Regina was born in Detroit, MI, the youngest child of Dan Carter, an auto worker, and Grace Williamson Carter, an elementary school teacher. Her musical talent became evident at age two when she interrupted an older brother’s piano lesson to pick out the notes to a song he was learning.
She later said, “I had a passion for [music] at a very young age.” [1]
At four she began Suzuki violin lessons, learning to play by ear first and only later learning to read music. She credits her improvisational skills to the freedom this allowed. “No rules have been set up and you haven’t been taught to be afraid of anything.” [2]
At the Detroit Community Music School, she and her two brothers took lessons in piano and dance—Regina studied tap and ballet—and listened to a wide variety of music—classical, Motown, R&B, funk, Greek, and Latin—both at home and at concerts. [1]
During high school, she played with the Detroit Civic Symphony. Her goal was to become a classical violin soloist. But when she was 16, a friend took her to hear jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli, an experience that changed her goals. “Seeing how much fun he was having—the passion and freedom in the music—I wanted to have that same experience.” [3]
At a master class with classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin, her violin teacher said, without enthusiasm, that Regina wanted to play jazz. “[Menuhin] picked up his violin,” Regina said “and played some kind of jazz lick, as if to say, ‘It’s OK!’” [4] Classically-trained jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty became her idol.
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1981 -- 1998
Jazz studies, a move to Germany, then New York
1981 news and events
Upon graduating from Detroit’s prestigious Cass Technical High school, Regina enrolled in the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where she discovered other jazz violinists like Stuff Smith. After concentrating on classical music the first year, she decided to focus on jazz, but NEC had no jazz violin teacher.
A year later, she enrolled at Oakland University in Michigan. She studied jazz composition and improvisation, but her understanding of jazz had just begun.
“Unlike classical music,” she said, “you can’t study books one, two and three and then you’ve got it. You have to study the culture of the music as well.” [5]
Her big band director advised her to listen to horn players and learn how to breathe. Learning solos by jazz greats like Charlie Parker and Clark Terry was a daunting experience, but she persevered until she could sing them and translate it to her violin. [5]
After earning a B.A. in performance from Oakland University in 1985, she taught violin in the Detroit public school for a year.
Then she moved to Germany. “It seemed like I had been in school forever and I was just tired,” she said. “I needed to travel and be around different people.” [6] For two years she sat in at jazz clubs, played in a German-American funk band and enjoyed being on her own, while continuing to study Charlie Parker solos. [6]
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Back in Detroit in 1987 she began studying with trumpeter Marcus Belgrave. An Oakland University faculty member and mentor to young musicians, he had played and recorded with Ray Charles, Max Roach, Charles Mingus and Ella Fitzgerald. That year she joined Straight Ahead, a Detroit based all-female jazz quintet, playing electric violin with them at the Montreux Jazz Festival and on two recordings (1992, 1993). [7]
In 1993 she moved to New York and joined the String Trio of New York. She also worked with Dolly Parton, Billy Joel and Mary J. Blige, did radio and TV work, and sat in on jam sessions at the Blue Note and other clubs. [5] She released two recordings, Regina Carter (1995) and Something for Grace (1997), which were largely ignored by jazz critics and producers.
In 1998 she played the Newport Jazz Festival and with jazz singer Cassandra Wilson on her tribute tour to Miles Davis, “Travelin’ Miles.” More attention came when she toured and recorded with Wynton Marsalis on his Pulitzer Prize winning opera, Blood on the Fields.
In 1999 Verve Records released her critically acclaimed album Rhythms of the Heart; Time Magazine named it one of the year’s top 10 records.
Of her next CD, Motor City Moments (2000), Matt Abramovitz wrote on NPR’s website: “... the album is overflowing with talent, spirit, and beauty.”
A new millennium brings new honors
Paganini’s violin and a MacArthur grant
On December 31, 2001, Regina was the first jazz musician and the first African-American chosen to play the 250-year old Guarneri violin owned by Nicolo Paganini. Dubbed “The Cannon” because of its huge sound, the violin is insured for $40 million and is kept in Genoa, Italy, played there only once a year by a virtuoso chosen by a committee.
Photo at right: Regina plays "The Cannon"
Some critics felt the violin should not be played by a jazz violinist, but the audience was on its feet throughout the concert, which included jazz
standards made famous by Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington and Thelonius Monk, pieces by J.S. Bach, as well as her own compositions. In 2003 she returned to Genoa to use the violin on her 2003 recording, Paganini: After a Dream. Critic Sonya Murray called the CD “an album that anyone would find absolutely beautiful.” [8]
To counter those who consider jazz inferior to classical music, Regina cites examples in which classical musicians were expected to improvise. Down Beat Magazine named her Best Jazz Violinist for five straight years. To those who believe the violin is only for classical music, she says: “It’s just an instrument. It doesn’t come with a set of instructions that say, ‘For Classical Use Only.’” [4]
Music education is another passion. “I don’t want to just play at audiences, but educate them as well.” While on tour, she does workshops for Suzuki violin teachers and music fans. For a time she was artist in residence at San Francisco Performances, teaching music to disadvantaged children and playing at Bay Area community centers and churches. [9]
In 2005, Grace Carter, the woman who nurtured Regina’s early talent, inspired her with pride and told her to seek her personal best in all she did, and, most importantly, to give the world her soul-stirring music, died. Regina dedicated her next CD to her mother: I’ll Be Seeing You, a collection of songs from the 1920s to the 1940 that Grace Carter enjoyed in her youth. [9]
In 2006 she received an exciting phone call, notifying her that she was the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation grant of $500,000. Citing the overlooked potential of the jazz violin for its lyric, melodic and percussive potential, the Foundation deemed her music “swing with a soulful sound,” citing her ability to tap into a broad musical vocabulary and weave new sound tapestries.
“She captivates her audience with the passion and spirit of adventure intrinsic to her approach to music. Through her artistry on an instrument defined predominantly by the classical tradition, Regina Carter is pioneering new possibilities for the violin and for jazz.” [9]
Having played for her mother during her illness, Regina immediately knew what she wanted to do with part of the MacArthur grant.
“I want to go back to school for music therapy. I want to help other people, whether it’s children, the elderly, or people in hospices.” [10]
While not on tour, Regina Carter lives in Manhattan
COMMENTARY
Regina's talent, determination and capacity for hard work were evident at an early age. She had a passion for music and music education, and the support and encouragment of her family.
OBSTACLES: Regina encountered resistence from some who believed the violin should be used for classical playing only. Her selection to play the Paganini violin in Genoa was criticized by some, until they heard her play. As for gender discrimination, she only recalls one incident, early in her career. She believes women represent a different aesthetic than men: "We are nurturers. We bring a different energy, totally." Having said this, she adds, "I like it when there's a mixture of both [genders]. [6]
ROLE MODELS and MENTORS: Regina's role models were mostly male: classical violinists Itzhak Perlman and Yehudi Menuin; jazz violinists Stephane Grappelli, Jean-Luc Ponty and Stuff Smith, and jazz giants like saxophonists Charlie Parker and Ben Webster, and trumpeter Clark Terry. Her mother was her earliest mentor; another was Detroit trumpeter-jazz instructor Marcus Belgrave.
