James Carter (musician)
Encyclopedia
James Carter (born January 3, 1969) is an American
jazz
musician
.
Carter was born in Detroit, Michigan
and learned to play there before moving to New York City
. He has been prominent as a performer and recording artist on the jazz scene since the mid-1990s, playing saxophone
s, flute
, and bass clarinet
. As a young man, he attended Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
and was a member of the group Bird-Trane-Sco-Now. On his album Chasin' the Gypsy (2000), he recorded with his cousin Regina Carter
, a jazz violinist. Carter has won the critics' choice award for baritone saxophone
three years in a row from Down Beat
magazine. He has played on albums with Cyrus Chestnut
, Wynton Marsalis
and the Mingus
Big Band.
Carter is an authority on vintage horns, and he owns an extensive collection.
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...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
.
Carter was born in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
and learned to play there before moving to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He has been prominent as a performer and recording artist on the jazz scene since the mid-1990s, playing saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
s, flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, and bass clarinet
Bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
. As a young man, he attended Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp is a Michigan non-profit organization located in the Manistee National Forest that provides summer fine arts camp and international exchange programs in music, art, dance and drama.-Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp:...
and was a member of the group Bird-Trane-Sco-Now. On his album Chasin' the Gypsy (2000), he recorded with his cousin Regina Carter
Regina Carter
Regina Carter is an American jazz violinist. She is the cousin of famous jazz saxophonist James Carter.-Early life:...
, a jazz violinist. Carter has won the critics' choice award for baritone saxophone
Baritone saxophone
The baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
three years in a row from 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...
magazine. He has played on albums with Cyrus Chestnut
Cyrus Chestnut
Cyrus Chestnut is an American jazz pianist, songwriter, and producer. In 2006, Josh Tyrangiel, music critic for Time Magazine, wrote: "What makes Chestnut the best jazz pianist of his generation is a willingness to abandon notes and play space." Chestnut enjoys mixing styles and resists being...
, 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...
and the Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
Big Band.
Carter is an authority on vintage horns, and he owns an extensive collection.
Discography
- 1991: Tough Young Tenors: Alone Together
- 1994: J.C. on the Set
- 1995: Jurassic Classics
- 1995: The Real Quietstorm
- 1996: Conversin' with the Elders
- 1998: In Carterian Fashion
- 2000: Layin' in the Cut
- 2000: Chasin' the Gypsy
- 2003: Gardenias for Lady Day
- 2004: Live at Baker's Keyboard LoungeBaker's Keyboard LoungeBaker's Keyboard Lounge located on 20510 Livernois Street in Detroit, Michigan, claims to be the world's oldest operating jazz club, operating since May 1934.-Early History:...
with David Murray, Franz JacksonFranz JacksonFranz Jackson was a saxophonist and clarinetist of the Chicago jazz school.Notable as one of the last surviving jazz artists to have recorded pre-1940, Jackson was still active well into his 90s in various jazz clubs of Chicago...
and Johnny GriffinJohnny GriffinJohn Arnold Griffin III was an American bop and hard bop tenor saxophonist.- Early life and career :Griffin studied music at DuSable High School in Chicago under Walter Dyett, starting out on clarinet before moving on to oboe and then alto sax...
- 2005: Out of Nowhere
- 2005: Gold Sounds (Tribute to PavementPavement (band)Pavement is an American alternative rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau and Stephen Thomas Erlewine...
) - 2008: Present Tense
- 2009: Heaven on Earth
- 2011: Caribbean Rhapsody
External links
- Official Website
- P. Mauriat Artist Profile Page
- High kicks and belly blows — article (with photos) by Tony Gieske
- James Carter — biography from American International Artists
- MusicMatch Guide
- Concert review
- Photographed live at Jazz Alley — photos by Bruce C Moore
- Edutain-The James Carter Discography
- James Carter Interview at allaboutjazz.com