Miller
, Gene Krupa
, and Tommy Dorsey
. Though he only had one major hit in the big band era (a novelty song called “Cow-Cow Boogie,” sung by Ella Mae Morse
), during the 1930s Carter composed and/or arranged many of the pieces that became swing era
classics, such as “When Lights Are Low,” “Blues in My Heart,” and “Lonesome Nights.”
He relocated to Los Angeles
in 1943, moved increasingly into studio work. Beginning with "Stormy Weather" in 1943, he arranged for dozens of feature films and television productions. In Hollywood
, he wrote arrangements for such artists as Billie Holiday
, Sarah Vaughan
, Billy Eckstine
, Pearl Bailey
, Ray Charles
, Peggy Lee
, Lou Rawls
, Louis Armstrong
, Freddie Slack
and Mel Torme
. In 1945, trumpeter Miles Davis
made his first recordings with Carter as sideman
on album Benny Carter and His Orchestra, and considered him a close friend and mentor. Carter was one of the first black men to compose music for films. He was an inspiration and a mentor for Quincy Jones
when Jones began writing for television and films in the 1960s. Carter's successful legal battles in order to obtain housing in then-exclusive neighborhoods in the Los Angeles
area made him a pioneer in an entirely different area.
Benny Carter visited Australia
in 1960 with his own quartet, performed at the 1968 Newport Jazz Festival
with Dizzy Gillespie
, and recorded with a Scandinavian band in Switzerland
the same year. His studio work in the 1960s included arranging and sometimes performing on Peggy Lee
’s Mink Jazz
, (1962) and on the single "I’m A Woman" in the same year.
who had done his master's thesis on jazz, to spend a weekend at the college as part of some classes, seminars, and a concert. This led to a new outlet for Carter's talent: teaching. For the next nine years he visited Princeton five times, most of them brief stays except for one in 1973 when he spent a semester there as a visiting professor. In 1974 Princeton awarded him an honorary master of humanities degree. He conducted workshops and seminars at several other universities and was a visiting lecturer at Harvard for a week in 1987. Morroe Berger also wrote the book "Benny Carter - A Life in American Music," (1982) a two-volume work, covers Carter's career in depth, an essential work of jazz scholarship.
In the late summer of 1989 the Classical Jazz series of concerts at New York
's Lincoln Center
celebrated Carter's 82nd birthday with a set of his songs, sung by Ernestine Anderson
and Sylvia Syms
. In the same week, at the Chicago Jazz Festival
, he presented a recreation of his Further Definitions album, using some of the original musicians. In February 1990, Carter led an all-star big band at the Lincoln Center in a concert tribute to Ella Fitzgerald
. Carter was a member of the music advisory panel of the National Endowment for the Arts
. In 1990, Carter was named "Jazz Artist of the Year" in both the Down Beat
and Jazz Times International Critics' polls. In 1978, he was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame
and in 1980 received the Golden Score award of the American Society of Music Arrangers. Carter was also a Kennedy Center Honoree
in 1996, and received honorary doctorates from Princeton
(1974), Rutgers (1991), Harvard (1994), and the New England Conservatory (1998).
One of the most remarkable things about Benny Carter's career was its length. It has been said that he is the only musician to have recorded in eight different decades. Having started a career in music before music was even recorded electrically, Carter remained a masterful musician, arranger and composer until he retired from performing in 1997. In 1998, Benny Carter was honored at Third Annual Awards Gala and Concert at Lincoln Center. He received the Jazz at Lincoln Center Award for Artistic Excellence and his music was performed by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
, Diana Krall
and Bobby Short
. Wynton accepted on Benny's behalf. (Back trouble prevented Benny from attending).
Carter died in Los Angeles, California
at Cedars-Sinai Hospital July 12, 2003 from complications of bronchitis
at the age of 95. In 1979, he married Hilma Ollila Arons, who survives him, along with a daughter, a granddaughter and a grandson.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, arranger
Arranger
In investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...
