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(upbeat jazz music)

- [Director] Ron, you're
welcome to take off your mask.

- [Ron] Good.

(upbeat jazz music)

- That's the part.

- Yeah, that's it.

Hey.

- [Ron] Good to see you.

- [Jon] Great to see
you, great to be seen.

My personal experience with Ron

was when I first
moved to New York.

I was going to hear the
great pianist Mulgrew Miller,

with the band that
he had with Ron.

I had just moved to
town, 17 years old.

- [Ron] Where should
we sit? I sit.

- [Crew] You're on
the left chair there.

- [Jon] And after the show,
Mulgrew introduced me to Ron.

He says, hey, have
you heard of Ron?

I was like, of course
I've heard of Ron.

And I was like,
hello, how you doing?

And he was like,
hello, Mr. Carter.

And then I was like,
is he talking to me?

And I realized,

he's telling me how he
wants to be addressed.

He's like, hello, Mr. Carter.

And I was like,
hello, Mr. Carter.

I start repeating
him like a parrot.

Then he says,
where are you from?

And I say, New Orleans.

He's like, New Orleans where?

New Orleans, Louisiana?

And I'm like New
Orleans, Louisiana.

And he's like, are
you a musician?

I said, yes, I play piano.

He says, yes Mr.
Carter, I'm a pianist.

(jazz chords)

He completely embarrasses me
in front of the dressing room,

all these musicians who
I grew up listening to.

And he's like, you know,

you gotta learn how
to talk out here.

You gotta be able
to talk to people.

This is important.

- [Ron] Jon.

Okay.

- [Jon] He probably
does that once a week

to a young musician
coming to a show.

- [Ron] I just came off a tour.

Sometimes I'm not there.

- [Director] Thank you both.

I'm turning it over to you.

- [Ron] Are we rolling?

- [Director] Speed,
Henry, camera speed, yeah.

(energetic jazz music)

- Ron Carter's the
Louis Armstrong,

Charlie Parker of the bass.

- Icon, hero,
provocative, profound.

- Ron is a creator.

He was always working
toward perfection.

- That's why I'm so
expensive. (laughing)

- That's my man, Ron Carter.

- He's a brother
who demands respect,

and you will respect him.

- I have to do this to you.

- Thank you guys.

- He's a true innovator.

He changed the course of jazz.

- My favorite thing is trying
to find the right notes

to get to a different level.

That's my favorite thing.

- There's only one Ron Carter.

(energetic music)

(classical bass music)

♪ ♪

- You know, the
first thing we have

as a bass player is a sound.

Sound is everything we have.

You has to find out what sound

that you wanna be
represented by.

I happen to have that.

That when people hear
this note or these notes,

the first thing that
comes to them is my sound,

my notes, my bass,
I'm on that record.

(exciting jazz music)

- If you go back in jazz
history, eventually somewhere,

you're gonna get to Ron Carter.

How can you have
an interest in jazz

and not pay attention
to Ron Carter?

He's in the Guinness
Book of World Records

for being on the
most recordings.

I mean, there's just no way.

- Every bass player today,

whether they know it,
like it, or whatever,

when you play jazz bass,

there's a bit of Ron
Carter in everyone.

- These are ones
where I'm the leader

on most of these up
here, specifically.

Me and Bill Frisell and
Eric Gale, me and Bach.

Some of them, since 1960.

- Thousands and thousands
and thousands of people

calling Ron to play on a record.

That didn't happen by accident.

McCoy Tyner.

Herbie Hancock.

Aretha Franklin.

♪ So long baby

Paul Simon.

Roberta Flack.

♪ Killing me softly
with his song ♪

♪ Killing me softly

Gil Scott-Heron.

♪ The revolution will
not be televised ♪

♪ Will not be televised

♪ Will not be televised.

♪ The revolution

A Tribe Called Quest.

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

♪ And this one goes
out to my man ♪

♪ Thanks a lot, Ron
Carter on the bass ♪

♪ Yes, my man Ron
Carter is on the bass ♪

They're alphabetical,
by the way.

C's, D's, B's, A's.

Let me get back to work.

Next May will be
my 80th birthday.

And there are several
suggestions of how to

celebrate that 80th year.

I'm thinking, what are you
gonna do with this day?

Day, meaning rest of your life.

And, I don't know just yet.

Right now, as of this
day, that's okay.

And then I'll see how I feel.

- You've worked with so many
different types of musicians.

I mean, you've worked with
James Brown, Aretha Franklin,

Jefferson Airplane.

I listened to you on A
Tribe Called Quest records.

And also you've played with
the great jazz musicians

of our time and of the
golden age of this music.

What's the approach that
you take in every situation?

- Yeah, I want whoever
the band leader is,

who's responsible for
hiring me, to do two things

when I'm gone.

One is to wish I
would come back,

and two is to watch
him walk off the stage

with tire marks on
his back from my time.

(both laughing)

I want him to leave with
the big tracks all over.

My time and my note
choices are right there.

- Yeah.

- If I can get him
to do that, I'm okay.

- Growing up in Detroit,

and being a musician
and going in classical,

you played the cello?

- Yeah.

- And when did you
find jazz on the bass?

- Well, I went away to school
at Eastman School of Music

in Rochester for four years.

And my last year, my
senior year of 1958,

they put together what they call

the cream of the crop
of the Eastman students,

called the Eastman Philharmonia.

And there were
four bass players.

- [Jon] Okay. Okay.

- [Ron] And I was
the first chair.

Man, there's some feeling that
the vibe was not conducive

'cause I was African American

in the normally
white environment.

Let's fast forward for years.

(intriguing jazz music)

- Because of its quietness,
because of his personality,

you might get a sense that
he's laid back, low keyed.

But when he puts that
bass up, you get the idea.

Something powerful happens,

and you welcome it
because it's a surprise.

- [Announcer] We're
gonna begin tonight with

something extraordinary.
It all begins with our

artist in residence, you
know about Ron Carter.

A native Detroiter,

a hometown hero who will
present to you tonight,

The Ron Carter Nonet.

He told me backstage
it's really the no net,

because we play without a net.

We never know what might happen.

- He doesn't have to
have a spotlight on him.

He brings the spotlight to him

because of the
notes that he plays.

He brings the ♪ ♪tlight to him

Watching him decipher, and
watching him solve problems.

He's so deliberate and
he's in the moment,

but he doesn't have to
hesitate to find the solution

to the problem that he's
created for himself.

- He's like an architect.

He's thinking ahead.

And he's building a
direction when he plays,

but at the same
time he's listening

to what drums are doing and
what the piano is doing.

Every part of it, all of that
happening at the same time.

But that's what creativity
is about in jazz.

(audience applauding)

- So if you talk
about Ron Carter,

it would have to start
with dude, Miles Davis,

The second great quintet.

(bass solo)

Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock,
Wayne Shorter and Tony Williams.

- It was the beginning
of the famous quintet,

that, to this day is like

one of the most
revolutionary bands in jazz.

- I got the feeling that
Miles was just looking

for some youthful spirit.

And we were like
the new young guns,

so to speak, on the
New York jazz scene.

- Miles was interested
in one thing, music.

That's all he cared about.

Miles liked Ron
because of his music.

He had that thing which
Miles needed, wanted to hear.

- Playing with Ron, that was
like one of the dreams I had.

Everybody knew he would be
like the next guy in line

to be the top jazz bass player.

- One of the questions
I'm always asked is,

talk about playing with Miles.

Well man, what kind
of question is that?

I can't just talk about that,

I need to have a
point of reference.

What was like to play with him?

Interesting, to say the least.

