Classic Albums: Ron Carter – Where?

I know many of you already know you have to have Ron Carter’s Where? but what you may not know is you really need to have the Bonus Track Version. Let me tell you why.

Track 12. “Tenderly” featuring Eric Dolphy & Booker Little [Bonus Track].

Beautiful, right? When you listen to “Tenderly” on a room-filling system, you may just find yourself so lost in Dolphy’s tenderness you cry. It’s been known to happen.

Where? was released in 1961 on the New Jazz label and features nearly the same lineup as Mal Waldron’s must-have stone-cold classic The Quest, also from ’61 on New Jazz (the only difference being Joe Benjamin shows up on bass for The Quest).

Sometimes referred to as ‘chamber jazz’, because Carter plays a cello? (joke), this record captures a hot, hot, hot time where musicianship and interplay flirted with brilliance.

The Where? lineup:

Ron Carter — bass (tracks 3, 4 & 6), cello (tracks 1, 2 & 5)
Eric Dolphy — alto saxophone, bass clarinet, flute (tracks 1, 3, 5 & 6)
Mal Waldron — piano
George Duvivier — bass (tracks 1, 2 & 5)
Charlie Persip — drums

The only place I’ve found this digital-only download is on Tidal.