(August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003)
Bennett Lester Carter was a multi-instrumentalist, band leader, composer and arranger. He played alto saxophone, clarinet and trumpet.
Benny Carter's first recording came in 1927 as a member of the Paradise Ten led by Charlie Johnson.
Benny Carter and Johnny Hodges were considered the leading alto saxophonists of the 1930s and have both had major influence on the lineage of saxophonists that followed. Carter was born in New York City in 1907, just two weeks after Johnny Hodges.
Hodges was inspired by his mentor Sidney Bechet and applied the bluesy New Orleans clarinet style to the alto saxophone, Benny Carter's approach was very different.
Carter's immense musicality and natural talents allowed him to play very clear and secure harmonic structures. His melodic phrases clearly outlined the harmony horizontally and vertically.
Like his sound, his use of time was very precise, even and consistent. His swing feel that was very on top of the beat, unlike Hodges whose time playing was much more laid back, his sound much more dynamic and expressive. Carter's approach may have influenced tenorist Lester Young, whose relaxed uptempo swing feel had a precision reminiscent of Carter. Young himself would be a huge influence on the greatest alto saxophonist Charlie Parker.
Benny Carter was also an innovator with the big band sound. His work as arranger for Fletcher Henderson's band in the 1920s shaped the sound and musical direction of the swing era. The music of Fletcher Henderson's band had a huge impact on the young Billy Strayhorn, who would go on to work closely with the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
Carter's writing for saxophones can be heard on Keep a Song in Your Soul, Lonesome Nights and Symphony in Riffs all written for Fletcher Henderson.