My view of a not too
complicated explanation

is that we go to this
laboratory every night.

In this laboratory,
there's a head chemist

wearing this white smock,

and he's laid out all
these different chemicals

to find out what's the
proper ingredients to

make this concoction
something very worthwhile,

and still maintain the
integrity of the song.

It's still "Autumn Leaves."

And we struck gold
several times.

(audience applauding)

- I think the first time
I discovered Mr. Carter

was on the live Miles records.

What I gravitated towards
was this forward motion

in his playing, in
his walking lines,

this intensity almost like

he was pushing the drummer,

like pushing everybody,

just completely in control.

Almost bossing everybody around.

This is where I wanna
go, very dominant.

- There's a live recording
of them at the studio.

And they go through
working through this song.

You can hear Miles
giving instructions.

You can hear Ron saying
what's wrong or right.

And it's just an interesting way

to hear them in the studio.

(jazz bass lines)

- Inspiration was
just kind of flowing.

- The unity was so strong.

The freedom of being able
to explore new territories,

rhythmically, what was happening
in so many different ways.

- And it was just building
and growing and growing,

that's what you live for is to
have that kind of experience.

(upbeat jazz music)

(audience applauding)

- All those stories about
his behavior toward people,

and the bandstand behavior.

I never saw that behavior
when I was with the band.

- When you think about
the drug culture,

from marijuana with
the jazz musicians,

to heroin with the
jazz musicians,

the cocaine with
the jazz musicians,

and maybe Miles was
involved with all that,

but when it came to that
second great quintet,

they were above the fray.

They were the Miles
Davis Quintet.

- Whatever behavior he had,

it didn't affect us being able
to play at our best level.

So all these rumors
about his behavior,

I don't respond to those
kinds of questions,

'cause it's just a
fifth hand information.

I don't know about
that stuff, man.

- To hear Ron Carter say that
he didn't see any of that.

I believe that.

They had things to accomplish
musically, things to do.

And Miles was leading the way.

- Ron was kind of like the
responsible one, you know?

He doesn't drink.
He's never done drugs.

He will puff on his pipe.

He was married, he
had a couple kids,

but he was responsible
to the music

and responsible to the band,

and I think Miles
really appreciated it.

Years later, when Miles
went through a down period,

he lived not far
from where Ron lived,

and Ron would go
there with sandwiches,

and bring along one
or two of his kids,

and they would knock on the
door and they would come in

and give Miles something to eat.

It was that kind of
commitment he had to Miles

that was really special.

- When I was about
seven or eight,

we had gone to Miles
Davis's house for something.

My dad was over there
and he says, ah,

Ron Jr., your dad tells
me you're playing trumpet.

Well, I got something for
you, and he gave me a trumpet.

It was smashed up.

He said, yeah, I'm
giving you this one.

So now your dad has to
fix this mother-effer.

How cool was that?

- All I know, he was kind to me.

He understood that I was trying
to play a certain fashion.

I had something in my head

and I was trying to work it out,

and he trusted my
judgment implicitly.

That's good enough for me.

- The second great
Miles Davis Quintet

was influential in so many ways.

And if you look at the
way they were built,

who was the first person in
that second great quintet?

It was Ron.

- Ron is a very solid person.

Everybody's not solid.

It would be like the cornerstone

that would hold a building up.

His personality's like that.

And he's a bass player.

It's perfect for a bass player
to be solid, like Ron is.

- To me, jazz represents
America in so many ways.

It has excluded people.

It has included people.

Jazz is complicated,
but it's also simple.

Jazz is arrogant,
it's down to Earth.

Jazz is all of the
things that America is

in many, many ways to me.

- The beautiful thing about
jazz and maybe about all music

is that it lends
to individuality.

I was born in New
York City in Harlem,

and that's where the
music was concentrated.

So many great Black artists.

Duke Ellington lived
right next door.

Coleman Hawkins, my idol,

a few blocks away.

Eventually clubs
began opening downtown

where Black artists could play.

Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie,
Art Tatum, Billy Holiday.

They all played on 52nd
street, including myself.

And of course my
friend, Ron Carter.

I remember we did a
tour in the 1970s.

All the great players
have an individual sound.

You can identify Ron,

if you hear some music
for a few moments, listen,

oh yeah, that's Ron Carter.

(exciting jazz music)

- Are you surprised they
took that? (laughing)

- It always surprise me.

- Man that started a whole,
whole new era of hip hop.

(small talk)

- Ron to me personally
has always been,

somewhat of an enigma,

not because he makes
himself that way,

but just, that's just how it
feels, you know what I mean?

Like there's every
other great bass player

that I've admired
and looked up to,

and then there's
Ron Carter, right?

This will be the largest
crowd I've ever had

for one of my shows
since the debut episode,

which was nine years ago.

They're all banging on the
front door waiting to get in.

- All two of them.

Okay.

They're here, though.

- Oh yeah, they're here.

(audience applauding
and cheering)

- Thank you very,
very, very much.

Welcome to "The Lowdown:
Conversations with Christian."

I'm your host Christian McBride,

and we are here at the
National Jazz Museum in Harlem.

Will you please
welcome to The Lowdown,

the one and only Mr.
Ron Carter, Ron Carter!

(audience applauding
and cheering)

You were made official in the
Guinness Book of World Records

as the world's most
recorded jazz bassist.

- [Ron] Yes.

- [Christian] How
does that happen?

- I've been busy for
a very long time.

The number is 2,221.

And this is about 50 short.

- If you don't mind, let's
let's go back to the beginning.

- So at some point
when I was 11 or so,

a teacher came to our school.

And on this table were
these instruments,

and she announced
that she's gonna have

these colored kids
have an orchestra.

And I say, yeah, right.

And so now pick an instrument
and we'll make this

work for you for the orchestra.

And the cello seemed to be
something that was easiest

to produce a very simple sound.

So I picked the cello.

Ultimately I got
pretty good at it,

and every year I had a
teacher who was more able

to help an advancing
cello player.

And I noticed that
the orchestra,

they kept hiring these
white kids to play cello.

I said, wait a minute,

I play as good as they do.

What's wrong with this picture?

So I went and looked around

and the only bass player in
orchestra was graduating.

So my solution is
really uncomplicated.

If I am the only bass player.

- There you go.
- And here I am.

- [Christian] One of the first
songs I ever learned of yours

was called Third Plane.

I was wondering if
we could do that.

- [Ron] Sure.

- [Christian] Ron Carter
ladies and gentlemen.

You said the bass player is
the quarterback in any band.

- Yes.

- Would you mind elucidating.

- What does that mean?

(audience laughing)

- One of the more knotty
questions that we get asked,

is what is jazz and

what makes jazz what it is?

What kind of bothers me though,

more than anything else
is that no one asks

a classical lover of music,

how to define classical music.

No one asks them, what
makes Beethoven so great.

All I want the same
kind of love from them.

(audience applauding
and cheering)

I'm not sure Mozart
was worried about

whether they had he
right notes or not.

I'm worried about, is
this the right note?

Is this the right
time for this note?

- I want to ask,
just on the record,

you kind of learned the
process of how to practice

from classical music.

Studied the music,
studied the form,

understand what the
function of the bass is.

- Yes.

- In an orchestra and
then also in a jazz band.

And you have your
own sound with that.

- The first thing
is I understand what
note choices I have.

- [Jon] Mm.

- You know, so when I
see a chord that says F,

I'm not seeing just FAC,

if you got four beats
in this measure,

do it like this for me.

That's FAC.

Now what I'm seeing
is FAC, FAC, FAC, FAC,

wherever I am on the bass,
so I got now eight choices.

- [Jon] Right.

