Ron Carter - The Golden Striker (2003)

The Golden Striker is jazz bassist Ron Carter's attempt to break out of a rut. Teamed with pianist Mulgrew Miller and guitarist Russell Malone, Carter attempts to climb out of the pleasant but sleepy, largely academic role he's made recordings in for the past decade or so. It works only partially. The material chosen for this session, from the title track by the late John Lewis to Carter's own swinging contrapuntal study "N.Y. Slick" to an interesting read of the now standard "Concierto de Aranjuez," comes off as too relaxed, too low-key, and basically uninspiring. No one can question anyone's credentials on this date, but there is no spark, no fire, nothing but admirably executed moves in harmony and melody. Given the lack of a drummer, rhythmic responsibility rests on Carter's shoulders more heavily, and on his own he abdicates. The Golden Striker is rote at best in the rhythm department. Malone's usually percussive chord voicings are considerably breezier here and lend less in that department, and Carter feels like he's going through the motions. It's almost as if he has deliberately chosen to make records that are unnaturally quiet and staid, trying to offer to the listener some "point" about how music can be made in the jazz idiom without giving listeners a compelling emotional reason for it. Ultimately, most of Carter's compositions feel bloodless, quizzically interesting in a mathematical way but devoid of anything other than musical brain stem life. It's just too bad.