Marc Myers writes a blog called JazzWax and I have to admit that I rarely read his serialized interviews. I’m reading his Ron Carter interviews right now (he’s on #3) and have been enjoying them. I admit to taking serious issue with a statement made at the beginning of part 1.

The history of the acoustic jazz bass starts in the hands of hard-charging 1930s swingers like Jimmy Blanton, John Kirby, Moses Allen and Walter Page. The band bassists were followed in the 1940s by boppers Oscar Pettiford, Curley Russell, Tommy Potter and Nelson Boyd. Next were the cooler, more “cerebral” 1950s bassists Ray Brown, Charles Mingus, Percy Heath, Paul Chambers, Milt Hinton, George Morrow, Doug Watkins and Scott LaFaro. Then in the early 1960s, Ron Carter transformed the upright instrument from metronome to equal creative partner.

Scott LaFaro? Was LaFaro a living metronome? I love and respect Ron’s work. The work he did with Miles is stuff I’m trying so hard to digest as I type, but let’s not deny Scotty’s impact. Now, If you didn’t know your jazz calendar, you could say that Carter was doing this thing before Scotty did, but Scotty passed away in ’61; Carter didn’t join Miles until ’63. I’ve always considered the Bill Evans trio with Scotty to be the epitome of round-table jazz. Again, I mean this as no slight to RC; I just think adding Scott’s name to that list undermines the credibility of the rest of the article.

All that unpleasantness aside, it always intrigues me to encounter luminaries who are uninterested in reliving, or even revisiting, the glorious past. So many people cling so desperately to their laurels that they cannot move forward. It’s at least a bit interesting to hear of so many musicians, including Miles himself, uninterested in their past accomplishments. Carter continues to churn out amazing music. Ron’s Golden Striker and Dear Miles are absolutely stunning works.

If the business world could continue to look towards the future (think Apple) instead of resting on their accomplishments (American automotive, anyone?), the world would be a much more productive place.

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