- [Ron] Just for
those three notes.

Just for the first measure.

- Yes.

- Now multiply that times
a thirty-two bar tune,

times six weeks.

- Ooh.

- How many notes
do you find? Tons.

Some of 'em aren't always great,

but those great
ones, killin' it.

(both laughing)

- Russ Davis here at the
Detroit Jazz Festival,

the world's largest
free jazz festival.

And who should I be sitting
with, but Detroit's own,

and the artist in
residence for this year,

the great Ron Carter.

Ron, thanks for taking
some time with us.

- It's kind good to
see you this morning.

- Four days of this festival
playing with the nonet,

quartet, trio, and
the great big band.

- Well, they're getting
their money's worth,

I can assure you that.

- We're on the 70th floor
of a massive building

in downtown Detroit,
and from here,

we could almost see
Ferndale your hometown,

just to the south of Detroit.

- For me, it's an important view

to play a festival in Detroit.

It's great for me.

- [Speaker] To open a festival
with the Ron Carter Nonet

with four cellos in
his quintet is brave,

bold, forward-looking.

- [Ron] Thank you.

- [Speaker] And to that end,

I wanna raise our glass,
folks to a Detroiter,

the most recorded bass player
in history, Mr. Ron Carter.

- Hey man, this is
the man right here.

In the 60s, the late 60s,

I did a recording
session with Ron Carter,

a record called "Giblet Gravy."

One thing I knew,

and I always use this
term when I speak of him.

Ron Carter, he put the
tuxedo on all my recordings.

He dressed me up, and I started
hearing that from people.

I like the sophistication
of your music.

I said, my music?

I have to give Ron
Carter the credit.

- Someone said, I shouldn't be
afraid to hear the tributes.

However, I think my thought is,

well, what is the
next stage of this?

I can't imagine this
view 70 years ago.

I can't imagine being
this high in the building

at 10 years old,

when you have a two
story house and a yard,

and this is so far
from my growing up man.

It's amazing.

We're looking for a Garden Lane,

that's the street
we're looking for.

I haven't really been
back here since 1950.

I was 13 when we
moved to Detroit.

Here it is.

Let's just, can you
stop here for a minute?

Yeah, that's the one.

My father built this house, man.

(dog barking)

Boy, how this has changed.

Now all these lots that are now
empty, all of 'em had homes.

They were all my neighbors.

They were all our neighbors.

It was like a huge family that
covered a 12 block radius.

All Black, all friends.

I remember I've shoveled
more snow and cut more grass

from that house,

as I did with our house.

I'd knock on the door, but
it's kind of early. (laughing)

That's where I started cello.

You gotta practice every day,
and to practice every day,

you gotta bring the cello home.

And we had to go
what we used to call

a circumlocutious route,

because colored kids
were not allowed to walk

through the white
neighborhoods to get to school.

So roughly I guess
our one mile walk,

ended up by being twice as long,

because we had to
go around these

no walk zones that they would
call 'em today, probably.

As you get older,

you have more questions
as to how things

were the way they were.

But we had a view, our
parents gave us a view,

and that view did not
accept we were not equal,

to those people who
wouldn't allow us

to go through their
neighborhoods.

Well, this is really a
different neighborhood, man.

So the most important
thing to understand, Jon,

I don't mean power,

but the importance of the bass.

The more I got a chance to play,

and understand the importance
of my note choices,

I understood the "power
of the bass" is stunning.

- And how do you know that?

How do you know when you
have found the right note?

- [Ron] You can't
know until you see

everybody else's response to it.

You hope it's right, 'cause
inside you feel okay.

- [Jon] Yes.

- [Ron] But you can't tell
if you're ringing that bell

until the piano player does
like this, 'cause of my note.

- [Jon] It's like, oh.

- [Ron] Uh huh, mine.

Mine, that. Let show you.

(gentle jazz duet)

♪ ♪

[Ron] That.

- [Jon] I love it.

(both laughing)

[Jon] Yes, indeed.

Yes, I see how the mind
works, that's amazing.

- Two five of each key.

G chord.

(both laughing)

That.

- [Jon] Yes, indeed.

- [Ron] Yes sir.

- [Jon] Yeah, right on.

- [Ron] That's all it is, man.

- [Jon] That's in there.

- [Ron] Let's go back over here.

I went to school
with a lot of focus

to be a classical player,

but I think there were just
two worlds for me at that time,

the classical world
and the jazz world.

During this period of
time in my senior year,

a couple of friends of mine
put together a little band

to play in the club in the
Black part of Rochester,

and playing in a house
band opposite these groups.

Dizzy's band, Carman McCrae's
band, JJ Johnson's band.

They assured me that
if I came to New York,

that New York always looked
for a good bass player.

I said, okay.

I hadn't given up on
the classical world

until someone told me that
maybe I should give up on them.

Let me go back.

The school would hire

all the great
conductors every season.

The spring of my graduation year

I'm playing in the
Philharmonic of Rochester

and this person named Leopold
Stokowski is the conductor.

He's the guy who made "Fantasia"
with Disney, you know?

He said, you know,
I'd like to take you

to my orchestra down in Texas,

but the Board of Directors

are not ready to
hire a colored boy,

and I was stunned.

That's all I am to these people.

So in a sense, I'm in
the jazz community,

because I was not
allowed to work

in the classical community.

Now someone will say, well man,

only one band turned you down.

Well I think that's
kind of enough,

being rejected cause of my race.

I'm not sure I'm over that.

Let me just play you the track
if I can, of how that feels.

During those days,

I'd come to New York with
my friend to see some music.

The state trooper
had stopped my car

and went through the
hubcaps and the trunk,

which is nothing but a
suitcase and a saxophone.

And he didn't give us a ticket,

but he let us know that
we were in serious trouble

because we had a
Michigan license plate

driving through New York
and we're African American.

I said, well, I got that, man.

- Ron has shared
with me in general,

some of his experiences
traveling, you know,

during that period,

the 60's, entering the
place through the back door,

the kitchen,
confrontations with folks

who didn't want them there
or didn't show them respect.

What are you doing
here in this place?

You don't belong here.

The typical stuff.

You know, it had to be just
like a kick in the face,

you know, to put
in all that work,

and to be able to do the
work, and to be qualified.

But simply because you
had the wrong paint job,

you can't get in.

- I mean, if you think about
the Miles Davis Quintet,

that was taking place
when civil rights laws

were finally being passed
in the legislature,

and when Martin Luther
King was assassinated.

- I never thought
about what it was like

when Miles had to face Jim Crow,

mostly because his band
exuded to me at the time,

everything that was
right and prideful

to be a Black man in
America, I'm doing my thing.

I'm doing it at a

a level that I want to do it
and I'm getting away with it.

- It really makes me appreciate
someone like Ron Carter,

who came through all of
that and is not bitter.

He's not wanting to
curse everyone before him

for what he went through.

Doesn't mean we're
gonna lose the past.

Mr. Carter is a part
of the evolution.

- At the time I wrote
this piece, I was involved

in the history of the
underground railroad.

And of course my
imagination said,

is it really underground in
terms of literally underground,

and having toy trains,
the Lionel trains

all had numbers on
the locomotive head.

There all had numbers like this
stamped across it, you know,

and my view of this train,

that's carrying
these people who were

fleeing for their
lives to a better way

to enjoy life on this
Underground Railroad train.

The last train was number 117.

If you get that train,

you can get up north, where
they looked for a better life.

There may have been a
train number called 117.

In my head there
was. (chuckling)

- It all plays into
who Ron Carter is.

How he grew up,

the fact that he was growing
up in heavily racial times

had to make him tough,

had to make him play good
music to be accepted.

