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Box 11688, St. Paul, MN 55111–0688. CABLE ADDRESS: DownBeat (on sale April 19, 2011) Magazine Publishers Association. Á 4 DOWNBEAT MAY 2011 MAY 2011 ON THE COVER 26 James Carter The Totality Of James Carter BY DAN OUELLETTE 34 James Carter is an instinctual player who speaks on his array of reed instruments with manifold vocal inflections. He races and skids to a stop. He yells in exuberence, then quietly sobs. He slap-tongues and sings. He’s attentive to the world around him; no sound escapes him. He consumes tones and rhythms and reforms them anew. He’s a singular voice whose story runs deep. Features 34 Marcus Miller No More Apologies Marcus Miller BY JOSEF WOODARD MARK SHELDON Cover photography of James Carter shot by Jimmy and Dena Katz on location at The Cornelia Street Café, New York City. 38 Monty Alexander One World Of Music BY TED PANKEN 42 Eric Harland For The Love Of All BY JOHN EPHLAND SPECIAL SECTION 81 2011 International 54 T.K. Blue 58 Vijay Iyer 64 Jane Ira Bloom 69 Peter Erskine Summer Festival Guide REED SCHOOL Departments 70 Master Class bY BEN KONO 8 First Take 20 Players 126 Jazz On Campus Adam Cruz 72 Pro Session 10 Chords & 130 Blindfold Test bY MILES OSLAND Theo Bleckmann Nellie McKay Discords Keefe Jackson 74 Transcription 13 The Beat Jerome Sabbagh 76 Toolshed 18 Caught 47 Reviews 6 DOWNBEAT MAY 2011 First Take | BY ED ENRIGHT The Call Of The Saxophone eed School is upon us with this issue, featuring the woodwind-obsessed Rsaxophonist James Carter—one of my all-time favorites—on the cover. I once watched Carter wolf down two pounds of crab legs in one sitting. We were at Riva, a trendy restaurant on Chicago’s Navy Pier known for its seafood menu. He was in town for a per- formance that night at Schuba’s. As editor of this magazine at the time, summer of 1996, I had in- TZ KA sisted on putting Carter on the DENA cover, having heard his U.S. de- AND Y James Carter: insatiable appetite MM but J.C. On The Set (1994) on JI my office stereo about a hundred times, and decided to conduct the interview myself. We talked about every- thing from Coleman Hawkins to “Beavis and Butt-Head” to low-A versus low-B-flat baritone saxes. His ravenousness reminded me of his insatiable appetite for collecting interesting saxes and woodwinds, not to mention his larger-than-life stage presence. Carter blew my mind at the show that night, practically tearing the floor out from under the crowd that gathered to witness his amazing pyro- technics. He injected a sense of urgency into everything that came out of his horn. It was exhausting to watch him, but the experience was incredibly rewarding for a lifelong fan of the saxophone like me. “I identify with the whole attitude behind aggressive playing, especial- ly if it’s something urgent to say,” said Carter, who was then 27, had four CDs out under his own name and was starting to win various woodwind categories in DownBeat’s Critics and Readers polls. “Of course, it’s all re- ally urgent to say.” Today, Carter is still topping the polls, but he also continues to chal- lenge himself, taking on daunting projects like the symphonic, painstak- ingly notated Concerto For Saxophones, the centerpiece of his new album Caribbean Rhapsody (Emarcy), one of many topics that DownBeat con- tributor Dan Ouellette discusses in this month’s cover feature (beginning on page 26). Always one to offer his listeners something new and genuine, Carter succeeds in uniting jazz, salsa and classical elements on the new re- lease, possibly his most ambitious work to date. Carter is just one of many saxophonists featured in this Reed School is- sue, which also includes profiles of saxophonists/multi-instrumentalists Keefe Jackson and Jerome Sabbagh, plus a Master Class by woodwind spe- cialist Ben Kono and a Pro Session on mouthpiece/reed setups with jazz educator Miles Osland. Also included are several product reviews of the latest saxophones and accessories. On a personal note, this sax-packed issue also marks my last as editor: I am departing DownBeat to once again pursue a career as a profession- al saxophonist and freelance journalist. And I’d like to take this oppor- tunity to thank everyone who has played a part in helping me produce DownBeat’s editorial content every month. It’s never easy to leave a gig where you love the people you work with and the artists you write about, but it sure feels good to go out on a favorite like James Carter. DB 8 DOWNBEAT MAY 2011 Chords & Discords Gratitude For Mingus Shorter Sounded Uncanny Thanks for reprinting the great 1971 Charles James Hale’s review of the new CD from Mingus article by Mike Hennessey (March). tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III, III (“Re- As a curious 18 year-old in 1977, I discovered views,” March), opens up some creditability Mingus’ music through the Three Or Four issues. Apparently, Hale has difficulty making a Shades Of The Blues album. I have since distinction between Wayne Shorter’s mid-1960s purchased 15 other recordings by this masterful recordings and the hard bop of the Dexter musician and enjoy every one of them. It was Gordon/Woody Shaw collaboration document- very interesting to get his 1971 perspective on ed on the 1976 live recording Homecoming. music from your article. DownBeat continues Shorter’s compositions and solo saxophone to be a great asset to my jazz education, while voice are uniquely his own. Using complex har- playing a valuable role in helping me to grow monic relationships, Shorter’s music bares little my music library. Keep up the good work! resemblance to Gordon’s. Hale also refers to A. STAN DAVIS Sonny Rollins as being “cowboy obsessed,” as [email protected] revealed on his Way Out West recording from 1957. But that Riverside date was an isolated Let Words Flow project and not a summary of his oeuvre. In reading both Kevin McIntosh’s letter BILL BENJAMIN (“Chords,” January) and Mike Eben’s follow-up BILTMORE LAKE, N.C. letter (February), I am struck by how blatant they are towards the use of censorship and the Italian Favorites restriction of self-expression.