ENDEIT
Benny Carter
Photo: Ed Berger, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons

Saxophonists · 1907–2003

Benny Carter

American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader (1907-2003)

Born
8 August 1907
New York City
Died
12 July 2003
Los Angeles
Country
United States
Record labels
Columbia Records
Discography
46 albums

Biography

Benny Carter was a jazz musician who played saxophone, trumpet, clarinet and alto saxophone. Benny Carter was born on 8 August 1907 in New York City and died on 12 July 2003 in Los Angeles. The music is usually filed under jazz and swing. Record labels: Columbia Records. The discography here lists 46 albums, from “Cosmopolite” (1953) to “Jazz: The Essential Collection, Vol. 17” (2024). Honours include Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame (1978), Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1987) and NEA Jazz Masters.

Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career in the 1920s, he worked as an arranger, including writing charts for Fletcher Henderson's big band that shaped the swing style. He had an unusually long career that lasted into the 1990s. During the 1980s and 1990s, he was nominated for eight Grammy Awards, which included receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Discography

Studio and live albums

Cosmopolite 1953 · Clef Records New Jazz Sounds 1955 · Norgran Records Jazz Giant 1958 · Contemporary The Fabulous Benny Carter Band 1958 · Audio Lab Aspects 1959 · United Artists Sax A La Carter! 1960 · United Artists BBB & Co. 1962 · Swingville A Man Called Adam 1966 · Reprise Records Additions to Further Definitions 1966 · impulse! Jazz at the Philharmonic at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1975 1975 · Live · Pablo Live and Well in Japan! 1978 · Live · Pablo Live Summer Serenade 1983 · PGP-RTB A Gentleman and His Music 1986 · Concord Jazz Benny Carter All Stars 1986 · Sonet Benny Carter Meets Oscar Peterson 1987 · Pablo The Complete Benny Carter on Keynote 1987 · Mercury Records Central City Sketches 1988 · Jazz Heritage Swingin' the '20s 1988 · Original Jazz Classics In the Mood for Swing 1989 · Musical Heritage Society My Kind of Trouble 1989 · Pablo My Man Benny, My Man Phil 1989 · Limelight Cookin' at Carlos I 1990 · MusicMasters All That Jazz: Live at Princeton 1992 · Live · MusicMasters Benny Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, Inc. 1992 · Pablo Cosmopolite: The Oscar Peterson Verve Sessions 1994 · Verve Elegy in Blue 1994 Another Time, Another Place 1996 · Live · Evening Star Songbook 1996 · MusicMasters New York Nights 1997 Songbook, Volume II 1997 · MusicMasters Tickle Toe 1997 More Cookin' 2002 · Jazz Heritage Back Bay Boogie 2004 Anthology: The Deluxe Collection (Remastered) 2020 · Master Tape Records
Princeton Concerts (And Beyond) [Vol 7. September 13, 1997 Live at Princeton] 2022 · Live
Princeton Concerts (And Beyond) [Vol. 2 October 22, 1973 Live at Princeton] 2022 · Live
Princeton Concerts (And Beyond) [Vol. 3 December 3, 1973 Live at Princeton] 2022 · Live
Princeton Concerts (And Beyond) [Vol. 4 March 18, 1977 Live at Princeton] 2022
Princeton Concerts (And Beyond) [Vol. 5 October 12, 1979 Live at Princeton] 2022 · Live
Princeton Concerts (And Beyond) [Vol. 6 May 21, 1982 Live at Princeton] 2022 · Live
Princeton Concerts (And Beyond) [Vol. 8 October 28, 1978 Live in Buffalo] 2022 · Live
Princeton Concerts (And Beyond) [Vol.1 April 19, 1973 Live at Princeton] 2022 · Live
Jazz: The Essential Collection, Vol. 17 2024 · In+Out Records
Jazz Giant: Complete Sessions
Live and Well in Japan · Live
Wonderland