He couldn't just
play average stuff.

For Blacks at that time
to make it through,

you had to be better than the
best, you had to work harder.

- You know, for as offensive

as being called
a colored boy is,

there have been times when I've
been glad to be called that.

I played Carnegie Hall,

and I got to Carnegie
Hall being a colored boy.

I can live with that.

Hey Payton, someone sent
me a cartoon yesterday,

a patient in the
doctor's office.

The patient is saying to the
doctor, I feel kind of blue.

And doctor says, you
got the Miles Davis.

What a great record
that is, man.

(gentle piano music)

(bell ringing)

- I read something
today that said,

you can meet many soulmates,

but once in a while
you meet a twin.

And I would probably
say, Ron is my twin.

What I think we
brought to each other

is that sense of style.

- [Ron] Great look.

- [Quintell] I have been able
to sew since eight years old

and I'm a former Ford Model.

So fashion was my
jam, as they say.

I've made shirts and ties
for his quartet and trio.

I've done any coordinating pants

that he can't possibly
find the colors to.

- [Ron] Great,

lovely smell.

- GQ magazine did an
article on jazz legends.

And so we decided
to bring some things

that I've made for him.

They chose a linen
suits that I had made.

Tan and brown herringbone.

And I was given credit, which
I was very happy to take.

- [Ron] Hello.

- [Man] Hi Maestro.

- [Ron] How are you?

- [Man] How are you?
- [Ron] Good, thank you.

- [Ron] Nice to meet you.

- [Ron] Thank you.
- [Man] I'm a big fan.

- [Quintell] When we first met,

he was explaining to me that
he travels for his music

and I understand
what that meant,

because I traveled
a lot for modeling.

- Now, you know, I
am photographer and
my wife is a painter.

- Oh wow.

- And we have an art gallery.

- [Quintell] I just wanted
to know he got there safely.

So he would either text or call,

and let me know
he was there safe.

And I would just say a prayer
for him that he got home safe.

[Ron] May I?
[Man] Do you know this music?

- [Ron] Good band.

Yeah, that's the
Quartet, I think,

at Stockholm.

The concert, maybe two
years ago we recorded that.

The bass sounds great, man.

- [Man] I wanted
to show something.

- [Ron] Oh my.

- [Man] Two minutes.

- [Ron] Yes.

- [Man] It's a work
about jazz musician.

- [Ron] Thelonius Monk.

- [Man] Yeah.
- [Ron] Yes.

Is that Sonny Rollins?

- [Man] It's Sonny Rollins.
- [Ron] Yeah.

- [Man] I know you know him.

- [Ron] Yeah, I saw
him a couple of times.

- [Man] John Coltrane.
- [Ron] Yeah.

[Ron] What a great
idea you have.

- [Man] And the last one.

- [Ron] Chet.

I made records with all these
people except John Coltrane.

I good fun with Chet
Baker playing music.

- So you are here for just
tonight and you come back?

- I play tonight
and leave tomorrow.

- Okay, you leave tomorrow.

- [Ron] Yes.
- [Man] Okay.

For a tour in Europe.

- Tour of Vienna,

Milano,

Sweden.

Eight concerts in 11 days.

When I was teaching history,
jazz history at college,

I would bring up to the
fact that one of the reasons

that the African
American musicians

left the States for Europe

was that they couldn't
get the kind of attention,

understanding and
appreciation of the art

that they found in Europe,

and Paris was part of those
stops where they found a home.

Kenny Clark, Sydney Bechet,
Johnny Griffin, Kirk Lightsey,

we could go on and on.

There were some
wonderful jazz players

who found a lot of
opportunities to play,

in a comfortable environment,

an audience who didn't mind
patronizing their work,

and why not go where
you can work, man?

(upbeat jazz music)

(audience applauding)

- I think that people around
the world recognize Ron Carter.

He is a known quantity.

- [Fan] God bless you, sir.
- [Ron] Thank you.

- Not only someone
who played with Miles,

but also his solo career
has really soared.

- Sergio, where's our car, man?

- I've been traveling
with Maestro Carter

for nearly almost 10 years.

I am the guy that
sets up his bass.

- I've been here
for a half hour.

- [Man] You've been
waiting for a half hour?

- [Ron] Yeah.

- [Ron] There's no
van, no car here.

- One of the things that I
saw in Europe, China, Japan,

and in South America,

his audience knew that
they were witnessing

one of the greatest in the
history of music, period.

- We traveled once in London
and the mailman goes past

and he's pushing his mail cart.

And Ron has a baseball cap
with his head tilted down

and the gentleman stops and
goes, aren't you Ron Carter?

And Ron goes, yes.

- Can't just play the bass, man.

You gotta do this
kind of stuff, too.

- Ron Carter has such an
amazing stamina for traveling.

You know, we get back to the
room after the concert's over,

it might be midnight,
or even later.

You're up at sometimes 3:30,
4 o'clock in the morning

to get to the airport to
catch that 6:00 a.m. flight.

And this may go on for,
you know, a week or so.

It's tiring.

But then when you
get on the bandstand,

you're not thinking
about any of that.

The music gives you the energy,

and the audience
gives you the energy.

- Holler at that kid.

- I'm not gonna comment at all.

- [Man] No, let it go.

- [Ron] That's NCN,
no comment necessary.

- [Man] Have a good one.

- [Ron] Okay.

- Over the years, I've
had a sense of this high,

most respect for him,

not because he was Ron Carter,

because of the person
he was as a human being.

And I started to understand
the real Ron Carter

through the eyes of his sons.

- My dad was a regular dad,

just had a different work
schedule than most, you know?

Yeah, he may not have
been home as often

as he would've liked,

but we did a lot, you know,
all the cool kids stuff.

He taught us how to fly
kites, how to go fishing.

- I got him, ladies
and gentlemen.

I got him, I got him.

- I can remember him

going to Manhattan School
of Music in the daytime,

doing a club at night,

and then stopping at
Sherman's on 154th street

to bring us, you know,

chicken and spaghetti at
three o'clock in the morning,

and then be up at seven
o'clock to make sure

myself and my brother
got off to school.

- I started spending every
weekend at Ron's house.

You know, my dad
was a single dad,

so he wanted me to be in a
family structure and stuff.

And Ron had two sons, right?

Ron Jr. and Myles.

- When we were kids, my mom
was still in graduate school

getting a Master's.

There weren't babysitters.

So when my dad recorded
at Van Gelder's,

we'd go there on the weekends
and don't cough or sneeze

while the recording's
going, just wait,

and don't make any noise.

My mom was something special.

She really was.

Now she's been gone 21 years

and we still miss
her to this day.

- Being in his home and
being around his family

and Mrs. Carter as a young
African American man,

the feeling of Black
excellence, it was unparalleled.

It was cool to be around.

- Since we were kids,

my brother Myles was an artist

and totally believed
in what he believed in.

- On the road, Myles
always wanted to know

how his father's doing,

'cause he lived in
France for so many years.

He said, I don't want
my father to know

that I'm concerned about him,

that I worry about him,

but please just tell
me how is he doing?

So I'd always like take
pictures and send 'em to him

without the maestro knowing,

because he didn't want
his father to know.

Maestro Carter, a strong family
man, a caring family man,

but music, business, family,

are three different
things for him.

- And he's fortunate to have
been able to make a career

out of doing what he loves
to do, so it's not a job.

Although, you know, some
of those tour stops,

and doing 10 cities in
16 days can be a job,

especially when
you're in your 70's.

And he will continue
to do what he does

and what he enjoys doing

until he feels it's
time to dial it back.

