He is well aware of his proper place in the hierarchy of jazz. Some musicians find him arrogant, but those who know him well say he warms up quickly once you get past a crusty exterior. He is by no means bitter, but he knows the score when it comes to the way jazz musicians are marginalized in America and the pernicious influence of racism in the culture.
He grew up playing cello but switched to bass in high school. While he played the former as well or better than his peers, he realized only the white cellists were getting calls to play gigs. Since there was a dearth of bass players at Cass, he switched, reasoning his talent would be impossible to ignore on bass.
Carter earned a full scholarship to Eastman, becoming the first black person to play in the Eastman-Rochester Philharmonic and graduating in 1959. He received a master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music in 1961, studying with the principal bassist of the New York Philharmonic.
But it was at Eastman where he became disillusioned with the orchestral world and shifted his focus to jazz. The turning point came when he was 20. Leopold Stokowski, then the conductor of the Houston Symphony, had come to Rochester to guest-conduct the orchestra. Stokowski pulled him aside after rehearsal:
"Mr. Carter, I like the way you play, and I'd love to have you in my orchestra in Houston, but they're not ready for colored people who play classical music."
"What?" Carter said to himself. "You mean I spent all this lifetime practicing and you're telling me I can't be a part of this because I'm black?"
"So I said, 'OK, if that's the name of this tune, what kind of music can I play and have a good time doing it?'"
| Continue Mark Stryker's Knight Ridder (via Boston Globe) article "Ron Carter Happy Just to Put Down a Base"
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