Benny Carter

Benny Carter 是爵士樂早期的重要人物，也是最早打入好萊塢的黑人作曲家之一，他為多部主流好萊塢電影做過配樂，其中包括《暴風(fēng)雨》(Stormy Weather)等經(jīng)典。他的音樂生涯長達(dá)70年，合作過的名家無數(shù)，其中包括邁爾斯·戴維斯(Miles Davis)、迪茲·吉列斯比(Dizzy Gillespie)等影響了爵士樂進(jìn)程的人物。同時，他也是引領(lǐng)著名爵士女歌手艾拉·費茲杰拉德(Ella Fitzgerald)入行之人，在他將后者介紹給爵士樂隊領(lǐng)隊奇克·韋伯(Chick Webb)后，她的藝術(shù)生涯才正式起飛。
 
卡特基本上是自學(xué)成材，早年跟母親學(xué)過一段時間的鋼琴，同時，受到了鄰居布伯·米利(Bubber Miley)————艾靈頓公爵(Duke Ellington)的樂隊成員的影響。15歲時，卡特已經(jīng)出沒在各夜店走穴。在搖擺樂(Swing)時期，他為弗萊切·韓德森(Fletcher Henderson)的大樂隊作曲，贏得了聲譽，1928年他與韓德森的樂隊一起走進(jìn)了錄音室，其《Keep A Song In Your Soul》一曲尤以出人意表的配器令人刮目相看。稍后他成立了自己的樂隊。
 
卡特的好友兼?zhèn)饔涀髡甙?middot;伯格(Ed Berger)表示，卡特把爵士樂中單獨一件樂器的即興演奏有原則地擴(kuò)張到整個樂隊中，使樂隊發(fā)出了前所未聞的聲音。“他是大樂隊爵士樂的奠基人之一。”
 
1941年，卡特成立了一個六重奏，成員包括小號手迪茲·吉列斯比以及鼓手肯尼·克拉克(Kenny Clarke)等日后的大師級人物，卡特的知人善用與好脾氣使他的樂隊成了爵士高手的搖籃。“每人都應(yīng)該聽卡特，那就是一整套的音樂教育，”邁爾斯·戴維斯說。
 
除了在爵士樂上的成就外，卡特還致力于打破種族之間的藩籬。20世紀(jì)1930年代中期，卡特在荷蘭成立了首個國際性的跨種族樂隊，大約十年后，他又成為首個為好萊塢電影配樂的黑人作曲家。
 
To say that Benny Carter had a remarkable and productive career would be an extreme understatement. As an altoist, arranger, composer, bandleader, and occasional trumpeter, Carter was at the top of his field since at least 1928, and in the late 90s, Carter was as strong an altoist at the age of 90 as he was in 1936 (when he was merely 28). His gradually evolving style did not change much through the decades, but neither did it become at all stale or predictable except in its excellence. Benny Carter was a major figure in every decade of the 20th century since the 1920s, and his consistency and longevity were unprecedented.
 
Essentially self-taught, Benny Carter started on the trumpet and, after a period on C-melody sax, switched to alto. In 1927, he made his recording debut with Charlie Johnsons Paradise Ten. The following year, he had his first big band (working at New Yorks Arcadia Ballroom) and was contributing arrangements to Fletcher Henderson and even Duke Ellington. Carter was with Henderson during 1930-1931, briefly took over McKinneys Cotton Pickers, and then went back to leading his own big band (1932-1934). Already at this stage he was considered one of the two top altoists in jazz (along with Johnny Hodges), a skilled arranger and composer (Blues in My Heart was an early hit and would be followed by When Lights Are Low), and his trumpet playing was excellent; Carter would also record on tenor, clarinet (an instrument he should have played more), and piano, although his rare vocals show that even he was human.
 
In 1935, Benny Carter moved to Europe, where in London he was a staff arranger for the BBC dance orchestra (1936-1938); he also recorded in several European countries. Carters Waltzing the Blues was one of the very first jazz waltzes. He returned to the U.S. in 1938, led a classy but commercially unsuccessful big band (1939-1941), and then headed a sextet. In 1943, he relocated permanently to Los Angeles, appearing in the film Stormy Weather (as a trumpeter with Fats Waller) and getting lucrative work writing for the movie studios. He would lead a big band off and on during the next three years (among his sidemen were J.J. Johnson, Miles Davis, and Max Roach) before giving up on that effort. Carter wrote for the studios for over 50 years, but he continued recording as an altoist (and all-too-rare trumpeter) during the 1940s and 50s, making a few tours with Jazz at the Philharmonic and participating on some of Norman Granzs jam-session albums. By the mid-60s, his writing chores led him to hardly playing alto at all, but he made a full comeback by the mid-70s, and maintained a very busy playing and writing schedule even at his advanced age. Even after the rise of such stylists as Charlie Parker, Cannonball Adderley, Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman, and David Sanborn (in addition to their many followers), Benny Carter still ranks near the top of alto players. His concert and recording schedule remained active through the 90s, slowing only at the end of the millenium. After eight amazing decades of writing and playing, Benny Carter passed away quietly on July 13, 2003 at a Los Angeles hospital. He was 95.