Ron Carter cancels his European tour, which stopped in Cartagena, for health reasons

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With more than 2,000 jazz albums recorded, the double bassist had commitments in two cities and at Cartagena Jazz, in what would be his announced retirement from the stage

Bad news for jazz lovers in Cartagena and the Murcia region. They won’t be able to enjoy double bassist Ron Carter. The musician canceled his European tour for health reasons at the age of 85, which could push his announced retirement from the stage.

In large theaters or in small venues, Ron Carter always embodies the spectacle of subtlety, even when his fingers run over the fretboard at great speeds. It always seems as if he caresses the silk without deviating from a feeling full of irreverence and syncopation, a grace that permeates modern jazz, all of which he plays palos, always attached to the rhythm. Fortunately in improvisation, he demonstrates in his solos how the melodies are extracted in a natural way, without fuss. In its gigantic, skinny hands, the double bass seems child’s play and it never hits a wrong note. But he steps on it and opens surprising paths in the themes.

With the elegance of the past decades, in a suit and tie that he also imposes on his companions who are much younger than himself, he manages to move sensibly through the vast repertoire he knows by heart, as if he were reading a ‘real book’. ‘ has. ‘ and thousands of sheet music. He has contributed to more than 2000 albums, by his own calculations, since the early 1960s, when he played on two of maestro Coleman Hawkins (“Night Hawk” and “The Hawk Relaxes”) and his first album as leader (“Where?”). As soon as he started, he caught the attention of Miles Davies and recruited him to his quintet. With Davis he recorded ten studio albums and as many live until the 1970s.

This living jazz legend celebrated his 85th birthday this summer with a tribute concert in New York and was preparing his European tour, stopping in Spain and announcing his final retirement from the world stage. Accompanied by the Foursight Quartet, his band for years and with whom he also visited Spain in 2018, he had dates at Jazzmadrid, the 54th Barcelona Festival and Cartagena Jazz. It would be his last tour. But Carter announced this week that he must cancel these commitments.

“Unfortunately, my doctors have told me that the best thing I can do is postpone my 2022 European tour to facilitate my recovery. And I will do exactly what my doctors tell me, and I will take care of myself so that I can take the correct notes.” keep finding it!” he wrote on his Instagram account, in that last sentence, alluding to the documentary PBS just released about his life, entitled “Ron Carter. Finding the Right Notes,” based on the biography of the same name. days ago he had already canceled his participation in the Birdland of the United States.

The last time the maestro visited Spain, he gave an unforgettable concert in the small Clamores hall in Madrid. That evening he paid tribute to some of the legends who, like him, have extended the trail of the great contemporary jazz, such as Jim Hall, with whom he made one of the most extraordinary double bass and guitar duets. That evening he walked through the standards he performed with Roberta Flack, Coleman Hawkins, Joe Henderson, George Benson, Wayne Shorter, Horace Silver, Antonio Carlos Jobim and a long list of top figures that will leave everyone speechless.

The most recent he’s left so far is his collaboration with trumpeter Nicholas Payton, last year (“Smoke Sessions”) and two entrances to the studio as a leader (“Cocktails at the Cotton Club” and “Remember Love”), plus some theatrical recordings. Soon perhaps at the Carnegie Hall in New York where the 85 candles were blown out.

Living history of jazz, Carter with a humble genius who is able to survive three days without luggage in a Spanish city without raising his voice, today asks for patience for his return to the stage.

Source: La Verdad

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