Ron Carter Dazzles At Ronnie Scott’s

The tall 71-year-old bassist has nonetheless immersed himself in the most sophisticated and demanding of pursuits – getting inside the song, reinventing the song and pursuing its reinvention relentlessly. Crucially it could be any song. At Ronnie’s last night he was in the fine company of pianist Stephen Scott – who operates wonderfully in soft passages; Puerto Rico-born percussionist Rolando Morales-Matos, whose triangle work was as delicate as it was in keeping with the tastefulness of his other percussion choices, and drummer Payton Crossley who knew instinctively Carter’s direction and at times charted his own path. As for Carter, suffice is to say that his performance in the first set was dazzling. The long improvisations always kept the interest in a house full of people who clearly came to listen as you could almost have heard a pin drop. The set was a journey of discovery, a beaten path if you like, which after many excursions seemed to emerge at old warhorse ‘Just One Of Those Things’. Carter spoke to the audience in a very pleasant way, a genial presence if ever there was one. He simply pointed out, with a grin, that the band wore matching ties. His colleagues happily twiddled their ties and raised a few smiles.

– Stephen Graham