and the Healdsburg High School Jazz Band
When: Saturday, June 7
Where: Raven Theater, 115 North Stret, Healdsburg
Time: 7:30 pm
Tickets: $75 | $55 (Reserved Seating)
Event Sponsor: Voigt Family Sculpture Foundation
There aren’t really many superlatives in the lexicon that haven’t already been applied to bassist Ron Carter. Any major jazz figure between now and 1960 is likely to have utilized his services — he is more in demand than any other bass player. He’s appeared on more jazz albums than anyone else. He can contribute more to a band than practically anyone, on any instrument, could dream of.
Check out the profile of Ron Carter, by Gabe Meline, on KQED online.
From Eric Dolphy to Jim Hall to Antonio Carlos Jobim to Kenny Burrell to Roberta Flack to Paul Desmond to McCoy Tyner to A Tribe Called Quest to Phoebe Snow to major symphony orchestras to Miles Davis— whose magical second quintet he anchored for five years—Ron has been the pulse, or as he likes to put it, “the quarterback.” He is an NEA Jazz Master, but as for the rest of his awards, international accolades, honorary degrees and directorships, feel free to Google him because there are too many to list here. He’s just done it all. Visit roncarter.com
Well, not everything. For instance, he’s never performed at the Healdsburg Jazz Festival. Thankfully, that oversight is being rectified this summer. The 76-year-old bassist arrives with his quartet featuring three superb players: drummer Payton Crossley, percussionist Rolando Morales-Mattos, and pianist Renee Rosnes, whose spectacular skills will also be on display in the Raven Theater show on June 6.
This group romps through ballads, blues, sambas and a handful of Miles Davis tunes, with the elegant Carter always in the fore showing how exquisite touch, dead-on timing, astounding flexibility and a deep spirit can usher in transcendence. In a field where the word “legend” is overused, come and witness one of the real ones.
Opening the concert will be the year-end performance of the Healdsburg High School Jazz Band, a 7-piece combo featuring local students, many of whom have played together for three years. Under the tutelage of drummer and director Lorca Hart, they has achieved maximum swing. Expect a brass-heavy attack and solos from each of these talented young musicians, last seen at the February Jazz on the Menu at Costeaux.