Grammy Award-Winning Jazz Artist Benny Carter Dies

 

Doug Levine

Grammy Award-winning jazz composer, saxophonist and bandleader Benny Carter died Saturday, July 12 in Los Angeles, California at age 95. He had been hospitalized for two weeks with bronchitis and other problems. Admired for his skills on numerous instruments, Carter was among those who pioneered the sound of modern jazz. His well-known compositions include Blues¹ In My Heart and When Lights Are Low. Carter's career began while President Calvin Coolidge held office during the 1920s and it was a career marked by many accomplishments³.
For more than six decades, Benny Carter entertained audiences with a blend of swing, be-bop and blues. A prolific⁴ composer and arranger, Carter was equally proficient⁵ on the saxophone, clarinet, trumpet⁶, and piano. On occasion, he even proved himself a fine vocalist. According to Carter, finding the heart of the song was his most important musical goal.
"To some extent I'm what some people would call a melodist. I have a great regard for the melody that composers have struggled many moments or hours over," he said. "When I like a melody, I like to state it every once in awhile, even though I'm improvising⁷ on the theme."
Born in New York City on August 8, 1907, Bennett Lester Carter first learned to play piano and trumpet under the guidance of his mother and several neighborhood music teachers. After taking up the alto saxophone in his teens, he landed work in bands led by June Clark and Earl "Fatha" Hines. In 1930, he performed in The Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, and later formed his own group with such swing players as Ben Webster, Chu Berry and Teddy Wilson.
In 1935, Carter moved to London, England, where he directed the BBC Dance Orchestra. While in Europe, he broke new ground by leading his own interracial, multi-national band. In 1942, he returned to the U.S., and settled permanently⁸ in Los Angeles.
As one of the first African-American musicians to earn Hollywood recognition, Carter wrote television and film scores. In addition to arranging for Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles and Louis Armstrong, he turned out an impressive collection of jazz albums with both big and small bands. Although free time was scarce, Carter said his most precious moments were spent composing.
"I'm just doing what I feel comes naturally and what occurs to me at the moment without any aforethought, you might say," he said. "Sometimes I lie in bed and think of things and I'll get up and write something down. Or sometimes I'll just be sitting at the piano working on one thing, and in fooling with the keyboards, I'll just accidentally hit upon something else. And something [a harmonic] may suggest something to me. I don't know, just different things."
Benny Carter remained active as a bandleader, soloist⁹ and jazz educator. His long career was an inspiration to many, including jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal. Jamal, who first performed with Carter in 1955, believes composing was his greatest gift.
"His impact is monumental," Mr. Jamal said. "Benny is not only a great player, he's also a monumental writer. He used to write for the Hit Parade in New York many, many years ago. So his history as a writer is unlike any other."
Although he is best remembered for his versatility¹⁰ and originality¹¹ as a musician, Carter was often recognized as the principal architect of the big band swing style. His arrangement of Fletcher Henderson's 1930 recording¹² Keep A Song In Your Soul, with its distinctive¹³ phrasing and color, is considered a landmark¹⁴ in the development of jazz arranging. Carter's influence as a composer was often compared to the late Duke Ellington. The soft-spoken Carter accepted such accolades¹⁶ graciously.
"Well, I don't know whether I deserve it or not. I'm flattered and honored that I'm considered close to him even," he said. "I have no thoughts about that really other than I think that he was a great composer and everything that he's done still lives and sounds wonderful."
Benny Carter was presented a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1987. He won two more Grammy Awards in the 1990s. In 2000, he was presented with the National Medal of Arts by President Clinton.
One of Carter's last albums was Harlem Renaissance¹⁷, a collection of jazz standards and originals recorded live with his big band and the 27-piece Rutgers University Orchestra.
注释：
Benny Carter 班尼·卡特（爵士乐大师）
hospitalize [5hCspitElaiz] vt. 就医
bronchitis [brCN5kaitis] n. 支气管炎
numerous [5nju:mErEs] adj. 无数的
instrument [5instrumEnt] n. 乐器
composition [kCmpE5ziFEn] n. 作品
accomplishment² [E5kCmpliFmEnt] n. 成就
be-bop 一种爵士乐风格（以节奏疯狂为特征）
prolific [prE5lifik] adj. 多产的
clarinet [klAri5net] n. 单簧管
trumpet [5trQmpit] n. 喇叭
vocalist [5vEukElist] n. 歌手
to some extent 在某种程度上
melodist [5melEdist] n. 旋律美妙的作曲家
melody [5melEdi] n. 悦耳的音调
struggle [5strQ^l] vi.奋斗
state [steit] vt. 陈述，这里指演奏
improvise¹⁸ [5imprEvaiz] v. 即席演奏
guidance [5^aidEns] n. 指导
alto [5AltEu] n. 中音乐器
interracial [7intE(:)5reiFEl] adj. 人种混合的
recognition [7rekE^5niFEn] n. 赏识
scarce [skZEs] adj. 缺乏的
aforethought [E5fC:WC:t] n. 事先考虑
accidentally [7Aksi5dentlli] adv. 偶然地
hit upon 偶然发现
soloist [5sEulEuist] n. 独奏者
impact [5impAkt] n. 冲击，这里指他对人们产生的影响
monumental [7mCnju5mentl] adj. 纪念性的
versatility [9vsE5tIlEtI] n. 多功能性，这里指他的多才多艺
originality [7EridVi5nAliti] n. 创意
architect [5B:kitekt] n. 建筑师，这里指造就者
distinctive [dis5tiNktiv] adj. 与众不同的
phrasing [5freiziN] n. 措词
accolade¹⁵ [5AkEleid] n. 赞美
graciously adv. 和蔼地，优雅地
deserve [di5zE:v] vt. 应受，值得
flatter [5flAtE] vt. 过分夸赞
Lifetime Achievement 终身成就奖
Harlem [5hB:lEm] n. 哈莱姆，纽约的黑人住宅区
Renaissance [rE5neisEns] n. 复兴，文艺复兴 Harlem Renaissance 《哈莱姆文艺复兴》

