Celebrating the Music of Paul Chambers, James Jamerson and Ron Carter
April 24, 2019 – On Saturday May 4th at the Detroit School of Arts, a once in a lifetime celebration of iconic Detroit Bass Legends Paul Chambers, James Jamerson and Ron Carter will take place. This special performance is part of the Carr Center Presents… concert series and will feature Bass Masters John Patitucci, Robert Hurst and Ralphe Armstrong. They will join together in a one night only tribute to these three legendary musicians.
Paul Chambers, James Jamerson and Ron Carter all hailed from Detroit and each of them left indelible footprints in modern music history. They are lauded throughout the industry as being among the best bass players of all time!
Paul Chambers was a fixture in rhythm sections throughout the 50’s and 60’s, most notably as the anchor of trumpeter Miles Davis’ First Great Quintet. His importance in the development of what is now Jazz Bass can not only be measured by the extent of his work during that nascent period for Jazz, but also by his impeccable timekeeping, his virtuosic improvisations and his well- documented influence on all the Jazz Bass players that followed in his footsteps.
James Jamerson is regarded as one of the most influential bass players in modern music history. He was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is the uncredited bass player in most of Motown’s hit records during the 60’s and 70’s, (Motown did not list session musician credits on their records until 1971). While with Motown he was a member of a group of studio musicians who informally called themselves The Funk Brothers. Their iconic sound was the backbeat for the majority of Motown’s hits during that time including My Girl by The Temptations, Dancin’ in the Streets by Martha and the Vandellas, Bernadette by the Four Tops and later on, What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye
Ron Carter is a legendary jazz double bassist. He has created or collaborated on more than 2,200 recordings officially making him the most recorded jazz bassist in history. Carter came to fame via the second Miles Davis Quintet which also included Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. His recordings and collaborations are too numerous to mention but we will note that in 1993 he won the GRAMMY Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Group and then another GRAMMY in 1998 for Best Instrumental Composition in the film Round Midnight .In 2008, he joined the faculty of the Julliard School of Music in NYC where he currently teaches Bass in their Jazz studies program.
The three featured bassists on this ticket are all extraordinary in their own right!
John Patitucci is a virtuoso bass player and composer who mastered his skills playing, touring and recording with Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Diane Krall, Hubert Laws, Aaron Neville and many others. He is twice GRAMMY nominated for composition and he is currently an artist in residence at the Berklee School of Music.
Robert Hurst, a 7X GRAMMY Awarded and a 4X EMMY Awarded bass player, composer and educator, is quite simply a Master of his craft. He is recognized as a presence in the music industry based on his virtuosity and improvisational prowess. His music defies genre. He has toured and recorded with artists as diverse as Sir Paul McCartney, Wynton Marsalis, Sting, Pharoah Sanders, Barbra Streisand, Willie Nelson and YoYo Ma. Robert calls Ann Arbor home and is currently an Associate Professor, with tenure, in the Jazz Department at the U of M School of Music.
Ralphe Armstrong is not your average musician. Ralphe is a native Detroiter who chose to leave a burgeoning and successful touring career with artists like John McLaughlin, Frank Zappa, Herbie Hancock, Jean-Luc Ponty and Santana, to come back home and raise his children … and Detroit is a better place because of that decision. “Ralphe is the torch bearer for the Detroit Bass tradition,” says Rodney Whitaker, himself a world-renowned Detroit bass player and educator, “He studied with James Jamerson and Ron Carter, so he’s got it all!”
Rounding out the ensemble that evening will be the Carr Center’s Co-Artistic Director, Terri Lyne Carrington on drums, Ian
The Carr Center presents: Detroit Bass Legends will take place at the Detroit School of Arts, Aaliyah Recital Hall, 123 Selden Ave (use Selden St entrance). Concert will begin at 7:30pm. Tickets are $30 online and $35 at the door. Tickets can be purchased on the Carr Center facebook page or through www.eventbrite.com
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION or MEDIA INQUIRIES CONTACT:
Sarah Norat-Phillips, Marketing and Production Manager, the Carr Center
248 979 6345 or sarah@thecarrenter.org