, and bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
. He was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, and was recognized as such by other jazz musicians who called him King. In 1958, he performed with Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
at the legendary Monterey Jazz Festival
Monterey Jazz Festival
The Monterey Jazz Festival is one of the longest consecutively running jazz festivals. It debuted on October 3, 1958 and was founded by San Francisco jazz radio broadcaster Jimmy Lyons.-History:...
.
The National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
honored Benny Carter with its highest honor in jazz, the NEA Jazz Masters
NEA Jazz Masters
The National Endowment for the Arts , every year honors up to seven jazz musicians with Jazz Master Awards. The National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowships are the highest honors that the United States bestows upon jazz musicians...
Award for 1986. He was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded by the Recording Academy to "performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording."...
in 1987, winner of the Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in 1994 for his solo "Prelude to a Kiss", and also the same year, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2000 awarded the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
, National Medal of Arts
National Medal of Arts
The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and patrons of the arts. It is the highest honor conferred to an individual artist on behalf of the people. Honorees are selected by the National Endowment for the...
, presented by President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
Biography
Born in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1907, the youngest of three children and the only boy, received his first music lessons on piano from his mother. Largely self-taught, by age fifteen, Carter was already sitting in at Harlem night spots. From 1924 to 1928, Carter gained valuable professional experience as a sideman in some of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's top bands. As a youth, Carter lived in Harlem around the corner from Bubber Miley who was Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
's star trumpeter, Carter was inspired by Miley and bought a trumpet, but when he found he couldn't play like Miley he traded the trumpet in for a saxophone. For the next two years he played with such jazz greats as cornetist Rex Stewart
Rex Stewart
Rex Stewart was an American jazz cornetist best known for his work with the Duke Ellington orchestra....
, clarinetist-soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet
Sidney Bechet
Sidney Bechet was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.He was one of the first important soloists in jazz , and was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist...
, pianists Earl Hines
Earl Hines
Earl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, was an American jazz pianist. Hines was one of the most influential figures in the development of modern jazz piano and, according to one source, is "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz".-Early...
, Willie "The Lion" Smith, pianist Fats Waller
Fats Waller
Fats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
, pianist James P. Johnson
James P. Johnson
James P. Johnson was an American pianist and composer...
, pianist Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
and their various groups.
First recordings
He first recorded in 1928 with Charlie Johnson's Orchestra, also arranging the titles recorded, and formed his first big bandBig band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
the following year. He played with Fletcher Henderson
Fletcher Henderson
James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. His was one of the most prolific black orchestras and his influence was vast...
in 1930 and 1931, becoming his chief arranger in this time, then briefly led the Detroit-based McKinney's Cotton Pickers
McKinney's Cotton Pickers
McKinney's Cotton Pickers were an African American jazz band founded in Detroit in 1926 by William McKinney, who expanded his Synco Septet to ten pieces. Cuba Austin took over for McKinney early on drums....
before returning to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1932 to lead his own band, which included such swing stars as Leon "Chu" Berry (tenor saxophone), Teddy Wilson
Teddy Wilson
Theodore Shaw "Teddy" Wilson was an American jazz pianist whose sophisticated and elegant style was featured on the records of many of the biggest names in jazz, including Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald.-Biography:Wilson was born in Austin, Texas in...
(piano), Sid Catlett
Sid Catlett
Sidney Catlett , was a swinging jazz drummer often referred to as "Big Sid Catlett" because of his large frame.-Biography:...
(drums), and Dicky Wells
Dicky Wells
William Wells, , more famous under the name of Dicky Wells , was an American jazz trombonist....