- [Ron] Before we
do anything else,

let's just kind get
my file straight here.

If anything, I would need

just the standards
just for me personally.

- [Assistant] Okay.

Just give me
"Bohemia After Dark."

"The Man I Love," "Stardust."

- [Assistant] Do
you want these all

in separate emails or one?

- [Ron] One.
- [Assistant] One is cool?

- [Ron] Yeah.

So there they are right there.

- [Assistant] Okay.

- I have no real
concrete plan of

what 80 is leading me to.

I know what it means.

Being where some of
my friends aren't,

and that's alive
and breathing at 80.

Being glad that I'm
seeing it standing up.

Making my own coffee and
smelling my own flowers.

But I'm not sure,

I'm not sure how to
use that momentum.

I think what I try to
do is have each person

be special when they have
the order of the songs,

like I wanna hear Benny Golson
play the melody to "Stardust"

because he really plays it well.

So on this song, he's
gonna play the melody.

I'm not so much focused
on my birthday as it is

to make those guys sound good.

That's really my job.

Can I make them sound better?

Okay, back to work.

(driving jazz music)

- I flew out here from
Boulder, Colorado,

because frankly I can't imagine

not attending Ron
Carter's 80th birthday.

(driving jazz music)

♪ ♪

(audience applauding
and cheering)

(saxophonist playing
"Happy Birthday")

(cheering)

- Elvis Costello.

- How are you?

- [Elvis] We met once before.

- [Ron] Yeah, it
was a long time ago.

- [Elvis] Long time ago.

- [Ron] Bill Frisell.

- [Elvis] Oh yeah, Bill and I...

- [Ron] He knew you
before I did, how are you?

- [Elvis] I'm better for that.

That was just beautiful.

- [Ron] Really?

- [Elvis] Happy birthday.

- [Ron] Thank you, thank you.

- [Elvis] I can't, there's
there's words I could say,

but I would just would
embarrass myself.

(laughing)

I'll see you again.

- [Ron] Okay, thank you.

- [Elvis] Bill,
I'll see you soon.

- [Ron] Whether I'll
call the 80th year,

I had enough and I put
the bass in a corner

and only play at my house.

Or whether I used
80 as a jump start

to another direction
in a career.

I mean it isn't

not wanting to play

that would come into
a decision like that,

as my friends have talked about

when they were in the same zone.

It's getting to that place,
it's getting to the gig.

It's seeing the music
still fight for survival.

And I'm still part of that.

How long do I want to
continue to be fighting

for the survival of music?

Or part of the struggle

of people who are trying
to make the music remain

vital to someone else's life,
which is how music lives.

These guys feel that they wanna

make the music
part of their life.

When do I get tired of wanting
to be that guy that helps

'em see that this
is okay for them?

Enough,

please.

Yeah.

I'm not sure what I want to do,

other than keep looking
for the right notes.

I know I found some, but there's
some more available to me.

Another combination of notes
that I haven't discovered

that I know waiting for
someone to discover them.

- How do you view music

beyond the historical and
cultural context of it?

Do you see it as somewhat
of a spiritual practice,

or is there some
spiritual component

tied to your approach to music?

- Jon I think that

I'm more amazed

that I can do this.

- [Jon] Right.

- I was one of those guys, Jon,

who never wanted to know
the mystery of the music,

you know what I mean?

- [Jon] Yes.

- I don't know what makes me
have the nerve to do that,

right then.

I appreciate that that help...

- [Jon] Yes.

- ...is somewhere beyond
my physical presence.

If you call him the coach.

If you call him the
head bandleader.

There's another spirit that's
involved in my choices,

and I'm comfortable not to
feel any more than that.

There's the body that's
makes this possible,

and I'm the vehicle
for those choices.

And I'm okay with that.

- Most fields jobs
you have, you know,

like 65-70, and you
go, okay, that's it.

And you go sit on
a boat, hang out.

Or if you don't have a
boat, sit on the steps.

But music, especially guys
that are good at it, you know,

or have the love for it,
they just don't stop.

I think Ron will do it,
probably to the end.

I know I will.

[Stanley] Yeah, man, this
is a dream come true, man.

- [Ron] We're gonna have it man.

- [Stanley] Yes

- You know words like
legend, icon, genius.

Sometimes those words get
tossed around very loosely,

but in the case of Ron Carter,
I think it's appropriate.

- [Ron] What solo song
are you going to play?

- [Stanley] Solo tune?

- [Ron] Yeah, just
you and Russell.

- [Stanley] I might just
play whatever comes up.

Okay, well then, but
you gotta tell Russell,

cause he's gonna come to you.

- [Russel] No, he's
gonna play alone.

- [Stanley] I might
just play alone.

- [Ron] Solo.
- [Stanley] Play alone.

[Ron] Right here,
we'll say Stanley.

- [Stanley] I'll
probably do the blues

- [Ron] Doesn't matter.

I don't care what
it is, surprise me.

- [Stanley] Yeah, okay.

- [Ron] Then I'll
do a short one.

- [Stanley] Okay.

- [Ron] And we need one
more song to close the set.

- [Stanley] What
about "Eighty-One?"

- [Russell] "Eighty-One?" I
like that, I like that idea.

[Stanley] "Eighty-One" is
cool, that would be, you know,

a little funky.

- [Ron] Okay, so
that's two sets.

- [Stanley] Yeah.

- [Ron] Take a look at it.

- [Stanley] The opening
is at your discretion.

You don't have to play in
time or anything just, oh,

this whole piece is
about expression.

- [Ron] Stanley, you told
him don't play in time?

I've been trying to
make him play in time

for eight (expletive)
years, man.

Why would you tell him
that all of a sudden?

- [Stanley] Listen, here's
your chance, finally.

- [Ron] You can (expletive)
it up good and be happy.

- [Stanley] You can play
free and (expletive).

It's your chance, man.

- [Russell] How
did you meet Ron?

You were telling a story earlier

about how you met Mr. Carter.

- Well, actually the
Brazilian singer Flora Purim

introduced me to
Ron and she says,

Ron, this is Stanley Clark.

He's the new one
from Philadelphia.

Ron said, so?

(both laughing)

I was like, oh God.

- [Ron] Three, four.

- Ron is prepared.

And he likes being prepared.

He desires to be prepared.

I mean, I've played in bands
where the set was developed

after the first tune.

I know you have too, right?

- A few of them, yeah.

- No, Ron has two sets
developed already.

- [Ron] 28.

- [Stanley] Okay.
- [Ron] 28.

- [Stanley] Good.

- [Ron] Oh sorry,
25, bar 25, Stanley.

- [Stanley] 45. Okay.

- [Ron] 2-5

- [Stanley] 25, okay.

Man, we actually, we
look professional, right?

It's just great to be with him.

You know, even when
he's being real serious.

There's some, there's
comedy in that because he's

there's no one like him.

- You guys gotta listen,
you gotta trust the sound.

- [Stanley] Let's just start
on that second chorus now.

- [Ron] The reason I said that

is we got a lot of unison parts.

- [Stanley] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ron] And if we don't
nail down the pitch,

it's gonna sound
really (expletive).

Fix it in the mix?

We are the mix.

This is it.

Okay, three, four.

- You know you can't
BS the old man.

He's 80 years old, but
he hears everything.

If you screwing up, he's
gonna say something.

Medicine is not
supposed to taste good,

but it's good for
what's ailing you.

And I've gotten a
lot of medicine.

- The function of
the bass is to bring

rhythm and harmony
together in a band.

It's a very provocative,
very important,

powerful position in a band.

- [Ron] That's the idea.

- Ron, he's our hero.

