Ron Carter
Electric Bass Solo on
Red Clay

About

Ron Carter's electric bass solo is the last of four solos on this recording, following Joe Henderson on tenor sax. Spanning ten choruses of the 4-bar form in D♭ at a brisk 141 BPM with a funk feel, Carter rounds out the solo sequence with 10 choruses of electric bass improvisation. Carter's electric bass solo maintains a strong rhythmic foundation while delivering a melodic statement, the instrument's sustained tone allowing for fluid phrase construction. "Red Clay" is the celebrated title track of trumpeter Freddie Hubbard's 1970 album for CTI Records, a groundbreaking fusion of hard bop intensity and jazz-funk rhythmic power that helped define the crossover jazz movement of the early 1970s.

Ron Carter was 32 to 33 years old at the time.