(trombone). Carter's arrangements were sophisticated and very complex, and a number of them became swing standards which were performed by other bands ("Blue Lou" is a great example of this). He also arranged for Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
during these years. Carter was most noted for his superb arrangements. Among the most significant are "Keep a Song in Your Soul", written for Fletcher Henderson in 1930, and "Lonesome Nights" and "Symphony in Riffs" from 1933, both of which show Carter's fluid writing for saxophones. By the early 1930s he and Johnny Hodges
Johnny Hodges
John Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges was an American alto saxophonist, best known for his solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years, except the period between 1932–1946 when Otto Hardwick generally played first chair...
were considered the leading alto players of the day. Carter also quickly became a leading trumpet soloist, having rediscovered the instrument. He recorded extensively on trumpet in the 1930s. Carter's name first appeared on records with a 1932 Crown label release of "Tell All Your Day Dreams to Me" credited to Bennie Carter and his Harlemites. Carter's short-lived Orchestra played the Harlem Club in New York but only recorded a handful of brilliant records for Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, OKeh
Okeh Records
Okeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States of America in 1918. From 1926 on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records.-History:...
and Vocalion
Vocalion Records
Vocalion Records is a record label active for many years in the United States and in the United Kingdom.-History:Vocalion was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Piano Company of New York City, which introduced a retail line of phonographs at the same time. The name was derived from one of their...
. The OKeh sides were issued under the name Chocolate Dandies.
In 1933 Carter took part in an amazing series of sessions that featured the British band leader Spike Hughes
Spike Hughes
Patrick "Spike" Cairns Hughes was a British jazz musician, composer and music journalist. He was the son of Irish composer, writer and song collector Herbert Hughes...
, who came to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
specifically to organize a series of recordings featuring the best Black musicians available. These 14 sides plus four by Carter's big band were only issued in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
at the time, originally titled Spike Hughes and His Negro Orchestra. The musicians were mainly made up from members of Carter's band. The bands (14-15 pieces) include such major players as Henry "Red" Allen
Red Allen
Henry James "Red" Allen was a jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose style has been claimed to be the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armstrong.-Life and career:...
(trumpet), Dicky Wells
Dicky Wells
William Wells, , more famous under the name of Dicky Wells , was an American jazz trombonist....
(trombone), Wayman Carver
Wayman Carver
Wayman Carver was an American jazz flautist and reeds player.Carver was one of the earliest flute soloists to perform jazz; while Alberto Socarras preceded him by about five years, Carver was one of very few jazz flautists active in the swing era. His first professional experience was with J. Neal...
(flute), Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Hawkins was one of the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument. As Joachim E. Berendt explained, "there were some tenor players before him, but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn"...
(saxophone), J.C. Higginbotham (trombone), and Leon "Chu" Berry (saxophone), tracks include: "Nocturne," "Someone Stole Gabriel's Horn," "Pastorale," "Bugle Call Rag
Bugle Call Rag
"Bugle Call Rag" is a jazz standard written by Jack Pettis, Billy Meyers and Elmer Schoebel. It was first recorded by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings in 1922 as "Bugle Call Blues", although later renditions as well as the published sheet music and the song's copyright all used the title "Bugle Call Rag"...
", "Arabesque," "Fanfare," "Sweet Sorrow Blues," "Music at Midnight," "Sweet Sue Just You," "Air in D Flat," "Donegal Cradle Song," "Firebird," "Music at Sunrise," and "How Come You Do Me Like You Do".
Europe
Carter moved to EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in 1935 to play trumpet with Willie Lewis's orchestra, and also became staff arranger for the British Broadcasting Corporation dance orchestra and made several records. Over the next three years, he traveled throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, playing and recording with the top British, French, and Scandinavian jazzmen, as well as with visiting American stars such as his friend Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Hawkins was one of the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument. As Joachim E. Berendt explained, "there were some tenor players before him, but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn"...
. Two recordings that showcase his sound most famously are 1937's "Honeysuckle Rose," recorded with Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture...
and Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Hawkins was one of the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument. As Joachim E. Berendt explained, "there were some tenor players before him, but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn"...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and the same tune reprised on his 1961 album
Further Definitions, an album considered a masterpiece and one of jazz's most influential recordings.
