{"id":15400,"date":"2022-10-17T10:04:54","date_gmt":"2022-10-17T14:04:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/?p=15400"},"modified":"2026-01-23T11:26:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T16:26:54","slug":"oct17-23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.esm.rochester.edu\/sibley\/2022\/10\/oct17-23\/","title":{"rendered":"Oct 17th – 23rd: Benny Carter guest appearance with EJE and ENJE"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1727790349911{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”]Published on Oct 17th, 2022<\/em><\/p>\n

Back to This Week at Eastman<\/a><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” css=”.vc_custom_1658327150379{background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1727790262773{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”1996: Benny Carter guest appearance with EJE and ENJE” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1666185683509{border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;border-left-color: #dddddd !important;border-left-style: solid !important;border-right-color: #dddddd !important;border-right-style: solid !important;border-top-color: #dddddd !important;border-top-style: solid !important;border-bottom-color: #dddddd !important;border-bottom-style: solid !important;border-radius: 1px !important;}”][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”top” gap=”20″][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1664294037966{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”15401″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”img_link_large” css=”.vc_custom_1727790275960{border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;}”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1665592758991{padding-left: 30px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_images_carousel images=”15441,15442,15443,15444,15445,15446,15450,15447″ img_size=”medium” css=”.vc_custom_1666206842009{margin-top: 20px !important;}”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”top” gap=”20″][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1666186951447{padding-left: 30px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1666187798299{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]<\/p>\n

Twenty-six years ago this week, on the evening of Friday, October 18th, 1996, the renowned Benny Carter, one of the undisputed all-time greats of jazz, appeared in concert with the Eastman Jazz Ensemble and the Eastman New Jazz Ensemble.\u00a0 Mr. Carter\u2019s guest appearance continued the succession of guest appearances by jazz greats with the EJE and the ENJE; altogether, these have included Oliver Nelson (1972), Thad Jones (1973), Clark Terry (1980), Wynton Marsalis (1984), Branford Marsalis (1990), Bob Brookmeyer (1997), and Toots Thielemans (2000).\u00a0 EJE Director Fred Sturm would later be quoted as saying, \u201cIt was an incredible \u00a0evening.\u00a0 Forty students took the stage.\u00a0 The folks in the audience felt like they were paying tribute to one of the real greats of history.\u201d[1]<\/a> <\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0On the afternoon before the concert, the EJE rehearsed in Room 120 (today the Ray Wright Room) together with Mr. Carter; photographer Louis Ouzer was present that afternoon, and some of his B&W shots are presented here.<\/p>\n

Benny Carter (1907-2003) enjoyed an unusually long career; he was in his 90th year at the time of his Eastman School appearance, and he made commercial recordings in eight different decades, from the 1920s to the \u201890s.\u00a0 His artistry was not confined to just one role; he was a talented performer on several instruments (tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, clarinet, and trumpet), and was especially noted for his pioneering artistry on the alto saxophone, on which he was considered one of the three greatest performers in the history of jazz, along with Johnny Hodges and Charlie Parker. He was both composer and arranger, and he was also a bandleader. His career was described in the biographical note printed in the October 18th, 1996 concert program, which is displayed here.\u00a0 It is worthwhile to note that his career is distinguished for its sheer longevity, for the profound influence that Mr. Carter had on jazz on two continents, and for his work towards eliminating racial barriers in the world of jazz, including having led the first-ever international, inter-racial band during his years in Europe.<\/p>\n

The October, 1996 concert was further significant in that it had been promoted as a memorial concert for the late Will Moyle, a staunch supporter of Eastman jazz.\u00a0 Mr. Moyle, who had passed away the previous January, had been a longtime radio and television reporter in the Rochester area. \u00a0He is warmly remembered today for his program Essence of Jazz <\/em>that aired on public radio for twenty years up until his death.\u00a0 Essence of Jazz <\/em>featured interviews with renowned artists, thereby providing a perspective from the performers\u2019 standpoint.\u00a0 Guests on the program included Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Erroll Garner, George Shearing, and Benny Carter.\u00a0 When Mr. Carter made his 1996 appearance at Eastman, he fully remembered his interview with Mr. Moyle, and excused himself immediately after the concert in the Eastman Theater so as to go and pay his respects to Mr. Moyle\u2019s widow.[2]<\/a>\u00a0<\/sup> Today the program Essence of Jazz <\/em>can once again be enjoyed on the air, thanks to a partnership between the Eastman School of Music, radio station WGMC Jazz 90.1 FM, and the late Mr. Moyle\u2019s family. \u00a0Currently, the show is broadcast each Saturday at 6pm on WGMC\u00a0 90.1 FM.\u00a0 In addition, the Sibley Music Library holds discs of audio content transferred from analog tapes of the show that were the gift of the late Mr. Moyle\u2019s family.\u00a0 This content can be accessed at the SML\u2019s recordings stacks (3rd floor).\u00a0 A discographic description of the content is accessible in DiscoverUR; as of this writing, the extent of content currently numbers 145 discs, with further content to be added later.<\/p>\n

