As we celebrate Miles Davis’s centennial, some musicians are celebrating his fusion electric funk era, which, as we know, was an exciting period. For acoustic jazzheads, Maestro Ron Carter — NEA Jazz Master bassist, cellist, composer, educator, and mentor to many — carries Miles’s acoustic legacy as a member of the trumpeter’s Second Great Quintet (1963–1968). While most of the quintet’s original material was written by Davis, Carter did contribute two compositions — “R.J.” and “Eighty-One” (co-written with Miles) — that appear on Miles’s “E.S.P” album (Columbia, 1968).
Wayne Shorter wrote the title tune “E.S.P.,” which reflected Miles’s notion that his joining the group fostered a collective intuitiveness. Together, they also recorded “Miles Smiles,” ”Sorcerer,” “Nefertiti,” ”Miles in the Sky,” and ”Filles de Kilimanjaro,” and the live set considered by “The Penguin Guide to Jazz” to be their crowning achievement, “The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965.”
Recently, at Echoes of Miles Jazz in July at 92NY, Carter’s enduring Foursight quartet (pianist Renee Rosnes, saxophonist Jimmy Greene, and drummer Payton Crossley) celebrated Miles’s centennial. “My tribute to Miles isn’t just about his music or him being a personal friend, but someone who understood composition and how to find the right guys to make the compositions last for years,” said Carter. “I think my group Foursight, with me having played six years or so with Miles, is a good way for them to understand the vehicle of choices that they have because of the ones I learned playing these songs back in the day with Herbie, Tony, Wayne, and/or George.”
Miles’s spirit lives in Foursight, given his association with Carter. Playing “Sketches of Spain” and “My Funny Valentine” — unique renditions that swing — without trumpet is reason for Miles to smile. “Playing with the maestro Ron Carter is a great honor,” said Greene. “Because of his ties with Miles, over the years we have always paid tribute to him and his outstanding works, many compositions that Ron played on.”
One of Carter’s signature concert pieces is the American classic “You Are My Sunshine.” One fan told me that she has recorded every version Carter has done over the last few years, saying, “it just gets better, so beautiful.” Carter said, “I knew that song as a sideman, but hearing it evolve in Bill Frisell’s hands during a duo gig a few years ago inspired me to play it. I tribute that song to any parent whose child has left the concert early; it is their song. I can’t tell you how many times I have left the bandstand and their parents said to me, ‘I remember my grandmother or mom singing me that song.’ It’s a very emotional review of their musical life. I added it to the songbook because it’s audience-friendly — a non-bashing song.”
The three-time Grammy winner’s last recording with the quartet was the two-CD set entitled “Ron Carter Foursight: The Complete Stockholm Tapes” (In + Out Records, 2021). His most recent recording is his collaboration with Choirmaster Ricky Dillard, “Sweet, Sweet Spirit” (Blue Note, 2026). A gospel album — rousing, spirited, shout, clap your hands, stomp your feet, and praise; an emotional, soulful journey. A tribute to Carter’s late mother — a collection of her favorite hymns that rejoice in the cradle of gospel music embracing Carter’s brilliant bass lines. Hold on!
This last month of summer is all aglow with flaming, combustive jazz sounds emanating from city parks to major outdoor venues. The annual one-day festival, Jazz in the Valley, has become a peaceful sojourn for many New York City dwellers making their way to Poughkeepsie’s Waryas Park on August 16. Music enthusiasts have a love affair with the park’s panoramic view and swinging music from noon to dusk or until the sun kisses the Hudson.
Randy Weston gets top billing as the festival celebrates WESTONALIA: A Centennial Celebration of the legendary pianist, composer, and Pan-African activist. The trio features his veteran bandmembers: bassist Alex Blake and Chief Baba Neil Clarke; pianist and composer Sharp Radway, who was a student and friend of Weston. “I learned so much from brother Randy over the years as a musician and human being,” noted Radway.
Weston often played in the trio format, one of his favorite configurations. “The trio gives us the ability to invoke Randy’s spirit while shaping his music in new directions, as he would want us to do,” said Clarke.
The festival’s intergenerational genre-bending artists, who are reshaping the elements of jazz, will also include singer/songwriter Lisa Fischer (Grammy winner and background vocalist for icons Luther Vandross, Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, and Sting); Camille Thurman, the voice of a sassy nightingale, and tenor saxophone riffs in the sea of Lester Young; the captivating Curtis brothers bassist Lugues and pianist/Latin jazz composer Zaccai (both studied at Jackie McLean’s Artists Collective School in Hartford, Conn.); and the festival’s artistic director, tenor saxophonist and composer Javon Jackson, who colors jazz with shades of R&B, soul, and traditional shades.
For more information, visit jazzinthevalleyny.org.
What’s different, what represents creativity in the now with truth and boundless flight, is what forms jazz. Such a magical moment takes place at Dizzy’s August 13–16, featuring Warren Wolf with Alex Brown and Strings performing Chick Corea’s Lyric Suite for Sextet, with the piano of Brown, vibraphonist Warren Wolf, and string quartet with violinists Lavinia Pavlish and Kobi Malkin, Edwin Kaplan on viola, and Eleanor Norton on cello. Together, they breathe life into the suite inspired by pianist Corea and vibraphonist Gary Burton — bringing jazz and classical sounds into one vibing conversation.
For reservations, visit jazz.org.
The baritone saxophone is a big, boisterous instrument, extremely difficult to master. While appreciated for its bellowing low register voice, it is not the instrument that most run to play. No, it’s usually baritone’s little brothers, either alto or tenor. On August 17, Jason Marshall stands center stage at Dizzy’s with his baritone; he’s mastered the oversized horn that most shy away from. Two shows at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
We trust that Marshall will not be drowned out as he leads his Big Band for one night only. He follows the tradition of such baritone icons as Harry Carney, a prominent figure in Duke Ellington’s band, and the instrument’s most influential artists, also prominent in Duke Ellington’s band: Gerry Mulligan Westcoast, cool jazz leader; Pepper Adams (Mel Lewis/Thad Jones Big Band); Hamiet Bluiett (recognized as one of the greatest baritone sax players in jazz history, co-founder of the World Saxophone Quartet); and contemporary artist Gary Smulyan (Vanguard Jazz Orchestra; Dave Holland Big Band and Octet, and his working trio with bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Kenny Washington.
Marshall’s sound stirs traditional roots of bebop and beyond. His musical curiosity keeps him on creative paths of boundless engagement. A big baritone sound and Big band — exciting things will surely happen.
For reservations, visit jazz.org.
