Music In Homes: James Carter Quartet

Garden Concert

International saxophone sensation James Carter fills enormous festivals and concert halls around the world, so it is a rare treat to hear him in a more intimate setting. Extraordinarily virtuosic, Carter soloed with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Neeme Järvi in 2002 and 2003, performing a saxophone concerto written for him and commissioned by the DSO, which he since has performed with major orchestras worldwide. He crosses boundaries in both the jazz and classical worlds.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch describes Carter as “… among the genre’s most engaging practitioners, an improviser of boundless imagination and barnstorming energy. Whether he’s roaring or rhapsodizing, Carter is the kind of performer who makes listeners extremely grateful that they’re within earshot.”

Carter is a powerhouse saxophonists and one of the most admired musicians of his generation. Composer/guitarist A. Spencer Barefield, who describes Carter as “the John Coltrane of our era” will join him. Carter and Barefield can be heard on Blue Note Records release “Detroit Jazz City” with other legendary Detroit artists. In the 1980s-’90s, Barefield and Carter toured the world with jazz legend Lester Bowie and others. A Kresge Arts Fellow, Barefield has received numerous awards for his music. Bassist Marion Hayden and percussionist Djallo Djakate Keita completes this incredible ensemble of world-acclaimed jazz stars.