FOR THE SECOND TIME IN HIS CAREER, JAMES CARTER HAS TAKEN UP THE MUSIC OF FAMED GUITARIST DJANGO REINHARDT. THIS TIME AROUND, HOWEVER, CARTER SET ASIDE THE GYPSY SWING FEEL AND REPLACED IT WITH A MORE DOWN HOME FUNK FEEL, BRINGING MR. REINHARDT TO THE AFTER CHURCH PICNIC MORE THAN THE FIRESIDE CARAVAN.
WE RECENTLY HAD A CHANCE TO CHAT WITH MR. CARTER, WHO EMBODIES THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF JAZZ, ABLE TO REACH BACK INTO A LESTER YOUNG SOUND AND BRING IT INTO TODAY’S POST MODERN CULTURE
I’VE SEEN YOU PLAY IN CLUBS, BUT THIS LATEST ALBUM IS FROM THE NEWPORT JAZZ FESTIVAL, AND YOU’RE PLAYING AT THE SAN JOSE FESTIVAL. DO YOU PLAY ANY DIFFERENTLY DEPENDING IF THE VENUE IS SMALL OR LARGE?
I try not to use venues as a pre-requisite for playing differently. I just go with the flow of what the basic elements are. Hopefully there are people in attendance that are enthusiastic the music and want to engage with the cats that are on stage. Of course that varies all of the time, so it’s always a different playing experience even though it’s the same material.
CAN YOU TELL WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE CONNECTING WITH THE AUDIENCE?
There are quite a few instances where it’s certainly there. A case in point is in listening to some of the material on the Live At Newport Jazz album, particularly on the cadenza of “Anouman” where there was this call and response that was going back and forth. We were definitely in sync there; you can tell.
The worst case scenario is a concert where you are more or less filling an artistic obligation. The audience is not fully connected. In some instances then there may be at least 1 or 2 people that end up making the whole thing a hit, as they are hanging on every one of your notes.
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“Because of the cohesion between us as a unit, if there’s something that’s not right, it’s like those self-cleaning ovens that we always wind up all right”
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YOU’VE BEEN WITH THIS BAND FOR AWHILE. WHAT HAPPENS IF IT DOESN’T FEEL RIGHT ONE NIGHT? DO YOU REGROUP BETWEEN SONGS OR JUST WORK IT THROUGH?
Because of the cohesion between us as a unit, if there’s something that’s not right, it’s like those self-cleaning ovens that we always wind up all right (laughs) It’s telekinetically set like that; it’s like “We can go deeper on this one.” Sometimes it comes on and sometimes it doesn’t, but when it does the collective freedom pours into the audience and everyone’s on board.
YOUR SAXOPHONE COLLECTION IS QUITE WELL KNOWN. WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR AT THIS STAGE TO ADD TO YOUR COLLECTION?
It depends on what it is for. There’s a combination of things; the price is always there.
Lately, as far as any acquisitions are concerned, I just got Don Byas’ horn at a good price. It put my repair skills to use.
DO YOU EVER GET TO A POINT OF DIMINISHED RETURNS ON YOUR HOBBY, AS YOU CAN’T GIVE SOME THEIR DUE JUSTICE IN PLAYING TIME?
If it gets to that point, then it goes to a student or somebody that is at least aspiring to be one.
IS THERE CERTAIN SERIES OR YEAR OF SELMERS OR COHNS THAT YOU FAVOR?
As far as Selmers go, I’m a stickler for the New York Selmer Elkhart horns, so that covers the years from the Super Action in 1948 until the Mark Vis in 1967. That can vary, as sometimes before or after those dates you can find some great Balanced Action and some nice ones later, so it depends.
WHICH SAX WOULD YOU SAY IS YOUR ‘GO TO’ HORN?
My first alto.
EACH TIME I SEE YOU PERFORM THERE IS A GRAVEYARD OF DISCARDED REEDS ON THE STAGE. WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN A REED THAT REQUIRES SO MANY CHANGES?
The reed is an essential part of the mouthpiece, and it makes up a combination with the mouthpiece to be your external voice box. Depending on whatever it is that I’m hearing during the performance, I’m trying to externalize and put demands on my reed that are inside me. It’s like that response I was getting on the Newport album. It’s just the demands of the immediate response of my voice box.
In most instances, the reeds come to a particular point in the performance where turn around into noodles and it’s time for them to go (laughs).
I’ve learned from not having reeds around (to exchange) how it can bring things down when you get to those points when the heart of the reed is gone.
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“Can you imagine what kind of courage (Lester Young) took to play that type of cool sound in a world of Coleman Hawkins supporters?!? That was the only game around. We take it for granted now because of all of the people who have adopted the approach, but it basically started back then. It was mastery and courage”
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WHEN YOU CAME ON THE SCENE AS A SOLO ARTIST IT SEEMED LIKE YOU HAD ALREADY MASTERED THE VARIOUS SAXES AND CLARINETS. HOW DO YOU EXPAND AS AN ARTIST WHEN IT ALREADY SEEMS YOU’VE REACHED FULL MATURITY AT A YOUNG AGE? I’M AT GROUND LEVEL, STILL PRACTICING MY WARDELL GRAY AND LESTER YOUNG TRANSCRIPTIONS!
First, don’t discount Wardell Gray or anyone from the Lesterian School, as that’s just a different type of mastery. It’s difficult to be that cool.
Can you imagine what kind of courage it took to play that type of cool sound in a world of Coleman Hawkins supporters?!? That was the only game around. We take it for granted now because of all of the people who have adopted the approach, but it basically started back then. It was mastery and courage.
WHAT DO YOU DO TO KEEP GROWING?
Long tones, scales, classical. I do all of the above as much as possible. I could actually do with more objective practicing, meaning that I wake up, start a particular daily practice session with getting in my mind specific objectives that I’m going to deal with. It might be with my “doubles”, so I’ll work on my flute playing and oboe to make sure that my “doubles” are still with me.
I recently played with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Thomas Wilkins and had a long talk with the principal clarinetist. I told him I wanted to work on my throat tones and get a better technical facility clarinet-wise. He gave me quite a few out-of-print books that I have yet to really crack open. One of which Artie Shaw was known for having used to devise his use for the throat tones.
To be able to sit down and say “I’m going to go through at least a few pages of this at my own pace” would be a grand day for me (laughs).
I DIDN’T KNOW YOU PLAYED THE FLUTE
I’ve been playing the flute since I was knee high, I just haven’t talked about it or played it as much.
WAS THE CARIBBEAN RHAPSODY A CHALLENGE SINCE IT WAS SUCH A DIFFERENT FORMAT?
Every recording is a challenge (laughs)
The Caribbean Rhapsody has recently been scored for a chamber orchestra, as opposed to its original scoring for a string quintet and saxophone soloist, which was the original scoring from my album.
YOU DID SOME RECORDINGS WAY BACK WHEN WITH CLARINETIST WENDELL HARRISON. WHAT COMES TO YOUR MIND WHEN YOU THINK OF HIM?
One of the first individuals in the studio that we were in back in ’91 where we first used VCR tapes. I played contrabass clarinet on that album. It was very interesting in that we had a contrabass clarinet inside of a clarinet choir. I felt that I was actually anchoring them down because I was in that particular context way down low. It’s one thing to have a bass clarinet, but totally another thing to be in the contra end. You can feel the writing and the actual mix and melding of the music. To actually be able to solo on it is something else!
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“Don’t worry about the naysayers as long as they spell your name right”
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YOU ALSO SPENT TIME WITH LESTER BOWIE
He gave me the keys to New York. He’s the one who brought me there as a musician for the very first time in ’88. That led to the New York Organ Ensemble which in turn gave me my first solo album JC On The Set on DIW, in addition to touring with him throughout Europe. He opened everything up for me.
