Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes

An intimate portrait of the quiet genius who speaks with his music, and who brought the upright bass out from the background into the spotlight.

The jazz legend visits Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, alma mater to his two sons, to share insights from his life and music career with students studying jazz. Ron details how confronting racial injustices early in his career shaped his musical legacy.

Ron rehearses an original Bach arrangement with legendary bassist Stanley Clarke and guitarist Russell Malone. The trio perform a funky rendition of Ron's composition "Eighty-One," originally recorded while Ron was a member of the Miles Davis Quintet.

Ron visits his childhood home for the first time in half-a-century. He recalls the vibrant Black neighborhood of his youth as he looks out onto vacant lots and homes in disrepair. He walks the streets where he used to carry his cello back and forth to school as he reflects on the lessons his parents instilled in him.