Regina Carter
by Seth Rogovoy

(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass., April 15, 2001) - For Regina Carter, the telling moments in her career have been when she has found herself in new and sometimes uncomfortable situations. And for a woman playing jazz on violin, there has been no shortage of such opportunities.

"When you're in a situation where you're not comfortable and it's not your scene, I think it really raises your level of playing in a short period of time," said Carter in a recent phone interview. Whether it's been when she found herself performing with the Uptown String Quartet under the direction of legendary bebop drummer Max Roach, or soloing as part of Wynton Marsalis's ensemble for the Pulitzer Prize-winning extended song-suite, "Blood on the Fields," or touring with Cassandra Wilson's "Travelin' Miles" roadshow, Carter has constantly found herself challenged to carve out a unique niche as a female jazz violinist in a world that still is not accustomed to female instrumentalists, to say nothing of musicians playing her chosen instrument. But Carter, who performs toinght at 8 in Chapin Hall at Williams College in Williamstown as part of the week-long Williamstown Jazz Festival, is not complaining.

In fact, Carter takes solace in her uniqueness. "I think everyone has their cross to bear no matter what they are," said Carter. "So instead of focusing on any of that try and look at what you have and try and use that to your advantage." It's a formula that has apparently worked well for Carter, who in less than a decade has established herself as a leading young player on her instrument, and a top jazz improviser on any instrument, period. The violinist trained in the Suzuki method honed her classical skills as a member of the Detroit Civic Symphony Orchestra and on the jazz bandstand under the tutelage of trumpeter Marcus Belgrave and organist Lymon Woodard. An alumnus of the New England Conservatory in Boston and Oakland University, she was a member of the all-female fusion group Straight Ahead before branching out on her own as a solo performer and recording artist. After several critically ignored albums of commercial, contemporary jazz, her work with Marsalis and Wilson brought her critical acclaim and a contract with Verve Records, which released her acoustic albums "Rhythms of the Heart" (1999) and "Motor City Moments" (2000), solidly establishing her place in the modern jazz mainstream.

It was not until Carter was 16, however, when a friend took her to see legendary violinist Stephane Grappelli, that the Detroit native realized that there was such a thing as jazz played on violin.

"Seeing him live was kind of what really did the trick for me," said Carter about that fateful concert. "Seeing how much fun he was having -- the passion and freedom in the music -- I wanted to have that same experience whenever I played." Carter's years in conservatory, where she continued to study classical music, were frustrating, as jazz remained elusive. "It seemed like this big secret, how you learned this music, and no one was willing to tell," she said.

It wasn't until she enrolled in Oakland University and joined the college big band that a teacher sat her down in the saxophone section, gave her a list of things to listen to, and told her to start transcribing solos, that the keys to jazz composition and improvisation were unlocked for her. "It was weird at first listening to these horn players, especially Charlie Parker, trying to transcribe the stuff so I could play it," she said. "I'd put a tune on and listen to it and be really intimidated and not want to do it. It'd take a while, but the more you do it the faster it comes.

"Eventually I did a couple of Bird solos, 'Scrapple From the Apple' and 'Ornithology.' My thing was to play it so much that I could sing it first. That's kind of how Suzuki was -- if you could sing it you could play it, teach it to yourself on your instrument."

Carter feels that her early classical training in the Suzuki method served her well when it came time to learn jazz. "In jazz it's about learning a foreign language," she said. "Not only learning the words but learning the accents, where to place the word in your mouth. I think the Suzuki method really helped to develop my ear. I think a lot of what you do in jazz is hearing, since you might not have time to figure out what a chart is, or you might know from hearing the changes go by that it's a blues, or a tune with some 2-5-1s or some rhythm changes. "If you know this and know what key it's in then you're OK. And if it's a more modern tune where there's no specific chord structure, at least if you can hear it go by a couple times you can kind of see your way through it."

[This article originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on April 19, 2001. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 2001. All rights reserved.]