A special aspect of the October 18th, 1996 concert was the EJE\u2019s rendition, with soloists Jason Thor and Jason Polise, of Mr. Carter\u2019s famous arrangement of the song \u201cAll of Me\u201d\u00a0 by Seymour Simons and Gerald Marks.\u00a0 Mr. Carter\u2019s arrangement was first recorded in 1936 by Willie Lewis and his Orchestra (Pathe), and soon thereafter by Benny Carter and his Orchestra in 1940. Professor Sturm had expressly wanted to expose the student performers to some of Mr. Carter\u2019s most important work, but it so happened that the parts for \u201cAll of Me\u201d had been missing for half a century, as Mr. Carter told Mr. Sturm.\u00a0 Undaunted, Mr. Sturm transcribed the arrangement so that the performance might proceed.\u00a0 The rendition of \u201cAll of Me\u201d was introduced from the stage by Mr. Carter himself, who acknowledged that he was \u201cgreatly flattered\u201d and continued, \u201cFred Sturm amazed me by taking it off of a 50-year-old recording and re-orchestrating it for this band. Well, I only wish my band had played it as well as he did.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1727790454454{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_images_carousel images=”15402,15403″ img_size=”medium” css=”.vc_custom_1666201839553{padding-left: 15px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1727790525602{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}”]\u25ba In rehearsal in Room 120 (today the Ray Wright Room), Director Fred Sturm leads members of the Eastman Jazz Ensemble, and confers with guest artist Benny Carter. Photos by Louis Ouzer.\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”15px” css=”.vc_custom_1727790501910{margin-right: -25px !important;margin-left: -25px !important;background-color: #f4f4f4 !important;}”][vc_images_carousel images=”15405,15406,15407″ img_size=”medium” css=”.vc_custom_1666201851875{margin-top: 10px !important;padding-left: 15px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1666188207842{margin-top: -20px !important;}”]<\/p>\n

\u25ba Members of the Eastman Jazz Ensemble rehearse under Fred Sturm\u2019s direction in Room 120 (today the Ray Wright Room) on October 17th, 1996. Photos by Louis Ouzer. \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u25ba On-stage in the Eastman Theater are members of the Eastman Jazz Ensemble, with guest artist Benny Carter, all led by director Fred Sturm. In the fourth shot, Jim Doser conducts the Eastman New Jazz Ensemble with soloist Mr. Carter. Photos by Louis Ouzer. <\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n

With thanks to my colleagues Rick McRae, Jim Farrington, and Robert Iannapollo for enlightening me regarding Benny Carter\u2019s music.\u00a0 I particularly thank Vincent Pelote, Senior Archivist\u00a0 and Digital Preservation Strategist at the Institute of Jazz Studies of Rutgers University, for sharing his learned comments on Mr. Carter\u2019s music and career.\u00a0 Mr. Pelote was one of the professionals whom Edward Berger acknowledged in his authoritative biography, Benny Carter: A Life in American Music, <\/strong>published by Scarecrow Press and the Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers University, c2002. <\/em><\/p>\n

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_____________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> \u201cJazz legend Benny Carter dazzles the crowd at inaugural Will Moyle Memorial Jazz Concert\u201d in Eastman Notes, <\/em>vol. 20, no. 17 (July 1997), page 6.<\/span><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a>\u00a0 Ibid.<\/span><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> The master tape of the October 18th, 1996 concert resides in the Eastman Audio Archive; CD service copies of the concert are accessible in the Sibley Music Library Recordings stacks under call numbers SDM 2129 and SDM 2130.<\/span><\/p>\n

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