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Some Shade from Ron Carter

#163
JimK said:
Some quotes-
  • "He's jealous".
  • "If Ron spent half the energy that it took him to say that about me, he'd be a media hero, too".
  • "...get up off his ass and start kicking ass as an artist, just be an artist...".
  • "I hope that one day in his eyes I am considered a good bass player".
I'm sure they worked through it (I hope). 1978 was a long time ago.
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I get a sense of that just from what Ron says about himself. He has played them and is capable.

I mean, yes it's cool that he's devoted his life to the upright and maybe gigging all the time
afforded him no time to undertake the challenge plus this late in life and all.

Still, others have made the jump to them and yet still play the upright at a high level.

At the same time, I bet no one asked Ray Brown why he didn't play a fender bass all the time :)
jaco_ray.jpg


 
#167
Mushroo said:
Ron Carter shreds!


Ron Carter hip hops!
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In that masterclass vid I posted back up there. He talks about the hip hop thing.

Basically, he wants all those cats to leave him alone from now on.
Not enough freedom for him.

I guess they told him what they were looking for out of him.
Imagine that, someone hiring you for a recording session and letting you know what they want.
:Ol
 
#168
DJ Bebop said:
I guess they told him what they were looking for out of him.
Imagine that, someone hiring you for a recording session and letting you know what they want.
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If they brought in somebody without Ron Carter's resume I'd agree with you but you don't call in an accomplished headliner then tell him not to do any of what he's super-skilled at and famous for. That's disrespectful. I'd make an exception to that if the maestro had expressed an interest in it beforehand.
 
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#169
StatesideRambler said:
If they brought in somebody without Ron Carter's resume I'd agree with you but you don't call in an accomplished headliner then tell him not to do any of what he's super-skilled at and famous for. That's disrespectful. I'd make an exception to that if the maestro had expressed an interest in it beforehand.
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You would think all of that would have been understood and worked out before he took the gig.
Having said that, he's still on the cut and collected his check, so where is the disrespect?
He could have just said no. I am sure that's not a foreign concept to him. :)
 
#170
DJ Bebop said:
In that masterclass vid I posted back up there. He talks about the hip hop thing.

Basically, he wants all those cats to leave him alone from now on.
Not enough freedom for him.

I guess they told him what they were looking for out of him.
Imagine that, someone hiring you for a recording session and letting you know what they want.
:Ol
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It's his choice of course.

I betcha "Low End Theory" is his best selling recording. It made a lot of "best album of all time" lists, and many of those reviews specifically call attention to Carter's contribution as a genre milestone.

Also there are rumors TCQ altered their lyrics based on Carter's input. If that's not a sign of respect then I don't know what is.
 
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#171
57pbass said:
I attended a Ron Carter clinic many years ago. I play primarily 4 string electric bass and went to this clinic for entertainment and educational experience.

I left very disappointed and was really surprised at Ron Carters demeanor. I'm not a fan of his.

A few weeks later I attended a Rufus Reid . Michael Moore clinic that was over the top great. Two wonderful educators and musicians.
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Rufus is the best teacher I ever had. I spoke to Ron once... He's been better by email. I play both and they are not the same instrument. I understand his point but I find joy in both.
 
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#173
Beej said:
Wow, I hope that the context of the conversation wasn't truly represented in that quote. If not, I'm disappointed that he would obviously not bother to actually listen to the music that he's passive-aggressively criticising by incorrectly assessing the method and means of those bass players and their lines...
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IIRC he worked with Mandrill back in the 70's.
 
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#179
stuntbass77 said:
Wait, wasn't Jaco an "electric bass player". Ron could run circles around me but then so could Jaco if the two were to battle it out. I know, I know I'm gonna hear a lot about my opinion but it stands. Ron is great, Jaco greater. Jack didn't just influence electric players or bass player, he influenced everyone how heard him at the time. And playing "electric" fretless is harder as you don't have the same positions to rely on to stay I tune. Jaco would have smoked on upright if he had gone down that road. Still Ron "is" a great bass player but "I" would have chosen my words differently. Then again Jaco was super cocky so maybe it comes with the part. I'm just trying to stick up with for use "electric" guys
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With all due respect...

This is pretty good summation of almost everything wrong with this thread. Ignorance of Carter's cv is key... unless you're actually aware of his traditional jazz roots and still don't get what he does. And that's not all he does.

A Bass-Off between Carter and Jaco?

:D

Assumptions abound based on who knows what. Jaco would've smoked on upright is right up there with he could play ANYTHING musically, which is pretty ridiculous if you really think about it. EB and upright are two very different instruments. Do most even know that?

There are so many genres I never heard Jaco touch but people assume he would master because hell, he was Jaco. Like Jaco could smoke an actual Zydeco bassist. Jaco's R&B work was never as phenomenal IMO as most fans thought, many of whom weren't even steeped in the genre to begin with. Imagine Rocco Prestia, who had a far more distinctive style in that genre, on "Come On, Come Over". I have.
;)

So in their minds speed trumps substance and Jaco wins again. I'm not slagging on Jaco. He wasn't magic. And Carter isn't as low as some of the opinions reflect here.

Is there another way to take the original quote? For many here that seems to be a resounding no. So... RC must've insulted all bassplayers so the angry responses are justified. Just defending my instrument... but ask yourselves why does it need defending in the first place? That would likely start with your own low opinion. ijs

:D

It's not surprising, it's actually kind of sad how much baggage many seem to carry around about this instrument. If it were me I'd really look into that.
 
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#180
Dr. Cheese said:


I can't argue Funk isn't repetitive; it's just that the sort of Funk he is taking about is passé. A lot of younger bass guitarists in Gospel and others genres are playing in more Jamerson inspired approach where basslines constantly evolve. The great irony was that when Carter was a young man, Jamerson, a fellow Detroit native, was demonstrating every day on the radio just how free flowing basslines in Pop music could be if he had gotten off his high horse and really listened.
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Repetitive funk is repetitive. So is repetitive pop, repetitive rock and so on. Non-repetitive work in any of those genres is not. As I seriously doubt that Carter was talking about ALL electric bass work...

Not really seeing a high horse.
:D
 
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