Return to Harlem and a move to Los Angeles
Returning home in 1938, he quickly formed another superb orchestra, which spent much of 1939 and 1940 at Harlem's famed Savoy BallroomSavoy Ballroom
The Savoy Ballroom, located in Harlem, New York City, was a medium sized ballroom for music and public dancing that was in operation from March 12, 1926 to July 10, 1958. It was located between 140th and 141st Streets on Lenox Avenue....
. His arrangements were much in demand and were featured on recordings by Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
, Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Lena Horne
Lena Horne
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
, Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
, Gene Krupa
Gene Krupa
Gene Krupa was an American jazz and big band drummer and composer, known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style.-Biography:...
, and Tommy Dorsey
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
. Though he only had one major hit in the big band era (a novelty song called “Cow-Cow Boogie,” sung by Ella Mae Morse
Ella Mae Morse
Ella Mae Morse , was an American popular singer. Morse blended jazz, country, pop, and R&B.-Career:Morse was born in Mansfield, Texas, United States. She was hired by Jimmy Dorsey when she was 14 years old. Dorsey believed she was 19, and when he was informed by the school board that he was now...
), during the 1930s Carter composed and/or arranged many of the pieces that became swing era
Swing Era
The Swing era was the period of time when big band swing music was the most popular music in the United States. Though the music had been around since the late 1920s and early 1930s, being played by black bands led by such artists as Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, Benny Moten, Ella Fitzgerald,...
classics, such as “When Lights Are Low,” “Blues in My Heart,” and “Lonesome Nights.”
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in 1943, moved increasingly into studio work. Beginning with "Stormy Weather" in 1943, he arranged for dozens of feature films and television productions. In Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
, he wrote arrangements for such artists as Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
, Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
, Billy Eckstine
Billy Eckstine
William Clarence Eckstine was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular...
, Pearl Bailey
Pearl Bailey
Pearl Mae Bailey was an American actress and singer. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946. She won a Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968...
, Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
, Lou Rawls
Lou Rawls
Louis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...
, Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Freddie Slack
Freddie Slack
Frederick Charles Slack was an American swing and boogie-woogie pianist and bandleader.He played with the Jimmy Dorsey Band in the 1930s and was a charter member of the Will Bradley Orchestra when it formed in 1939...
and Mel Torme
Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé , nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, known for his jazz singing. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books...
. In 1945, trumpeter Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
made his first recordings with Carter as sideman
Sideman
A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform or record with a group of which he or she is not a regular member. They often tour with solo acts as well as bands and jazz ensembles. Sidemen are generally required to be adaptable to many different styles of music, and so able to fit...
on album Benny Carter and His Orchestra, and considered him a close friend and mentor. Carter was one of the first black men to compose music for films. He was an inspiration and a mentor for Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
when Jones began writing for television and films in the 1960s. Carter's successful legal battles in order to obtain housing in then-exclusive neighborhoods in the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
area made him a pioneer in an entirely different area.
Benny Carter visited Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1960 with his own quartet, performed at the 1968 Newport Jazz Festival
Newport Jazz Festival
The Newport Jazz Festival is a music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. It was established in 1954 by socialite Elaine Lorillard, who, together with husband Louis Lorillard, financed the festival for many years. The couple hired jazz impresario George Wein to organize the...
with Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, and recorded with a Scandinavian band in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
the same year. His studio work in the 1960s included arranging and sometimes performing on Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
’s Mink Jazz
Mink Jazz
Mink Jazz is a 1963 studio album by Peggy Lee, arranged by Benny Carter.- Track listing :# "It's a Big Wide Wonderful World" – 1:37# "Whisper Not" – 2:17...
, (1962) and on the single "I’m A Woman" in the same year.
