Joe Carter
Trumbull, Connecticut, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
“When you listen to this type of musician the instrument they play seems almost easy because you never feel any strain in their playing. Joe Carter uses a fantastic contrapuntal style, made up of a well balanced combination of single string and chordal renditions.” - Maurice Cullaz, President, ACADEMIE DU JAZZ, France - Academie du Jazz, France
“Listen carefully! If this kind of music ever disappears we are in trouble. Subtlety, especially on the guitar, is not especially in demand these days, but substance of the Carter variety is worth a lot more than all the others’ decibels.” - Owen Cordle, JAZZTIMES Magazine, U.S.A. - Jazztimes magazine, USA
“One can feel that Joe Carter plays only to create beauty.” - Francois Postiff, France - Francois Postiff, France
“His show is a gift to those who, tired of noise, want to listen to music played in a sensitive and intelligent way.” - Chico Nelson, JORNAL DO BRASIL, Brazil - Chico Nelson, Jornal do Brasil, Brasil
“Subtle, elegant, dynamic, lyrical, WONDERFUL!” - THE AFTERNOON DESPATCH & COURIER, India - The Afternoon Despatch & Courier, India
“Joe Carter is a musician with feeling and polish, endowed with a natural predisposition for dialogue; a personality with refined strength and a sense of communication dressed in lyric elegance but always angelic.” - Mario Luzzi, MUSICA JAZZ, Italy - Musica Jazz, Italy
“His style is a model of good taste, sobriety, elegance and melodic beauty.” - Jose Domingos Raffaelli, O GLOBO, Brazil - O Globo, Brasil
“Modern guitar repertoire displaying remarkable technique and imagination with a highly personal manner of swinging.” - Louis Victor Mialy, JAZZ HOT Magazine, France - Jazz Hot France
“He never plays an unnecessary note. His improvisations are beautifully shaped, while his comping is the epitome of taste.” - Adrian Ingram, JUST JAZZ GUITAR, U.S.A. - Just Jazz Guitar, USA
“Carter moves with certainty and his solos are all intense and melodic.” - Guiseppe Ballaris, GUITAR CLUB Magazine, Italy - Guitar Club, Italy
Discography
CD recordings:
1. Two For Two, Joe Carter with Nilson Matta, Empathy Records E-1011
2. Joe Carter, The Samba Rio Trio, Empathy Records E-1009 (with Nilson Matta - bass, Portinho - drums)
3. The Joe Carter Quartet, Um Abraco No Rio (An Embrace of Rio), Empathy Records 1008, recorded in Rio de Janeiro (with Mauricio Einhorn - harmonica, Luiz Alves - bass, Joao Cortez - drums)
4. THE JOE CARTER QUARTET with Art Farmer & Lee Konitz, Stash Records
5. DUETS, Joe Carter with Rufus Reid & Harvie Swartz, Stash Records
6. CASBAH, The Cecil Payne Quartet with Joe Carter, Stash Records
7. MORE DOUBLE BASS, Nabil Totah, CAP Recordings
Sound samples for all are found on the "Recordings" page of my site: www.joecartermusic.com and all have radio airplay.
Photos
Bio
Because my two "loves" are Bebop and Brazilian music I play a fairly unique style of music known as "Brazilian Jazz" or "Samba Jazz", a style that combines elements of South American Brazilian Samba & Bossa Nova with elements of North American Jazz.
Here's a biographical sketch:
Joe Carter started guitar studies at an early age, eventually focusing on Jazz. While earning B.A. and M.A. degrees in Jazz Performance and starting his Jazz Ph.D. studies at New York University he studied privately with guitarists Sal Salvador, John Scofield, Allan Hanlon, saxophonist Lee Konitz and pianist Don Friedman. After several performance and teaching trips to Brazil his current specialty is Brazilian Jazz, combining Straightahead and Bebop styles of Jazz with Samba, Bossa Nova and Northeast styles of Brazilian music.
