Regina Carter

Regina Carter

REGINA CARTER STRINGS 'EM ALONG
The brilliant violinist Regina Carter has enlivened recordings and performances by Wynton Marsalis, Cassandra Wilson, Max Roach, and others, but it's her own albums that display her gifts to the fullest. On Motor City Moments, the ultra-talented fiddler pays tribute to some of the musical heroes from her hometown. Ted Panken of Barnes&Noble.com spoke with Carter about her Detroit roots and all-time influences.

Barnes & Noble.com: How late did you come to jazz?

Regina Carter: Oh, when I was 16. That was my first time even hearing that music. My parents didn't listen to jazz, and I studied classical music, and my teacher was really strict about me listening to that music.

B&N.com: Were there violinists in the canon that you were listening to and emulating, or was it more studying the fndamentals and applying that to different music that you encountered?

RC: I was definitely studying the fundamentals. Itzhak Perlman was the one I would really, really, really listen to, out of all the violinists. Part of that might have been because I had a couple of master classes with him when I was quite young. So I was just in awe of him. To see him that young...well, to see him at any age play, and to see how effortlessly he does it, and how the instrument is a part of him. When you see someone play like that, it's just amazing, and to be so young and be able to witness that right up close. The first time I think I was 6 or 7, and the next time I might have been 10 or 11. He was such a gentle person. I remember being so nervous! But he was just so gentle. He would stop us and critique us, but it was in a very positive way, so you would walk away feeling not that you'd failed at all, but like you really had something to work from a master. I think Itzhak just got inside that music, and every time he would play it, you'd hear something else come out of it. He's just it for me, whatever he does.

B&N.com: Then there's a pop component, which is represented on this record by the Marvin Gaye tune and the Stevie Wonder tune. Were you interested in pop music parallel to being immersed in classical?

RC: Well, I heard pop music at home because my brothers were playing that music in the house, and of course, I loved what I was hearing there. My favorite group growing up, when I would hear them play their recordings, were the Stylistics. I loved them! One favorite tune was " Break up to Make up." [laughs]

B&N.com: Did you start playing in pop bands in high school?

RC: Yes. I got into a pretty big band, a black-rock-pop band, which was on tour opening up for people like Mother's Finest and the Jacksons. So on the weekends I got a chance to tour with them. The only jazz I had been listening to or knew anything about then was the three violinists Noel Pointer, Jean-Luc Ponty, and Stephane Grappelli.

B&N.com: Do you have particular albums or favorites by each of them?

RC: There's an old Jean-Luc Ponty record called Sunday Afternoon Walk, on which he does more straight-ahead stuff. I mean, I like the electric, more contemporary stuff he was doing in the '70s. But once I heard that, it really blew me away because you get a chance to really hear his straight-ahead playing. I already knew he was a brilliant violinist, but I think it's definitely showcased. Stephane Grappelli did a record with McCoy Tyner, One on One. He's like a Gypsy violinist to me, and I really love that. You hear the classical side coming out. But it's just very Gypsy-esque, very light, kind of flowery and all over the instrument, but very tastefully done. And you always know when it's Grappelli. He definitely had his own thing. I actually got a chance to meet Noel Pointer, which was a big deal to me at that time. For me, being able to see him so much and being able to talk to him made him a real person, and he made the idea of being a jazz violinist and being onstage very tangible, for some reason. Of those three violinists, his playing was the most simple as far as soloing. But his melodies were very memorable, and I thought he had a really clean tone. His solos as well for me were other melodies; you could take his solos and make them into tunes.

B&N.com: What are some CDs that are in your rotation right now?

RC: Tabula Rasa by Arvo Pärt. The Afro-Cuban All-Stars A Toda Cuba Les Gusta. Aretha Franklin, Amazing Grace. I've got The Gentle Side Of John Coltrane in here. I always have that, no matter what! Sarah Vaughan, Sassy Swings Again. Also Ali Farka Toure.