Academia
In 1969, Carter was persuaded by Morroe Berger, a sociology professor at Princeton UniversityPrinceton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
who had done his master's thesis on jazz, to spend a weekend at the college as part of some classes, seminars, and a concert. This led to a new outlet for Carter's talent: teaching. For the next nine years he visited Princeton five times, most of them brief stays except for one in 1973 when he spent a semester there as a visiting professor. In 1974 Princeton awarded him an honorary master of humanities degree. He conducted workshops and seminars at several other universities and was a visiting lecturer at Harvard for a week in 1987. Morroe Berger also wrote the book "Benny Carter - A Life in American Music," (1982) a two-volume work, covers Carter's career in depth, an essential work of jazz scholarship.
In the late summer of 1989 the Classical Jazz series of concerts at New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
celebrated Carter's 82nd birthday with a set of his songs, sung by Ernestine Anderson
Ernestine Anderson
Ernestine Anderson is an American jazz and blues singer. In a career spanning more than five decades, she has recorded over 30 albums. She was nominated four times for a Grammy Award. She has sung at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Monterey Jazz Festival , as well as at jazz festivals all...
and Sylvia Syms
Sylvia Syms (singer)
Sylvia Syms was an American jazz singer.She was born Sylvia Blagman in Brooklyn, New York, United States. As a child, she had polio. As a teenager, she went to jazz-oriented nightclubs on New York's 52nd Street, and received informal training from Billie Holiday...
. In the same week, at the Chicago Jazz Festival
Chicago Jazz Festival
The Chicago Jazz Festival is a popular and well-known four day free celebration of jazz at Petrillo Music Shell in Grant Park in downtown Chicago. It is run by the Jazz Institute of Chicago during Labor Day weekend, integrating both world-famous and local artists...
, he presented a recreation of his Further Definitions album, using some of the original musicians. In February 1990, Carter led an all-star big band at the Lincoln Center in a concert tribute to Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
. Carter was a member of the music advisory panel of the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
. In 1990, Carter was named "Jazz Artist of the Year" in both the Down Beat
Down Beat
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois...
and Jazz Times International Critics' polls. In 1978, he was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame
Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame
The Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, Inc. , was founded in 1973, Oakland, California. It supports and promotes black filmmaking, and preserves the contributions by African American artists both before and behind the camera...
and in 1980 received the Golden Score award of the American Society of Music Arrangers. Carter was also a Kennedy Center Honoree
Kennedy Center Honors
The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. The Honors have been presented annually since 1978 in Washington, D.C., during gala weekend-long events which culminate in a performance for—and...
in 1996, and received honorary doctorates from Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
(1974), Rutgers (1991), Harvard (1994), and the New England Conservatory (1998).
One of the most remarkable things about Benny Carter's career was its length. It has been said that he is the only musician to have recorded in eight different decades. Having started a career in music before music was even recorded electrically, Carter remained a masterful musician, arranger and composer until he retired from performing in 1997. In 1998, Benny Carter was honored at Third Annual Awards Gala and Concert at Lincoln Center. He received the Jazz at Lincoln Center Award for Artistic Excellence and his music was performed by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis is a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music educator, and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marsalis has promoted the appreciation of classical and jazz music often to young audiences...
, Diana Krall
Diana Krall
Diana Jean Krall, OC, OBC is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer, known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 6 million albums in the US and over 15 million worldwide; altogether, she has sold more albums than any other female jazz artist during the 1990s and 2000s...
and Bobby Short
Bobby Short
Robert Waltrip "Bobby" Short was an American cabaret singer and pianist, best known for his interpretations of songs by popular composers of the first half of the 20th century such as Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Vernon Duke, Noel Coward and George and Ira Gershwin.He...
. Wynton accepted on Benny's behalf. (Back trouble prevented Benny from attending).
Carter died in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
at Cedars-Sinai Hospital July 12, 2003 from complications of bronchitis
Bronchitis
Acute bronchitis is an inflammation of the large bronchi in the lungs that is usually caused by viruses or bacteria and may last several days or weeks. Characteristic symptoms include cough, sputum production, and shortness of breath and wheezing related to the obstruction of the inflamed airways...
at the age of 95. In 1979, he married Hilma Ollila Arons, who survives him, along with a daughter, a granddaughter and a grandson.