He's the reason why a lot of us

got into this music
in the first place.

- He's really truly
like the grandmaster.

(funky jazz music)

- They don't make guys like
that anymore, you know?

- They don't make them
make you no more either.

(audience applauding)

- Grandmaster Ron
Carter on the bass.

Bass, grandmaster.

Yes.

It's been a great
week, thank you, Ron.

Incredible man.

I wrote it all down, brother.

I got it all down,
Russell Malone, please.

- Stanley Clark.

(audience applauding
and cheering)

- Yes.

- The way the music comes
together among people is,

it's a magical thing.

It's a magical thing.

Like Ron and some of
the bands he was in

with Miles, with all
these great musicians,

they can get together and
they can play this, all good.

But there's certain
moments when bang!

Something begins happening
that's that next level,

that next level,

you know,

it's magic.

- Many times after
the gig is over,

everyone wants to hang
out and celebrate,

the project being done.

I'm never there in
my head to do that,

'cause for me the project
isn't really done.

Can we go home now
ladies and gentlemen?

- Given this constant
flow of expectation levels

that I'm involved with
being a pretty good player,

I need to have a space
where the music has stopped,

like a museum by and large.

And for me, home
is the best place

to resolve some of
these musical issues.

My home is filled with
African American art,

male and female artists,
sculptors, painters,

who have fought their ways

through other things
to present this.

And it's nice to come
home and to be encased

in an environment
of like artists

who make their expressions
heard through a medium,

other than spoken word.

- Well, I think one thing
people don't understand

about musicians in general,

to us, we are still the same

as we were 50 years ago, 40, 30.

In our minds, we're
the same person.

Time is the only enemy,

it keeps going by
no matter what.

In our minds, we still
have the same desires.

That's to keep pumping
out that good music.

- [Woman] We've grown over 1500.

- [Ron] Okay.

- [Woman] Since we
started doing the page.

For the Facebook Lives,

look at it as a mini lesson,

like a real life mini-lesson.

- Okay, what, am I
talking to people then?

I'm not sure how that works.

- No, it's written,
so it's like a very,

it's a very short.

- Okay.

- [Aleksandra] One page thing
along with a music example.

- [Ron] Okay, okay.

And when are we
aiming to do that?

- [Aleksandra] I have to
check with Steven and Penny,

when they wanna start.

- Okay, let me know, right now,

we probably can't
do it the next one.

- [Aleksandra] No, no, no.

- [Ron] I'm trying to get
through this next week

with a lot of nerve.

My son passed away.

- [Aleksandra] Oh, I'm so sorry.

- [Ron] So Saturday we're
having a funeral and-

- [Aleksandra] When
did this happen?

- [Ron] July,

July 21.

- [Aleksandra] Oh,
I'm so sorry, wow.

- [Ron] That's
between me and you.

They don't need to know
this until we get this done.

So if I seem short with you,

it's not that, I'm just
trying to get through

this part of today without
crashing, you know?

So I'm trying to get this.

- [Alexsandra] No, I
completely understand.

I'm amazed that you're
even doing this.

- [Ron] Got to do it.

Myles would not
let me not do this.

I'm going to the back
and talk to these guys.

Okay?

Come to the back
when you're ready.

- My brother.

My dad compartmentalizes
very, very well,

because he has so many things
that have to still get done.

In this instance,

he was torn up.

That's your son, you
know, he had to work.

My brother Myles
passed that Saturday

and my dad came from overseas to

to help me, start
getting stuff together.

Then he had to
leave two days later

to go back overseas.

- [Aleksandra] So we
have 10 more minutes.

- [Ron] Okay, okay.

- He had to figure
out how to grieve,

when he could, on his own time,

same way he was
when my mom passed.

My mom passed that
Friday and that Monday

he was in a recording studio.

- [Woman] Okay,
one minute to go.

- As parents, we're not
supposed to outlive our kids.

My guess is that being
able to play music

and connect with other people

was a way to help get
through that period.

And I hope I will never have
to go through the same thing,

but if you know, for
whatever reason, if I had to,

I think I would
keep playing also.

Music is that powerful.

- [cameraperson]
Four, three, two, one.

♪ ♪

- Okay.

So,

ladies and germs,

we have some
questions to be asked

and some answers to be found.

- Hi Ron, I was wondering
if there is anything

that can't be learned

from transcribing
solos slash walking.

- This question has come up.

- Maestro

has a way of protecting himself.

You know, when Myles passed
away, we were on tour.

None of the band members
knew Myles had passed away.

He didn't share
that with anyone.

- Ladies and germs, see you
this time a month from now.

Thanks for your cards
and letters and phone
calls and stuff,

and keep buying the records.

Thanks.

Have a good day.

- [Aleksandra] Okay, yeah,
that was very smooth.

- [Ron] Thank you.

(all laughing)

- The passings of any
number of people in his life

have been just as devastating,

like my mom and
Myles and you know,

some of the

friends that he's had,

musicians and others whose
names I won't mention

have, torn him up, he's human.

Yeah, everybody sees this,

but understand that there's
this under all that.

- My goodness.

For the record of
"Uptown Conversation,"

ultimately the design was to
have a picture of my children.

When you opened it up,

it was to be my sons
Myles and Ron Jr.,

here in this picture,
smiling at me.

Chuck Stewart, who was
a great photographer,

who passed away a few years ago,

he was one of the early
phenomenal Black photographers.

He knew how to photograph
Black subjects.

There was not makeup,

there wasn't a lot
of special lighting.

He just knew how to
catch the moment.

The boys are wearing cowboy
boots and dashikis, and Afros.

It's one of the more
adventuresome covers

back in the day
for a Black artist.

- We were in Austria, and we
were about to play the club,

and we did sound check.

And somebody came
with that album,

that specific album,
"Uptown Conversation,"

with his two sons on the cover

and they wanted him to sign it.

He just took it and
looked at it for a while.

I guess he was reminiscing, you
know, that moment, you know,

but he really loved, he
loves his sons very much.

Yeah.

- [Ron] Yeah.

- I can't go there right now.

His birthday was two days ago.

His birthday, his
birth date, yeah.

Anyway, at some point
I'll show you his works.

You see why he was,
how good he was.

(reflective jazz music)

- This is gonna be serious.

Yeah, I know that.

I know that.

I wish my mom was here.

She's in Brazil.

My mom introduced
me to his playing.

You know, many years
ago I was a kid.

And Ron, I remember reading
his name on so many records.

And I said, man, this
guy is really good,

because he can play everything.

- All the notes
you see in there,

you can change
anything if you want.

- [Ron] I trust your judgment.

- [Nanny] Yeah, exactly.
Like do anything.

- The way he plays
is really the way

I love to hear Brazilian music.

And I gotta tell you,
so many other artists

that he plays on the album,

it always sounds just
perfect, you know?

- You know, we have
the same notes.

I'm just trying to find an
order that makes his music.

What I think he's looking
for outta this piece

without me trying nine other
choices means I struck the,

I got a home run
for the first hit.

My goal is to see how quickly
I can find out what he wants,

and not waste a lot of
notes in the process.

Let's go to work.

- [Nanny] Maestro are we ready?

Here we go.

(singing in Portuguese)

- Sorry.

- [Nanny] Is that right?

- [Chico] Yeah, I think...
- [Nanny] I messed up.

- [Engineer] Pick
it up on the rubato.

- [Nanny] One, two.

- [Ron] Wait, wait, wait, wait.

Stop.

- It's absolutely marvelous.

Marvelous. Just the ending.

There's something
there that happened.

Let's just figure
out what happened.

Maybe it was at the ending.