Also plays on

Albums where Benny Carter is credited as a sideman

1953 King of the Tenors — Ben Webster alto saxophone
1954 Tatum, Carter, Bellson — Tatum, Carter, Bellson alto saxophone
1954 Barrelhouse, Boogie and the Blues — Ella Mae Morse with Big Dave and His Orchestra alto saxophone
1955 Sweet and Hot — Ella Fitzgerald conductor
1955 Music for Torching — Billie Holiday alto saxophone
1957 Go West, Man! — Quincy Jones alto saxophone
1958 Anita O'Day Sings the Winners — Anita O’Day alto saxophone
1959 I Like Men! — Peggy Lee alto saxophone
1959 Miss Wonderful — Peggy Lee arranger
1959 Livin' With The Blues — Barbara Dane trumpet
1960 Once More With Feeling — Billy Eckstine alto saxophone
1960 The Drum Battle — Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich alto saxophone
1960 Softly — Dakota Staton arranger, conductor
1961 If You Go — Peggy Lee, Quincy Jones alto saxophone
1961 ’Round Midnight — Dakota Staton conductor
1961 Dakota — Dakota Staton conductor
1962 Sugar ’n’ Spice — Peggy Lee conductor
1962 Blues Cross Country — Peggy Lee alto saxophone, arranger
1963 Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul — Ray Charles arranger
1963 I’m a Woman — Peggy Lee conductor
1963 The Lonely Hours — Sarah Vaughan arranger, conductor
1965 Nobody but Lou — Lou Rawls arranger, conductor, orchestrator
1968 30 by Ella — Ella Fitzgerald arranger, conductor, alto saxophone
1968 Portrait of Carmen — Carmen McRae arranger, conductor
1969 Is That All There Is? — Peggy Lee conductor
1976 Stormy Weather — Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Fats Waller trumpet
1980 Aurex Jazz Festival '80 - Gentlemen of Swing — Harry “Sweets” Edison, Benny Carter, Teddy Wilson. Milt Hinton, Shelly Manne alto saxophone
1982 A Classy Pair — Ella Fitzgerald & The Count Basie Orchestra arranger, conductor
1987 Billy Eckstine Sings With Benny Carter — Billy Eckstine, Benny Carter special guest Helen Merrill alto saxophone, trumpet
1989 All That Jazz — Ella Fitzgerald alto saxophone

Standards written by Benny Carter

TitleKeyFormGroove
When Lights Are Low E♭ major AABA · 32 Medium swing
Only Trust Your Heart C major AABAC · 40 Bossa nova
Summer Serenade D♭ major ABAC · 32 Bossa nova

Analysed solos by Benny Carter

Awards

Historic 78 rpm records

  • Diga, Diga, Do Benny Carter and his All Star Orchestra · Dickie Wells · Joe Newman… archive.org ↗
  • Some of These Days Benny Carter and His All Star Orchestra · Trummy Young · Benny… archive.org ↗
  • I'm the Caring Kind Benny Carter and His All Star Orchestra · Maxine Sullivan · Benny… archive.org ↗
  • BE COOL Benny Carter archive.org ↗
  • BE COOL - C; DISCOVERY; HEELS UP Benny Carter archive.org ↗
  • JAZZ WALTZ - A Benny Carter archive.org ↗
  • Once upon a time BØRGE ROGER-HENRICHSENS ORKESTER · Erik Parker · Benny Carter archive.org ↗
  • LONELY AFFAIR - A Benny Carter archive.org ↗

Listen on Spotify

Frequently asked questions

What instrument did Benny Carter play?

Benny Carter is known for playing saxophone, trumpet, clarinet and alto saxophone.

When and where was Benny Carter born?

Benny Carter was born 8 August 1907 in New York City.

What are Benny Carter's best-known albums?

Albums in our database include Cosmopolite (1953), New Jazz Sounds (1955), Jazz Giant (1958), The Fabulous Benny Carter Band (1958) and Aspects (1959).

External links

Data compiled from open sources; see the source links below. Spotted an error? Let us know.