Songs composed by Carter
- "Blues In My Heart" (1931) with Irving MillsIrving MillsIrving Mills was a jazz music publisher, also known by the name of "Joe Primrose."Mills was born to Jewish parents in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. He founded Mills Music with his brother Jack in 1919...
- "When Lights Are Low" (1936) with Spencer WilliamsSpencer WilliamsSpencer Williams was an American jazz and popular music composer, pianist, and singer. He is best known for his hit songs "Basin Street Blues", "I Ain't Got Nobody", "Royal Garden Blues", "I've Found a New Baby", "Everybody Loves My Baby", "Tishomingo Blues", "Careless Love", and many...
- "Cow-Cow Boogie (Cuma-Ti-Yi-Yi-Ay)Cow-Cow Boogie (Cuma-Ti-Yi-Yi-Ay)"Cow Cow Boogie " is a "country-boogie" style blues song satirizing the folklore of the singing cowboy in the American West. In the lyrics, the cowboy is from the city and tells his "doggies" to "get hip." The music was written by Don Raye, and lyrics were written by Benny Carter and Gene De...
" (1942) with Don RayeDon RayeDon Raye , born Donald MacRae Wilhoite, Jr., in Washington, D.C., was an American vaudevillian and songwriter, best known for his songs for the Andrews Sisters such as "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar", "The House of Blue Lights", "Just For A Thrill" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."While known for...
and Gene De PaulGene de PaulGene de Paul was an American pianist, composer and songwriter.-Biography:Born in New York City, he served in the United States Army during World War II.... - "Key Largo" (1948) with Karl Suesdorf, Leah Worth
- "Rock Me To Sleep" (1950) with Paul Vandervoort II
- "A Kiss From You" (1964) with Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
- "Only Trust Your Heart" (1964) with Sammy CahnSammy CahnSammy Cahn was an American lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
Grammy history
- Career Wins: 2
- Career Nominations: 7
| Benny Carter Grammy Awards History | |||||
| Year | Category | Title | Genre | Label | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Best Background Arrangement | Busted (Ray Charles) | R&B | Rhino / Wea | Nominee |
| 1986 | Best Jazz Instrumental Performance - Group | Swing Reunion | Jazz | Musicmasters | Nominee |
| 1987 | Lifetime Achievement Award | Winner | |||
| 1992 | Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance | Harlem Renaissance | Jazz | Music Masters | Nominee |
| 1993 | Best Jazz Instrumental Solo | "The More I See You" | Jazz | Telarc | Nominee |
| 1994 | Best Jazz Instrumental Solo | "Prelude to a Kiss" | Jazz | Music Masters | Winner |
| 1994 | Best Jazz Instrumental Performance - Individual or Group | Elegy in Blue | Jazz | Music Masters | Nominee |
Albums
| Year | Title | Genre | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | The Chocolate Dandies | Jazz | DRG |
| 1945 | Benny Carter and His Orchestra with Miles Davis | Jazz | Jazz Door |
| 1954 | Moonglow | Jazz | Verve |
| 1957 | Jazz Giant | Jazz | Original Jazz Classics |
| 1959 | The Fabulous Benny Carter | Jazz | Audio Lab |
| 1961 | Further Definitions Further Definitions Further Definitions is a jazz album by Benny Carter and his orchestra, rereleased on CD in 1997 coupled with his follow-up album, the 1966 Additions to Further Definitions... |
Jazz | Impulse |
| 1966 | Additions to Further Definitions Further Definitions Further Definitions is a jazz album by Benny Carter and his orchestra, rereleased on CD in 1997 coupled with his follow-up album, the 1966 Additions to Further Definitions... |
Jazz | Impulse |
| 1987 | Central City Sketches | Jazz | Music Masters |
| 1992 | Harlem Renaissance | Jazz | Music Masters |
| 1995 | New York Nights | Jazz | Music Masters |
| 1995 | Songbook | Jazz | Music Masters |
| 1997 | Live and Well in Japan | Jazz | Pablo/OJC |
| 1997 | Tickle Toe | Jazz | Vee-Jay |
| 2002 | Sketches on Standards | Jazz | Past Perfect |
As arranger