His last three CDs showcase his familiarity with Brazilian music; UM ABRACO NO RIO (An Embrace Of Rio) was recorded in Rio de Janeiro with Brazilian musicians. World reknown harmonica virtuoso Mauricio Einhom, bassist Luis Alves and drummer Joao Cortez have previously performed with Joe Carter in different group settings on Joe's various performance trips to Brazil. THE SAMBA RIO TRIO CD is Joe Carter's U.S. version of his group utilizing the talents of two of the better known Brazilian artists residing in New York: bassist Nilson Matta and legendary drummer Portinho. TWO FOR TWO is a duo recording with bassist Nilson Matta, featuring both celebrated and lesser-known classics from some of Brazil’s finest composers (including Antonio Carlos Jobim, Baden Powell and Noel Rosa) and modern original compositions (by Carter, Matta and Mauricio Einhorn), showcasing the guitarist’s quietly intense approach of melodic improvisation on a recording of rare beauty.
Two recordings that illustrate Joe Carter's staightahead Jazz playing are DUETS which features Carter in a guitar/bass duo setting with Rufus Reid and Harvie Swartz and ART FARMER & LEE KONITZ WITH THE JOE CARTER TRIO & QUARTET which pairs Carter with Art Farmer and Lee Konitz along with Harvie Swartz and Akira Tana. Other straightahead releases that feature Joe Carter's playing are legendary baritone saxophonist Cecil Payne's CASBAH and bassist Nabil Totah's MORE DOUBLE BASS.
During the course of his career Joe Carter has recorded and/or performed with Jazz artists such as Art Farmer, Lee Konitz, Cecil Payne, Rufus Reid, Harvie Swartz. Akira Tana, Stafford James, Richard Wyands, Don Friedman, Hendrik Meurkens, Steve Kuhn, Eddie Bert, Mike Longo, Nabil Totah, Ray Mosca, David Finck, Bill Hardman, Junior Cook, Jamil Nasser and Al Harewood among others; and with Brazilian Jazz artists such as Mauricio Einhom, Robertinho Silva, Luis Eca, Luis Alves, Paulo Russo, Joao Cortez, Claudio Caribe, Alosio Aguiar, Nilson Matta, Portinho, Jehovah de Gaita and others.
Some of Joe Carter's International performances as a leader have included the following:
People Jazz Bar, Rio de Janeiro, BRAZIL
Rio Jazz Club, Rio de Janeiro, BRAZIL
Ritmo Nightclub, Rio de Janeiro, BRAZIL
Mafua Do Malungo, Recife, BRAZIL
Gula Gula Bar, Rio de Janeiro, BRAZIL
Horse’s Head Saloon, Rio de Janeiro, BRAZIL
Jazz Yatra International Jazz Festival, INDIA
Le Village Nightclub, Paris, FRANCE
International World Music Festival, Trossingen, GERMANY
JAZZTIMES Convention, New York City
The 1995 & 2000 Classic American Guitar Shows
The 2000, 2002, 2003 International Festival of Arts & Ideas, New Haven, CT
The 2004 Jazz A Bastia Festival, Corsica, FRANCE
Joe Carter has been featured in two books Jazz Guitar on Record by Richard Hetrick and Adrian Ingram's The Gibson ES-175, Its History & Players. He also is mentioned in The Brazilian Sound by McGowan and Pessanha.
Joe Carter is currently an instructor at Sacred Heart University and Dean of the Guitar Department of the Hartford Conservatory, both in Connecticut, where he specializes in Guitar, World Music and Jazz courses. Some of his courses include Guitar Instruction, Guitar Ensemble, Rhythm Section Ensemble, Music Of The Americas Ensemble, Jazz History, The Music Of Latin America & The Caribbean, Music In America and Music Theory. He is also the Director of the Sacred Heart University Jazz Ensemble and the Sacred Heart University and the Hartford Conservatory Guitar Ensembles. In addition to this, and also teaching privately in New York City, Joe Carter has taught clinic/ workshops in Europe, South America and the United States.
Joe Carter is the author of four textbooks for guitar:
TONAL COLORS FOR GUITAR, Warner/ Chappell Inc.
LEAD GUITAR, Mt. Holly Press
RHYTHM GUITAR, Mt. Holly Press
ADVANCING GUITAR, Mt. Holly Press
Teaching Workshops have been taught by Joe Carter at
Musiarte Music School, Rio de Janeiro, BRAZIL
Conservatorio do Musica, Recife, BRAZIL
All Music Sound, Bastia, FRANCE
Links