1 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

2 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

3 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

5 proficient   

adj.熟练的，精通的；n.能手，专家

参考例句：

• She is proficient at swimming.她精通游泳。
• I think I'm quite proficient in both written and spoken English.我认为我在英语读写方面相当熟练。

6 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

7 improvising   

即兴创作（improvise的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• I knew he was improvising, an old habit of his. 我知道他是在即兴发挥，这是他的老习惯。
• A few lecturers have been improvising to catch up. 部分讲师被临时抽调以救急。

8 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

9 soloist   

n.独奏者，独唱者

参考例句：

• The soloist brought the house down with encore for his impressive voice.这位独唱家以他那感人的歌声博得全场喝彩。
• The soloist had never performed in London before.那位独唱者过去从未在伦敦演出过。

10 versatility   

n.多才多艺，多样性，多功能

参考例句：

• Versatility is another of your strong points,but don't overdo it by having too many irons in the fire.你还有一个长处是多才多艺，但不要揽事太多而太露锋芒。
• This versatility comes from a dual weather influence.这种多样性是由于双重的气候影响而形成的。

11 originality   

n.创造力，独创性；新颖

参考例句：

• The name of the game in pop music is originality.流行音乐的本质是独创性。
• He displayed an originality amounting almost to genius.他显示出近乎天才的创造性。

12 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

13 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

14 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

15 accolade   

n.推崇备至，赞扬

参考例句：

• Four restaurants have been awarded the highest accolade of a three-star rating.四家餐馆获授予三星级餐馆的最高荣誉称号。
• The Nobel prize has become the ultimate accolade in the sciences.诺贝尔奖已成为科学界的最高荣誉。

16 accolades   

n.（连结几行谱表的）连谱号( accolade的名词复数 )；嘉奖；（窗、门上方的）桃尖拱形线脚；册封爵士的仪式（用剑面在肩上轻拍一下）

参考例句：

• Unlike other accolades for literature which tend to value style or experimentation. 有别于其他偏重风格活实验性的文学奖项。 来自互联网
• Build your trophy room while amassing awards and accolades. 建立您的奖杯积累奖项和荣誉。 来自互联网

17 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

18 improvise   

v.即兴创作；临时准备，临时凑成

参考例句：

• If an actor forgets his words，he has to improvise.演员要是忘记台词，那就只好即兴现编。
• As we've not got the proper materials,we'll just have to improvise.我们没有弄到合适的材料，只好临时凑合了。