| Year | Title | Artist | Genre | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | The Explosive Side of Sarah Vaughan The Explosive Side of Sarah Vaughan The Explosive Side of Sarah Vaughan is a 1963 studio album by Sarah Vaughan, arranged by Benny Carter.This was Vaughan's second album with Carter, her first, The Lonely Hours, was released in 1963.-Reception:... |
Sarah Vaughan Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."... |
Jazz | Roulette Roulette Records Roulette Records is an American record label, which was founded in late 1956, by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Khals, with creative control given to producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Levy was appointed as director... |
| 1963 | The Lonely Hours The Lonely Hours The Lonely Hours is a 1964 studio album by Sarah Vaughan, arranged by Benny Carter.-Reception:The Allmusic review by John Bush awarded the album three stars and said that "Sarah Vaughan's contribution to the genre of saloon song LPs, doesn't have a stellar selection of material...Benny Carter's... |
Sarah Vaughan Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."... |
Jazz | Roulette |
| 1963 | Mink Jazz Mink Jazz Mink Jazz is a 1963 studio album by Peggy Lee, arranged by Benny Carter.- Track listing :# "It's a Big Wide Wonderful World" – 1:37# "Whisper Not" – 2:17... |
Peggy Lee Peggy Lee Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and... |
Jazz | Capitol Capitol Records Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine... |
| 1967 | Portrait of Carmen Portrait of Carmen Portrait of Carmen is a 1968 studio album by Carmen McRae, with arrangements by Oliver Nelson, Shorty Rogers, Benny Carter and Gene Di Novi... |
Carmen McRae Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae was an American jazz singer, composer, pianist, and actress. Considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century, it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and her ironic interpretations of song lyrics that made her memorable... |
Jazz | Atlantic |
| 1968 | 30 by Ella 30 by Ella 30 by Ella is a 1968 studio album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald.The album's unusual construction of six medleys of songs were arranged by Benny Carter. This album was Fitzgerald's final recording made for Capitol Records... |
Ella Fitzgerald Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist... |
Jazz | Capitol |
| 1979 | A Classy Pair A Classy Pair The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album three stars and said that "Basie's sidemen are unfortunately restricted in the Benny Carter arrangements to backup work but Basie has a few piano solos and Fitzgerald is in good voice and in typically swinging form" -Track listing:-Personnel:*... |
Ella Fitzgerald with the Count Basie Orchestra Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie. The band survived the late '40s decline in big band popularity and went on to produce notable collaborations with singers such as Frank Sinatra and Ella... |
Jazz | Pablo Pablo Records Pablo Records was a record label founded by Norman Granz in 1972, some ten years after he had sold his jazz labels to MGM Records.... |
Compilation albums
- The Music Master: Benny Carter (Proper Box, 2004), 1930-1952 recordings
- Royal Garden Blues (Quadromania: Benny Carter) (Membran/Quadromania, 2006)
External links
- [ Benny Carter] — brief biography by Scott YanowScott YanowScott Yanow is an American jazz commentator, known for many contributions to the Allmusic website, for writing ten books on jazz and for reviewing jazz recordings for over 30 years.-Biography:...
for Allmusic - Benny Carter Audio Collection, Institute of Jazz Studies, Dana Library, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ.
- Benny Carter's Music - Past Perfect
- [ Discography]
- Benny Carter's entry in Jazz Improv magazine
- Norman Granz introduces Coleman Hawkins on tenor and Benny Carter on alto - Jazz At The Philharmonic for the London BBC
- Carter biography on swingmusic.net
- Jazz Conversations with Eric Jackson: Benny Carter from WGBH Radio Boston