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Duke Ellington once wrote of Benny Carter, "The problem of expressing the contributions that Benny Carter has made to popular music is so tremendous it completely fazes me, so extraordinary a musician is he." |
Alto saxophonist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, bandleader, and jazz legend Benny Carter holds a unique place in American music. Carter, along with Johnny Hodges, helped define the jazz sound of the alto saxophone. During his time with the BBC Dance Orchestra in the 1930s he helped boost the popularity of the Big Band sound overseas. Carter has also been active as a composer, chiefly for film and television.
Born in New York in 1907, Carter was inspired to pick up his first instrument, a trumpet, so he could follow the footsteps of his neighbor, Ellington trombonist Bubber Miley, and those of his own cousin, trumpeter Cuban Bennet. He was fourteen at the time and, with youthful impatience, bought a saxophone after trying to play the trumpet for only two days. (He had been misinformed that the sax was easier to play!)
In 1925, after a brief time in college, Carter began paying his dues in various bands, including those led by Horace Henderson, Duke Ellington, James P. Johnson, and Fletcher Henderson. In 1928 he also started a house band for New York's Arcadia Ballroom. Carter signed on as musical director of McKinney's Cotton Pickers in 1931. In addition to writing arrangements for McKinney's, he also wrote for the bands of Ellington, Henderson, and Benny Goodman.
Carter went to Paris in 1935 and spent nine months playing with Willie Lewis' orchestra before moving to London and signing on as staff arranger for the BBC. From what Carter remembers, he averaged writing three to six arrangements a week at the BBC! In 1938, Carter returned to the States to start his own big band and record with Lionel Hampton.
Throughout the 1930s and '40s Carter continued to write arrangements for bands and singers, including Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Gene Krupa, Tommy Dorsey, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Lou Rawls, Ray Charles, Peggy Lee, Louis Armstrong, Pearl Bailey, Billy Eckstine and Mel Tormé. In 1942, Carter moved to the West Coast where he made his home. He disbanded his big band in 1948, but has led or played in various smaller groups since that time. His career as a composer, notably for films, and eventually television, began in the 1940s.
Benny Carter has been Visiting Lecturer at Harvard and is a member of the Black Film Makers Hall of Fame. A winner of the coveted Golden Score award of the American Society of Music Arrangers, Carter was also appointed to the music advisory panel of the National Endowment of the Arts. In 1978, Carter was a guest of President Jimmy Carter at the White House, where he led a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Newport Jazz Festival. He led an orchestra for President Reagan's inauguration and played at the White House in 1989 as a guest of President Bush.
Carter has played with the Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and has been voted Jazz Artist of the Year by both Down Beat magazine and Jazz Times International Critics polls. He was nominated for a Grammy for his composition "Central City Sketches" and received a Grammy for lifetime achievement in 1987.
Set List for Benny Carter on Piano JazzEasy Money (B. Carter)
Far Away (B. Carter)
Blues in My Heart (B. Carter)
Lonely Woman (B. Carter)
Only Trust Your Heart (B. Carter)
Evening Star (B. Carter)
A Kiss From You (B. Carter)
Key Largo (B. Carter)
Summer Serenade (B. Carter)
When Lights Are Low (B. Carter)
Benny Carter Official Web site
Born in New York in 1907, Carter was inspired to pick up his first instrument, a trumpet, so he could follow the footsteps of his neighbor, Ellington trombonist Bubber Miley, and those of his own cousin, trumpeter Cuban Bennet. He was fourteen at the time and, with youthful impatience, bought a saxophone after trying to play the trumpet for only two days. (He had been misinformed that the sax was easier to play!)
In 1925, after a brief time in college, Carter began paying his dues in various bands, including those led by Horace Henderson, Duke Ellington, James P. Johnson, and Fletcher Henderson. In 1928 he also started a house band for New York's Arcadia Ballroom. Carter signed on as musical director of McKinney's Cotton Pickers in 1931. In addition to writing arrangements for McKinney's, he also wrote for the bands of Ellington, Henderson, and Benny Goodman.
Carter went to Paris in 1935 and spent nine months playing with Willie Lewis' orchestra before moving to London and signing on as staff arranger for the BBC. From what Carter remembers, he averaged writing three to six arrangements a week at the BBC! In 1938, Carter returned to the States to start his own big band and record with Lionel Hampton.
Throughout the 1930s and '40s Carter continued to write arrangements for bands and singers, including Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Gene Krupa, Tommy Dorsey, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Lou Rawls, Ray Charles, Peggy Lee, Louis Armstrong, Pearl Bailey, Billy Eckstine and Mel Tormé. In 1942, Carter moved to the West Coast where he made his home. He disbanded his big band in 1948, but has led or played in various smaller groups since that time. His career as a composer, notably for films, and eventually television, began in the 1940s.
Benny Carter has been Visiting Lecturer at Harvard and is a member of the Black Film Makers Hall of Fame. A winner of the coveted Golden Score award of the American Society of Music Arrangers, Carter was also appointed to the music advisory panel of the National Endowment of the Arts. In 1978, Carter was a guest of President Jimmy Carter at the White House, where he led a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Newport Jazz Festival. He led an orchestra for President Reagan's inauguration and played at the White House in 1989 as a guest of President Bush.
Carter has played with the Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and has been voted Jazz Artist of the Year by both Down Beat magazine and Jazz Times International Critics polls. He was nominated for a Grammy for his composition "Central City Sketches" and received a Grammy for lifetime achievement in 1987.
Set List for Benny Carter on Piano Jazz
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