Ron Carter
Photo: Kku, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Guitarists · b. 1937

Ron Carter

American jazz bassist, cellist, and composer (born 1937)

Born
4 May 1937
Ferndale
Country
United States
Active
1960–
Record labels
Blue Note, CTI Records, Milestone, Chesky Records, In + Out Records
Discography
77 albums

Biography

Ron Carter is a jazz musician who plays guitar, double bass, bass instrument and cello. Ron Carter was born on 4 May 1937 in Ferndale. The music is usually filed under jazz and post-bop. Record labels: Blue Note, CTI Records, Milestone and Chesky Records. The discography here lists 77 albums, from “Where?” (1961) to “Sweet, Sweet Spirit” (2026). Honours include The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette (2021), NEA Jazz Masters and Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres.

Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy Awards, and is also a cellist who has recorded numerous times on the instrument. In addition to a solo career of more than 60 years, Carter is well-known for playing on numerous iconic Blue Note albums in the 1960s, as well as being the anchor of trumpeter Miles Davis's "Second Great Quintet" from 1963 to 1968. Beginning with Where? in 1961, Carter's studio albums as leader also include Uptown Conversation (1969), Blues Farm (1973), All Blues (1973), Spanish Blue (1974), Anything Goes (1975), Yellow & Green (1976), Pastels (1976), Piccolo (1977), Third Plane (1977), Peg Leg (1978), A Song for You (1978), Etudes (1982), The Golden Striker (2003), Dear Miles (2006), and Ron Carter's Great Big Band (2011).

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Discography

Studio and live albums

Where? 1961 · New Jazz Uptown Conversation 1969 · Embryo Records Blues Farm 1973 · CTI All Blues 1974 · CTI Anything Goes 1975 · Kudu Spanish Blue 1975 · Columbia Pastels 1976 · Milestone Yellow & Green 1976 · CTI A Song for You 1978 · Milestone Peg Leg 1978 · Milestone Third Plane 1978 · JVC 1 + 3 1979 · Live · JVC Milestone Jazzstars in Concert 1979 · Live · Milestone New York Slick 1979 · Milestone Parade 1979 · Milestone Empire Jazz 1980 · RSO Pick 'em 1980 · Milestone Patrão 1981 · Milestone Super Strings 1981 · Milestone Heart & Soul 1982 · Timeless Records Parfait 1982 · Milestone Carnaval 1983 · Live · Galaxy Etudes 1983 · Elektra Musician Live at Village West 1984 · Live · Concord Jazz Telephone 1984 · Live · Concord Jazz Ron Carter 1985 · Milestone The Man With The Bass 1985 · Milestone The Puzzle 1986 · Live · SMS Records Very Well 1987 · Deep Moat All Alone 1988 · EmArcy I'm Walkin' 1988 · EmArcy In a Jazz Tradition 1988 · EmArcy Standard Bearer 1988 · Fantasy Birdology - Live at the TBB Jazzz Festival 1989 · Live · Verve Daddy Nostalgie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 1990 · CBS Eight Plus 1990 · Victor Panamanhattan 1991 · Dreyfus Jazz Ron Carter Meets Bach 1992 · Blue Note Friends 1993 · Blue Note Jazz, My Romance 1994 Akioustically Sound 1995 · Muse Records Mr. Bow-Tie 1995 · Blue Note Brandenburg Concerto 1997 The Bass and I 1997 · Blue Note
Plays Jazz 1998
Orfeu 1999 · Blue Note When Skies Are Grey 2000 · Blue Note Holiday in Rio 2001 Stardust 2001 Entre Amigos 2003 · Chesky Records Ron Carter Plays Bach 2003 · Universal Music The Golden Striker 2003 · Blue Note In New York 2004 Dear Miles, 2007 · Blue Note It's the Time 2007 Jazz & Bossa 2008 · Blue Note The Next Level 2008 · Double Moon Records The World of Ron Carter 2009 Ron Carter's Great Big Band 2011 · Sunnyside Cocktails at the Cotton Club 2013 · Live
San Sebastian 2013
In Memory Of Jim 2014 · Somethin' Else Records My Personal Songbook 2015 · In+Out Records Golden Striker (Live at Theaterstübchen Kassel) 2017 · In+Out Records Golden Striker (deluxe edition) 2017 · In+Out Records Foursight – Stockholm, Vol. 1 2019 · Live · In+Out Records The Brown Beatnik Tomes (Live at BRIC House) 2019 · Live · Blue Note Foursight – Stockholm, Vol. 2 2020 · Live · In+Out Records Foursight: The Complete Stockholm Tapes 2020 · In+Out Records Live At Sweet Basil 2021 · Live · Arkadia Records Remembering Bob Freedman 2021 Finding the Right Notes 2022 · In+Out Records Bitter Head 2023 · Nuccia Ron Carter & Art Farmer: Live At Sweet Basil (live) 2023 · Live · Arkadia Records
Sweet, Sweet Spirit 2026
Duets
Milestone Jazzstars In Concert

Also plays on

Albums where Ron Carter is credited as a sideman

1960 The Three Faces of Yusef Lateef — Yusef Lateef cello
1961 The Hawk Relaxes — Coleman Hawkins double bass
1961 Night Hawk — Coleman Hawkins double bass
1961 So Much Guitar! — Wes Montgomery double bass
1961 Out There — Eric Dolphy cello
1961 Here's Jaki — Jaki Byard double bass
1961 ... How Time Passes... — Don Ellis bass
1961 New Ideas — Don Ellis double bass
1961 Out Front — Booker Little bass
1962 Free — Benny Golson double bass
1962 Far Cry — Eric Dolphy with Booker Little double bass, bass
1962 Big Bags — Milt Jackson bass
1962 The Kerry Dancers — Johnny Griffin bass
1962 Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out — Howard McGhee double bass
1962 The Quest — Mal Waldron with Eric Dolphy and Booker Ervin cello
1962 The Connection — Cecil Payne bass
1963 Seven Steps to Heaven — Miles Davis double bass
1963 Quiet Nights — Miles Davis double bass
1963 Born to Be Blue! — Bobby Timmons bass, double bass
1964 Empyrean Isles — Herbie Hancock double bass
1964 Up With Donald Byrd — Donald Byrd double bass
1964 Life Time — Anthony Williams bass
1964 Fuchsia Swing Song — Sam Rivers bass, double bass
1965 E.S.P. — Miles Davis double bass
1965 Maiden Voyage — Herbie Hancock bass
1965 Speak No Evil — Wayne Shorter double bass
1965 Just Jazz! — Benny Golson double bass
1965 Got My Mojo Working — Jimmy Smith bass
1965 Guitar Forms — Kenny Burrell double bass
1965 Components — Bobby Hutcherson double bass

Standards written by Ron Carter

TitleKeyFormGroove
Little Waltz F minor AA · 34 Jazz waltz
Eighty One F major A · 12 Even eighths

Awards

Listen on Spotify

Frequently asked questions

What instrument does Ron Carter play?

Ron Carter is known for playing guitar, double bass, bass instrument and cello.

When and where was Ron Carter born?

Ron Carter was born 4 May 1937 in Ferndale.

What are Ron Carter's best-known albums?

Albums in our database include Where? (1961), Uptown Conversation (1969), Blues Farm (1973), All Blues (1974) and Anything Goes (1975).

External links

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