- I think like
many of his pains,

he has kept it within himself.

There are times where you do
hear hints of the struggles,

You know and, and

and he's always aware

of his impact

when he's playing anywhere.

- The music demands
a certain attitude,

and a certain input from me
with my varied experiences,

whatever they are that I
can bring to this music.

On top of all of that, it's
what they expect me to do.

Because I'm walking in that door

with the reputation of
being able to do that.

Well, I'm exhausted man.

(sighing)

I'm blank.

I'm a blackboard
that just got erased.

[Ron] Ahh.

- [Nanny] Maestro,
I have idea for you.

- [Ron] I need it.

- [Nanny] Don't play
now on the intro.

Start to play on
the bossa nova feel.

(singing in Portuguese)

Beautiful, that's it.

- [Ron] Done.

- [Nanny] Yes.

- [Engineer] Great
- [Nanny] Beautiful.

- [Engineer] We
definitely got it.

- Part of life is death.

And it's often,

very sudden.

You want them to have,

the best circumstances
possible if they're going,

but it's not always like that.

Sometimes it's sudden.

And, I'm a Buddhist
I've been practicing,

actually this in December
will be my 50th year.

One thing we

believe in is that
life is eternal.

This life is a chapter in a,

in an eternal book,

if you wanna look
at at it that way.

And so the idea of

missing someone, yes,

but as long as my heart is
beating, as long as I'm alive,

I'm gonna use that
life for something.

I feel like Ron would
give the same answer,

because he's lived
a life of giving.

And I don't think
that's gonna change.

(classical and jazz bass music)

- I expect me to do
things really quickly.

I think I'm experienced enough,

old enough, all those things.

But somehow when I hear
a record played back,

I say, man, I missed that.

I'm looking for fewer
of those moments.

And the other thing I may be
interested in getting better at

is being a little more
patient with myself,

and let it go.

I'm just learning
how to do that.

That's really hard for me.

That's tough, man.

(class applauding)

My sons went to school
here a long time ago

at the old building.

Ron Carter, Jr. and Myles.

They had a good time here.

I spent maybe five visits
to the principal's office

'cause one of 'em got
outta the line again. Yeah.

It's nice to see you here,

and it's nice to see
you studying some music.

One last question.

Thank you. Yes.

- [Ron] No.

No, absolutely not.

No.

If I accept that view,
I wouldn't be here.

Let me give a good example.

My first gig in New
York as a jazz player,

was with Chico Hamilton.

And my first trip was
with this package show

that drove down toward
Washington DC, south.

The first stop was at the
Howard Johnson's motel.

And we are waiting
on the bus to eat,

and we're still waiting

and we're waiting
and we're waiting.

The guy says, well, you know,
we can't go in the front door,

we're gonna go on the back.

I said, yeah, I know this song

but I hate these (expletive)
lyrics, you know?

But no one's gonna tell
me what I cannot do.

They may tell me I
can't work there.

They may tell me I can't
go in that front door.

But they're not telling
me what I can't do. No.

Now you might think that this
brief biographical background

has nothing to do
with playing jazz.

It has nothing with music,
it has to do with life.

And I like to think that my
performance of the instrument,

and my playing
with other people,

part of that contribution to
their music is my experiences.

And I'd like to think that
part of what I've learned,

is that everybody's equal,

until they play
the wrong changes,

and then they're not so equal.

My job is to make that
wrong stuff sound great.

And I'm not too shabby at that.

Everybody say, amen. (laughing)

- [All] Amen.

- [Crew] We might need to
re-angle the mic (indistinct).

- So if you just do
like this for me,

in that accent, one, two,
three, four, one, two, three.

- [Jon] Yeah.

- [Ron] Three, four.

Keep playing.

- [Jon] Yeah, right.

- [Ron] You're doing this now.

- [Jon] Yes.

[Ron] I'm hearing this.

- [Jon] Yep.

- [Ron] Or I'm hearing this.

To make that work,

I have to play with
the downbeat so clear

that if I don't do it,
your ear does like this,

and that's what's hard to do.

- [Jon] Very hard to do.

So the choices you make

in your bass notes
are emotional choices,

just as much as they're
intellectual choices.

- [Ron] Yes, That's correct.

But I'm starting
to keep track of,

of how many chances
I have to do that.

(Jon sighs)

And chances mean
record dates and gigs,

those kind of chances.

- [Jon] Yes.

- [Ron] And ultimately, I'm
comfortable with my choice

'cause I'm guessing
I'm gonna be right.

- [Jon] Right.

- [Ron] Do you know
the word fearless?

I am. (laughing)

- [Jon] Yeah. Yes.

- [Ron] I'm gonna
make it work, man.

(tentative piano music)

- [News Reporter] A
Washington state resident

fell ill after returning
from Wuhan, China.

- [News Reporter] Health
officials here in New York

have been testing for
suspected cases of coronavirus.

The governor confirming
that coronavirus

has arrived here in Manhattan.

- [News Reporter] The
highest fatality rate

is for those aged 80 and over.

- [News Reporter]
Here in New York City,

a state of emergency
declared as well.

Broadway dark, concert halls
and museums set to close.

- [Ron] Tell me where
it is again, Peter.

- [Director] You wanna
bring the camera?

On this side, one
pointing to here, there.

- [Director] Yep,
turn the camera.

- [Ron] Here?

- [Director] That's it,
push that red button.

And then if you
look at the screen.

- [Ron] It says record.

- [Director] That's it.

- [Ron] Now what?

Be right back.

Okay, I'm back.

Well, I've tried to
get over the fact

that I have two
Thursdays every week.

You know, either that
or two Wednesdays.

I get up in the
morning, I have a plan.

I try to have a
plan for the day.

I looked around, it
was already 6:30 p.m.

I talked to one of my
friends the other day

and our communal joke is how
much we practice a day now.

And I'm up to 10 minutes a day.

The reason why we practice,

as long as you're not
working or playing anywhere,

for me, it doesn't exist.

And one way to make
this practice time

is by getting involved
in the social media.

Hi, this is Ron Carter.

I'm in New York like
you, stuck in my house.

And this little memo here
is my verbal musical memo

for a day coming
up, February 14th.

I'm wearing my
February 14th shirt.

If you really only be
a good jazz player,

don't make the bass
player mad at you.

Otherwise you will
be chum for this guy.

This is my pet.

I have a small leash.

- Why wouldn't he embrace
the social media platform

to stay connected
to the audience

that he may not
otherwise have access to?

- Thank you,
Herbie, how are you?

- Doing great, Ron.

How are you?

- So, I just thought
it was very cool.

It was like, damn Dad, you
better than me on that.

You know which he is, you
know, I'm still trying to,

you see, I got a new phone.

I can't figure out
how to work it yet.

- How you doing, man?

You look good, Ron.

- You know, I had my second
shot today man and I feel great.

- That's good, 'cause
sometimes people get affected

by the second shot.

- What?

- They get affected
by the second shot.

- What? (laughing)

- Okay, my questions
are not complicated,

and I think these are
the kind of questions

you get from the bass player.

This big intermission
we have as I call it,

the pandemic stuff,

I did a little podcast and I
asked guys several questions

about coming back to
the scene, you know?

- Yes, yes.

- And I asked them,

what are you gonna do when
you go back to the bandstand

after two years off?

- [Jon] Right.

Okay, the first question is,

what is the first
thing you'll do,

what's the first thing you're
gonna do on this first gig?

What are you going do
on that first night?

- Oh, at the first
gig after this?

- Yeah.

- I will have hoped to have been

practicing enough so that
when I do go back to work,

I can represent who I am.

