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Regina Carter

Regina Carter (born August 6, 1966) is an American jazz violinist. She is the cousin of jazz saxophonist James Carter.

This article is about the American jazz violinist. For Reginae Carter, see Tha Carter V.

Regina Carter

(1966-08-06) August 6, 1966
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.

Musician

Violin

1987–present

Early life[edit]

Carter was born in Detroit and was one of three children in her family.[1]


She began piano lessons at the age of two after playing a melody by ear for her brother's piano teacher. After she deliberately played the wrong ending note at a concert, the piano teacher suggested she take up the violin, indicating that the Suzuki Method could be more conducive to her creativity. Carter's mother enrolled her at the Detroit Community Music School when she was four years old and she began studying the violin.[2] She still studied the piano, as well as tap and ballet.[3]


As a teenager, she played in the youth division of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. While at school, she was able to take master classes from Itzhak Perlman and Yehudi Menuhin.[3]


Carter attended Cass Technical High School with a close friend, jazz singer Carla Cook, who introduced her to Ella Fitzgerald. In high school, Carter performed with the Detroit Civic Orchestra and played in a pop-funk group named Brainstorm. In addition to taking violin lessons, she also took viola, oboe, and choir lessons.[3]


Carter was studying classical violin at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston when she decided to switch to jazz. She transferred to Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan where she was a jazz major under the direction of Marvin "Doc" Holladay. She also studied and performed with trumpeter Marcus Belgrave. Through Belgrave, Carter was able to meet musicians active in the Detroit jazz scene, including Lyman Woodard. She graduated in 1985. After graduating, she taught strings in Detroit public schools. Needing a change of scene, she moved to Europe and lived in Germany for two years. While making connections, she worked as a nanny for a German family and taught violin on a U.S. military base.[4]

1995 Regina Carter ()

Atlantic

1997 (Atlantic)

Something for Grace

1999 Rhythms of the Heart ()

Verve

2000 Motor City Moments (Verve)

2001 (Verve), with Kenny Barron

Freefall

2003 Paganini: After a Dream (Verve)

2006 I'll Be Seeing You: A Sentimental Journey (Verve)

2010 Reverse Thread ()

E1 Entertainment

2014 Southern Comfort ()

Masterworks

2017 Ella: Accentuate the Positive ()

Masterworks

W. Enstice, J. Stockhouse Jazzwomen. Conversations with 21 Musicians. Bloomington 2004.  0-253-34436-0, pp. 65ff. (bio & interview)

ISBN

Official website

from National Public Radio Morning Edition program, May 14, 2003

"Regina Carter's Encounter with a 'Cannon'"

AllAboutJazz, February 18, 2006

Regina Carter: Improvising a Life in Jazz

from National Public Radio Studio Sessions, May 21, 2010

Regina Carter: Translating African Folk To The Jazz Violin

Audio Interview with Joe Zupan