Ron Carter, the icon of how to write jazz bass lines, has now re-invented the way transcriptions are written. The method is called "Chartography" and musicians will be in awe of how much they can learn when studying this completely new innovation.
This is the first book that explains ALL the factors that go into what has made the greatest bass lines in history so great. And that is CONTEXT.
This book transcribes 5 performances of Autumn Leaves, as played by Miles Davis' Second Quartet, during 1963-1967.
It shows you the original changes and then how they evolved over time.
By looking at how a bass line evolved over multiple choruses and performances, you will understand that a one-chorus transcription cannot help a bass player find out how that bass line was actually built. much less how to write one like it himself.
There are QR codes to recordings of those performances so you can hear how the other musicians reacted to changes in the bass line.
The five performances of Autumn Leaves include:
- Monterey Jazz Festival 9/20/1963
- Miles in Berlin 9/25/1964
- Stadthalle Sindelfingen 10/8/1964
- Plugged Nickel 12/23/1965
- Rotterdam 10/30/1967
"A single, one-chorus transcription of a bass line you admire cannot help you learn to do it yourself. But if you understand all the elements and the context that went into creating it, you can up your game and learn to write bass lines like the ones that inspired you." --Ron Carter
About the Author
RON CARTER is among the most original, prolific, and influential bassists in jazz. He has recorded over 2200 albums, and has a Guinness world record to prove it!
In Jazz: Over his 60 year career, he has recorded with so many of the jazz greats greats: Lena Horne, Bill Evans, B.B. King, Dexter Gordon, Wes Montgomery, Bobby Timmons, Eric Dolphy, Cannonball Adderley and Jaki Byard to name a few. From 1963 to 1968, he was a member of the acclaimed Miles Davis Quintet.
In other music genres: After leaving the quintet he embarked on a prolific 50-year free lance career that spanned vastly different music genres and continues to this day. He recorded with Aretha Franklin, appeared on the seminal hip-hop album Low End Theory with a Tribe Called Quest, wrote and recorded pieces for string quartets and Bach chorales for 2-8 basses and accompanied Danny Simmons on a spoken word album and played on Carlos Santana's In Search of Mona Lisa, to name a few.
As a leader: Carter spends at least half the year on worldwide tours with his various groups. The Ron Carter Trio, The Ron Carter quartet, the Ron Carter Nonet and Ron Carter’s Great Big Band. He has recorded multiple albums with his groups.
As an author: Carter shares his expertise in the series of books he authored, where he explains his creative process and teaches bassists of all levels to improve their skills and develop their own unique sound. He also penned his autobiography “Finding the Right Notes” which is available in print and also as an audiobook read by the Maestro himself.
As a teacher: Carter has lectured, conducted, and performed at clinics and master classes, instructing jazz ensembles and teaching the business of music at numerous universities. He was Artistic Director of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Studies while it was located in Boston and, after 18 years on the faculty of the Music Department of The City College of New York, he is now Distinguished Professor Emeritus.
In film scoring: In addition to scoring and arranging music for many films, including some projects for Public Broadcasting System, Carter composed music for A Gathering of Old Men, starring Lou Gosset Jr., The Passion of Beatrice directed by Bertrand Tavernier, and Blind Faith starring Courtney B. Vance.
Film appearances: Most jazz documentaries feature the Maestro because of his indelible contribution to the genre. Ken Burns “Jazz”, “Birth of the Cool” about Miles Davis, "It Must be Schwing", the story of the Blue Note and many more. He also appeared as himself in HBO’s hit series “Treme” and was the bassist on soundtracks of Twin Peaks, Bird, and way too many others to mention.
Education: Carter earned a bachelor of music degree from the Eastman School in Rochester and a master's degree in double bass from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. He has also received five honorary doctorates, from the New England Conservatory of Music, Manhattan School of Music, University of Rochester, Juilliard and Berklee, and was the 2002 recipient of the prestigious Hutchinson Award from the Eastman School at the University of Rochester.
Awards: He was named "Outstanding Bassist of the Decade" by the Detroit News, Jazz Bassist of the Year by Downbeat magazine, and Most Valuable Player by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. In 1993, Carter earned a Grammy award for Best Jazz Instrumental Group, the Miles Davis Tribute Band and another Grammy in 1998 for "Call Sheet Blues", an instrumental composition from the film, Round Midnight. Recently he was honored by the French Minister of Culture with France's premier cultural award, the medallion and title of Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, given to those who have distinguished themselves in the domain of artistic or literary creation and for their contribution to the spread of arts and letters in France and the world.