- What's the first
sound that I hear?

And how can I contribute
over the next two hours?

- If we just play a blues and
I'll just sit there and cry.

(laughing)

- And then I'm gonna
say, thank you.

- Yep.

- You know, 'cause we're back.

- Yeah.

And my answer to me
was I'll play the cello

just to have people
know that I'm back.

- Mm, I like that.

- I think it's important
as a chapter heading

at one of my books of me.

Thank you.

- Yeah, hey thank you.

And we don't have to fly
any place to see each other.

- Well, I'm flying to the
bathroom shortly, but it's okay.

(both laughing)

(bass note rings out)

- What inspires you to
strive to get better,

and be the best that you can be?

- Probably watching my
father raise the eight kids

during some difficult
racial times in Detroit,

in the early 30's and 40's.

He was born in 1910.

And at 18, when he was
ready to go to college,

the colleges were
not ready to accept

African American
males doing anything

but sweeping the
floor occasionally.

But I watched him raise a
family of six girls and two boys

and a wife.

I watched him build a house.

I watched him make
sure that the kids

had something to eat
every meal, every day.

I watched him provide clothes.

I watched him provide style.

I watched him provide humanity.

That started me wanting
to be the best I can be

and not accepting
anything less from me.

(sentimental string music)

You know, when I
pick up a record,

I'm surprised how many
of those musicians

are no longer with us,

because I don't often do that.

I don't often look through
my recordings and when I do,

I'm sorry I did,

'cause I see that those guys
who I've enjoyed playing with,

I can't play with 'em again.

All the Miles and
all the Art Farmers

and all the Chet Bakers.

I mean I've had great times
playing with those guys,

man, and listening to them play.

But they, as I say,
they left the concert.

- There's so many of my
favorites who have just,

even in these recent
years, and the COVID,

we've lost so many.

- [Ron] Yeah, man.

- [Jon] It's been a lot.

How have you been
dealing with that?

- My friends who can't hear
this in real life, real time,

to be on the verge of saying,

I should have said more to him

or I should have
hugged him longer,

or I should have,

I wish I could have
had another chance to,

I don't have that chance.

My students who have now time
on their hands, so to speak.

- [Jon] Yeah.

- [Ron] Have recommended
that I go on YouTube

and listen to this
track or that track,

or that track 'cause
YouTube has a history of-

- [Jon] Oh yeah, at
the touch of a button.

- [Ron] Yeah, and I
realize that these records,

I'm the only survivor left.

- [Jon] Yeah.

- [Ron] And it kind of
stops me in my tracks.

I played the other day,
Miles' "Kind of Blue."

- [Jon] Yes.

- [Ron] You know, and Jimmy
Cobb left the concert.

He was the last
member of that group.

I just can't believe that

my chances of playing
with him in this life

are not available to me.

So I gotta find somewhere
else to put that energy

to someone else.

Today, it's your a
chance to get it.

- Yes.

(upbeat classical music)

- [News Reporter] We have
some big breaking news

for COVID 19.

- [News Reporter] We
may be turning a corner.

New York City, the country's
epicenter of the outbreak,

announced the first
steps for reopening.

- Now that we're opening up,
I'm putting together a program.

I just wanna have
people when they walk in

and sit down to this ensemble
to expect some serious music.

All I gotta do is find
the corresponding music

that matches my
plan of the program.

To have just about
two years off,

it's forced us to do a
different kind of retrospective

in our heads.

And I've kind of been kind
of amazed at my history.

- How do you deconstruct,

'cause I've heard
your recordings

of the Brandenburg Concertos

where you were playing
and making choices.

- [Ron] Yes.

- [Jon] Underneath
the composition.

- [Ron] Yes.

- [Jon] That is an
incredible manifestation

of what we're talking about.

- So one of the things
I had at Eastman

was transcribing Bach chorales.

- Oh yeah.

- The more I understood harmony

and the importance of the
Bach chorale basslines.

I think, I didn't understand

that part of the instrument
until I got much older.

I had done a lot
more different gigs

for a long period of time.

♪ ♪
I had done a lot
more different gigs

I wasn't using the
piece to thumb my nose

at the classical community and
say, see what you're missing.

If Bach were alive, he
would appreciate it.

He would say, how do
you do that? (laughing)

Take a lesson, yeah.

And I know the
classical people say,

Well man, how can
you dare say that?

Well until those guys tell
me they talked to Bach

and that's what he wouldn't say,

I'm good with that
point of view.

- I came to see the
most important bassist

in the history of jazz, Mr.
Ron Carter himself, yeah.

And the fact that he's
playing here tonight

is just a sign that jazz
is alive and breathing.

Yeah, he's a hero to me.

- My first gig in New York,
since boy, March, 2020,

I can't believe that we
haven't done that yet.

Feels like I'm a
year late. (laughing)

Thank you.

(audience applauding)

I told my friends when
we get to bandstand,

we're all going to embrace.

And the last one to
cry gets paid cash.

(laughing)

I have a program here.

First gig in 18
months as a group.

Got a sign to remind the
band who's working tonight.

Now that the intermission,
I call it, is over,

it's just a matter of
me trying to maintain

a certain level of my
attitude and my skill level

so it doesn't take that
long to get back some chops.

So, I went to grocery store
and bought some extra chops.

They had 'em on sale and

hopefully I won't
need 'em for a while.

I won't need 'em for a while.

- After 16 Months, I didn't
know how I was gonna react

when I came here tonight.

And when I came up and I
looked at the entrance,

I felt like a tourist.

I was like, wow.

The Blue Note.

Ron Carter!

It's been an incredible
hard time for all of us,

but for these musicians not
being able to make a living.

Forgive me for this.

(audience applauding
and cheering)

Ladies and gentlemen,

on behalf of the Jazz
Journalists Association,

I would like to
present Mr. Carter

with a lifetime
achievement award.

(audience applauding)

- It's nice to know that
we have your support

to come out on this kind of
night in the difficult times.

I would like to be
sitting where you are,

so I could watch these
guys enjoy themselves,

as I know that we are.

Thank you for being here.

(audience applauding)

This next song was one
of my favorite songs.

I think I haven't play
the song this slow

since March of 2020.

(sentimental jazz music)

- What are the keys to
success as a musician?

- Well, I think success
involves more than me.

I'm sure that I could have
been successful a lot sooner

and maybe a lot longer.

I think success is a pretty
difficult word to really define,

'cause it means different
things to different people.

Does it mean that you work all
the time, is that successful?

Does it mean that you
walk onto a street

and everybody knows who you
are without your instrument?

Does it mean you
get paid on time?

Being able to fill a house

with my name being
the band leader?

Call three or four guys and say,

hey now, I got this
gig, can you make it?

They all say yes,
'cause I called?

Is success going into
the bank and they know

you're not gonna rob them?

I mean, what is success?

I don't know.

I'm not sure how I
would determine success

'cause I'm still trying.

I haven't gotten
to the place where

I necessarily see me
as being successful,

given all those
possible definitions.

Having said that, Jon,
I like where I'm going.

My last efforts
have been honest.

I have meant every
note I played.

I apologize occasionally
for not the best choice,

but I tell them,

I got one more chorus,
brother man, it's coming.

And I think every chance
I get to play the bass,

I find a new order of notes
I didn't find last week.

For me,

that's successful.

To my success.

Thank you.

- Love you, Ron.

- Love you.

Thanks guys.

The car's still going and
there's still gas in the tank,

so I don't want you to
feel that this journey

is starting to see
the checkered flag.

We're not nearing the
finish line by a long shot.

(audience applauding
and cheering)

(cello music)

(upbeat jazz music)