Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career in the 1920s, he worked as an arranger including written charts for Fletcher Henderson's big band that shaped the swing style. He had an unusually long career that lasted into the 1990s. During the 1980s and 1990s, he was nominated for eight Grammy Awards, which included receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Carter was born in New York City in 1907. He was given piano lessons by his mother and others in the neighborhood. He played trumpet and experimented briefly with C-melody saxophone before settling on alto saxophone. In the 1920s, he performed with June Clark, Billy Paige, and Earl Hines, then toured as a member of the Wilberforce Collegians led by Horace Henderson. He appeared on record for the first time in 1927 as a member of the Paradise Ten led by Charlie Johnson. He returned to the Collegians and became their bandleader through 1929, including a performance at the Savoy Ballroom in New York City.

In his early 1920s, Carter worked as arranger for Fletcher Henderson after that position was vacated by Don Redman. He had no formal education in arranging, learning by trial and error, getting on his knees and looking at the existing charts, "writing the lead trumpet first and the lead saxophone first—which, of course, is the hard way. It was quite some time that I did that before I knew what a score was."

He left Henderson to take Redman's former job as leader of McKinney's Cotton Pickers in Detroit. In 1932, he formed a band in New York City that included Chu Berry, Sid Catlett, Cozy Cole, Bill Coleman, Ben Webster, Dicky Wells, and Teddy Wilson. Carter's arrangements were complex. Among the most significant were "Keep a Song in Your Soul", written for Henderson in 1930, and "Lonesome Nights" and "Symphony in Riffs" from 1933, both of which show Carter's writing for saxophones.

By the early 1930s, Carter and Johnny Hodges were considered the leading alto saxophonists. Carter also became a leading trumpet soloist, having rediscovered the instrument. He recorded extensively on trumpet in the 1930s. Carter's short-lived Orchestra played the Harlem Club in New York but only recorded a handful of records for Columbia, OKeh and Vocalion. The OKeh sides were issued under the name The Chocolate Dandies.

In 1933, Carter participated in sessions with British composer/musician Spike Hughes, who visited New York City to organize recordings with prominent African American musicians. These 14 sides plus four by Carter's big band, titled at the time Spike Hughes and His Negro Orchestra, were initially only issued in England. The musicians were from Carter's band and included Red Allen, Dicky Wells, Wayman Carver, Coleman Hawkins, J. C. Higginbotham, and Chu Berry. ...

Source: Article "Benny Carter" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Benny Carter (Bennett Lester Carter) (New York 8 août 1907 - Los Angeles 12 juillet 2003) est un saxophoniste, trompettiste, tromboniste, pianiste, chanteur, arrangeur, compositeur et chef d'orchestre de jazz afro-américain. Il a été un des grands acteurs du jazz des années 1930 aux années 1990.

Benny Carter est né à New York dans une famille de musiciens, et a passé son enfance à Harlem en compagnie du trompettiste star de Duke Ellington, Bubber Miley. Il a appris la trompette auprès de Miley. Quand il comprit qu'il ne jouerait jamais aussi bien que lui, il troqua sa trompette pour un saxophone.

Il commence sa carrière de musicien professionnel à 15 ans et enregistre son premier disque en 1927. Il crée son propre big band l'année suivante. Il enregistre avec Fletcher Henderson en 1930 et 1931, dirige un petit moment les McKinney's Cotton Pickers, avant de revenir à son big band en 1932. Il fait également des arrangements pour Henderson et Duke Ellington6 durant cette période. Il écrit aussi deux tubes: Blues in My Heart et When Lights are Low. Au début des années 1930 il est considéré comme le meilleur alto avec Johnny Hodges. Carter se mit également à la trompette solo, ayant redécouvert cet instrument. Il a beaucoup enregistré en tant que trompettiste durant les années 1930.

En 1935, il déménage en Europe où il devient l'arrangeur attitré de l'orchestre de danse de la BBC. Il retourne aux États-Unis en 1938. Il dirige un grand orchestre et un sextet, avant de déménager pour Los Angeles pour écrire pour les studios de cinéma. Il a continué à écrire et à jouer jusqu'à plus de 90 ans. Il a fait des arrangements pour Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan et bien d'autres.

Son plus grand succès a été Cow Cow Boogie, un morceau écrit avec Don Raye et Gene DePaul, créé par Ella Mae Morse en 1942.

Dans les années 1940 et 1950, il a été un des premiers noirs à écrire de la musique de film. Il a beaucoup inspiré Quincy Jones quand Jones a commencé à écrire pour la télévision et le cinéma dans les années 1960.

Il apparaît également (sans être au générique) dans le film de 1952 Les Neiges du Kilimandjaro.

Carter est célèbre pour sa capacité à écrire des solos de saxophone, où toute la section joue comme un seul homme.

Il décède le 12 juillet 2003 à l'âge de 95 ans des suites d'insuffisance respiratoire, au Cedars Sinai Hospital de Los Angeles.

Source: Article "Benny Carter" de Wikipédia en français, soumis à la licence CC-BY-SA 3.0.