WHAT’S THE BEST ADVICE THAT HE GAVE YOU?
He told me to keep on focus and be true to yourself. “Don’t worry about the naysayers as long as they spell your name right” (laughs)
IT’S BEEN ABOUT 20 YEARS BETWEEN YOUR TWO ALBUMS OF DJANGO REINHARDT COMPOSITIONS. HOW HAS THAT GAP CHANGED YOUR APPROACH TO HIS CATALOGUE?
In 2002, while we were touring with the Chasing The Gypsy project, we had a particular instance where we were doing a sound check. We just started messing around with “Nuages” and I heard it in a Tower of Power sort of way, so we did an ad hoc version of it just to check the sound levels. We thought that there was something to it.
I didn’t really think about it much at that particular time or start checking that style out until we had our quintet in 08-09 for the Present Tense album and we did a funk version of Reinhardt’s “Por Que Ma Vie Demeure” then and there. That was the last catalyst for this album.
We then started looking for other pieces around 2013 that would fit in and what we could do with them. ***(Hammond B3er) Gerard Gibbs started checking out pieces from the Gypsy repertoire and figured there were at least two ways we could each of the tunes.
YOU ONCE SAID THAT THE ORGAN-SAX TRIO IS THE PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICH OF JAZZ.
It is definitely my comfort food. We’ve taken the Gypsy material and its ilk and have given an urbanization to it. It gives a new relevance to Reinhardt.
THIS LATEST ALBUM COMES AFTER AN 8 YEAR GAP FROM CROSSROADS. WHAT HAPPENED?
That is basically the label’s fault. I had the Don Byas project in 2006, and remixed it in 2012 because it was his centennial that year. We could have done something with it then, but Universal wasn’t around to do anything with it.
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“People may find a problem with me being off the radar, but there are times you just have to chill out and be able to regroup”
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HOW DO YOU KEEP YOURSELF MENTALLY AND SPIRITUALLY INSPIRED?
Family and music. That’s another reason for getting from everything for awhile. I have two kids and they are growing up. One’s 19 now. It was time to hang with them and find a balance by not being on the road so much during these times, helping them come up. There’s only so much that Face Time can do.
People may find a problem with me being off the radar, but there are times you just have to chill out and be able to regroup.
Consistently being “out there” can be a double-edged sword as well; there’s a consistency and all that, ***but at the same time you get burn out. Artistic burn out, travelling burn out; all of the ‘burn outs’ that you can think of that would put you on the sidelines anyway.
WHAT DO YOU TRY TO DO TO GUIDE YOUR KIDS AT THIS STAGE?
We remind them that they are here for a purpose. We tell them “There’s only so much that mom and I can pass on to you, but at the end you’ve got to be your own individual. This is how it was done for you to get here.”
I know that music is awe-inspiring and life producing. Relationships are the proof of that, as I met my wife through the jazz festival. That’s why my kids are here! We’re celebrating our 23rd anniversary.
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“There are going to be “stinks” and distractions in the midst of it but the North Star of it is to have understanding to bring it all home.”
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HOW DO YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE LAST?
It’s essential for everyone to try to be as happy as possible. There are going to be “stinks” and distractions in the midst of it but the North Star of it is to have understanding to bring it all home.
WHAT FUTURE GOALS DO YOU HAVE?
Standing erect with a horn in my mouth. (laughs)
JAMES CARTER HAS WITHSTOOD THE PRESSURE OF BEING “THE NEXT BIG THING” BY KEEPING ON HIS OWN DETERMINED PATH. IT HAS LED HIM TO EXPLORE A WIDER SWATH OF SOUNDS THAN WOULD HAVE BEEN EXPECTED, RESULTING IN A MULTI-HUED CATALOG. WE’RE THE BETTER FOR HIS FOLLOWING HIS OWN GYPSY CARAVAN