Terri Lyne Carrington is the curator of The Carr Center and Midtown Detroit’s Jazz Crawl on October 14-28th. The New Standards Jazz Crawl, Shifting The Narrative: Jazz and Gender Justice kicks off its inaugural series of free concerts at eight of the city’s cultural and educational institutions this month. Carrington, who is also a Grammy-winning jazz drummer and composer is among the list of performers that includes vocalists Lisa Fischer, Carmen Lundy, Jazzmeia Horn, Lizz Wright, Daryn Dean, and Charenée Wade, saxophonists Tia Fuller, Nicole Glover, and Camille Thurman, bassists Linda May Han Oh and Marian Hayden, pianists Andy Milne and Paul Cornish, drummers Susie Ibarra and Savannah Harris, flutist Nicole Mitchell, percussionist JoVia Armstrong, guitarist Matthew Stevens, and The Gathering Orchestra Nonet. 

The Jazz Crawl is part of The Carr Center’s yearlong 30th-anniversary celebration and the opening of the new Carr Center performance studio. Oliver Ragsdale Jr. President and CEO of The Carr Center says, “The opening of the Performance Studio is the pinnacle of our anniversary celebration. As we move closer to the opening, we are honored to work closely with partners Midtown Detroit Inc., and our Artistic Director Terri Lyne Carrington, who is not only expanding her artistry with compelling publications, visual arts, and film, but she continues to provide high-level and innovating programming and is a great collaborator for the Carr Center.” 

The New Standards Installation opens on October 14th and is a four-part interdisciplinary look at jazz through the lens of gender equality. There are works created by jazz artists Cécile McCLorin Salvant, Carmen Lundy and Jazzmeia Horn and contributions from visual artists Monica Haslip, Joe Diggs, Yesmin Tosuner and Ramsess. Sherry Rubel has a portrait of 30 influential women instrumentalists and Lizz Wright will present a recipe inspired by the New Standards theme. 

Carrington’s first-ever children’s book Three Of A Kind will be introduced. The story revolves around the musical partnership of comprised of Carrington, the late Geri Allen, and Esperanza Spalding (ACS Trio). The book is written by Carrington, illustrated by Ramsess and designed to inspire young women to play instruments. The installation also includes a New Standards film documenting the creators, and the purpose of the book and album. 

On Friday, October 14th the Carr Center will present a panel discussion, “Jazz and Gender: Forging a New Legacy” with scholar and cultural icon Angela Davis; and educators and authors Gina Dent and Robin D.G. Kelly, along with Carrington at the Carr Center Performance Studio.

On Saturday, October 15, the Carr Center will present a Professional Development Master Class with Carrington for band directors and band leaders to engage with her and other composers featured in her new book.

Carrington has promoted equality in the arts since founding the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice in 2018. Last month the Berklee Press debuted her book New Standard: 101 Lead Sheets By Women Composers. The book brings light to compositions not usually thought of as jazz standards from composers like Lil’ Hardin Armstrong, Mary Lou Williams, Alice Coltrane, Dorothy Ashby, Dianne Reeves, Geri Allen, Cécile McClorin Salvant, Maria Schneider, Cassandra Wilson, Nubya Garcia, Esperanza Spalding, Mary Halvorson, Nicole Mitchell and the recently departed Jamie Branch. 

In addition to the book, Carrington’s new STANDARDS vol.1 album was just released. 

For more information about the Jazz Crawl check out The Carr Center site. 

Jazz saxophonist and composer Pharoah Sanders died in Los Angeles on Saturday at age 81. Sanders was a pioneer of free jazz and started releasing albums in 1965. He started working with John Coltrane the same year and became a member of his last quintet. The musicians had a mutual influence on each other and developed the spiritual jazz movement based on their interest in Hinduism. Sanders also worked with Sun-Ra, Ornette Coleman, Alice Coltrane, Don Cherry and Gary Bartz during the ’60s. A unique approach to harmonics and long dissonant solos established his reputation as an avant-garde leader. “The Creator Has A Master Plan” from his 1969 album Karma became his signature song known for its soothing pace, reflective message and Leon Thomas’ yodeling. Those early trails of sound would not be his last stylistic choice as he would later explore hard bop, modal jazz and R&B. He recorded albums consistently with each decade and in 1994 he played on The Last Poets’ “This Is Madness” remake for the Red Hot Organization’s Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool project. Sanders recorded more than 30 solo albums and even more as a sideman with others. His most recent work was a 2020 collaboration with electronic producer Floating Points and the London Symphony Orchestra called Promises. Mark de Clive-Lowe released the album Freedom: Celebrating The Music Of Pharoah Sanders in 2022. 

Butcher Brown’s big band jazz-themed album Butcher Brown Presents Triple Trey Featuring Tennishu And R4ndzzo Big4nd has landed. The group’s rapper Tennishu had initially planned a straightforward hip-hop album but the direction changed and they made a collection inspired by both genres. Their cover of the Notorious B.I.G.’s “Unbelievable” combines both styles effortlessly.  The late Brooklyn MC’s song is the most accessible song on the album but the whole thing is an easy blend of rhyming with the band using the sound of a jazz orchestra to recreate electronic beats. Triple Trey has a visual component that embodies the spirit of jazz eclectism with artwork from Lou Beach who designed the cover for Weather Report’s 1977 fusion classic Heavy Weather and Butcher Brown’s previous #KingButch album. The vinyl version of Triple Trey will be released on November 11th in black and a limited edition blue which will have a 7″ with the 12″ containing two bonus songs, “Guitarmy” and “Peace.” This weekend they will perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival and next month they are part of the lineup at the Indy Jazz Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana. They have also shared a video for “Breevin.'”

Ron Carter: Finding The Right Notes will premiere on PBS in October. The documentary about one of jazz music’s most intriguing musicians will look at his life and 60-year career. Carter’s upright bass has traveled some of the most interesting spaces in music including the Miles Davis Quintet and being famously sampled by A Tribe Called Quest. He has recorded with Eric Dolphy, Wes Montgomery, B.B. King, Lena Horne and countless others. Jon Batiste, Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins, George Benson, Lenny White, Stanley Clarke, Buster Williams and Bill Frisell talk about their work with Carter in the film. 

Batiste says, [Mr. Ron Carter] is a man whose legacy reflects not only the challenges and successes he has faced over the past sixty years as an African-American artist, but the spirit of the African-American experience as a whole, in the trying, turbulent, and transformative times in which we live.” 

Ron Carter has been recognized for his work with six honorary doctorates, three Grammys and a Guinness World Record for being The Most Recorded Jazz Bassist. The legend explained his purpose in a press statement:

“I’m trying to find what the top of the mountain looks like, and the only way to get there is by playing every night like it’s my last chance to get this right. It’s getting to that place. It’s seeing the music still fight for survival, and I am still part of that. I mean how long do I want to continue to be fighting for the survival of music? Or be part of the struggle of people who are trying to make the music remain vital to someone else’s life. I’m not sure what I want to do, other than keep looking for the right notes.”

Ron Carter: Finding The Right Notes will debut on PBS October 21st at 9 PM ET. The documentary will be available for streaming on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS Video app, available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO.