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Double Bass Ron Carter

#83
I think the biggest knock on him seems to usually be his amplification choices. They are choices, though. I think that's what he wants to hear. He's certainly a fine player and has his own voice. No point in comparing him to Paul Chambers or Ray Brown or someone else.

He sounds like Ron Carter.
 
#84
Mr. Carter has commented before in the Mike's Masterclass session that he really has no control over how he ends up sounding on a record due to who's behind the desk at the mixing console. He said something to the affect that his sound has already been changed by the moment he steps outside of the studio so he never knows how it's going to end up.

A recording that comes to mind is the recent "The Golden Striker" where he gets a beautiful more natural tone. It doesn't sound like he's using those black tapewounds, but there they are - right on the cover.
 
#85
hdiddy said:
Mr. Carter has commented before in the Mike's Masterclass session that he really has no control over how he ends up sounding on a record due to who's behind the desk at the mixing console. He said something to the affect that his sound has already been changed by the moment he steps outside of the studio so he never knows how it's going to end up.
Click to expand...

He could make choices that put him more in control of it. Few of his peers ever sound as rough as he does when it is rough. I think some of the flaws could be over looked if he had a nicer tone on a lot of those recordings. For example, David Holland always sounds pretty good even in "'70s direct mode".
 
#91
My two bits: Listen to Ron Carter playing live duo with Jim Hall on Alone Together. He does some lovely stuff. A common criticism of Carter's playing is poor intonation, and that's evident on Alone Together. But also evident is some really great grooves with no drummer, and lots of invention and interplay with Hall. Definitely some stuff worth stealing.
 
#92
I was very pleased to see Ron Carter on HBO's original series Treme this past sunday. He sounded silky smooth as he was laying down a bass part for a record being cut by one of the main characters. Although the scene itself seemed to leave you thinking that his style might have been too smooth for a modern jazz meets mardi gras Indian recording. Also notable was that Dr. John was a major player in those scenes, too.
 
#93
It always amazes me that there is any discussion of Ron's playing whatsoever. It's like debating Derek Jeter's election to the hall of fame. He's clearly one of the greatest bassists ever, and, clearly, one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time. Rhythm section players get little play in these types of discussions, but has anyone had more to do with the sound of jazz in the last 45 years than Ron? Any bassist would do well to listen to what he's doing. It's not about intonation (check out Bird or Miles for some consistently "bad" intonation). There is a reason he's on all those classic recordings.
 

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