Ep. 10 The Soul of the Piano with Clifford Carter

find other episodes here: www.mattoestreicher.com/podcast find Clifford Carter here: http://www.cliffordcarter.com/index.html Clifford Carter Bio: One of the music industry's most sought-after keyboardists and composers, Carter has performed and recorded with legendary artists ranging from Art Garfunkel, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Natalie Cole, Bette Midler, Carly Simon and Patti Scialfa to Chris Botti, Paul Simon, Betty Buckley, George Benson, Narada Michael Walden and Herbie Mann. He is currently the music director for Idina Menzel. His playing can be heard on film scores, television shows and commercials. He has been featured in a wide range of musical contexts from symphony orchestras to David Letterman's band. His songs have been recorded by Michael Franks, Phyllis Hyman, Vanessa Williams and The Four Tops, among others, and for his own solo CD. He owns Secret Road Studios, a versatile production environment, where he plays, writes, arranges and produces. The music from this podcast is all from Clifford's album Walkin' Into the Sun. It's available here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/cliffordcarter His full-time professional career began at that time as he worked playing Miami clubs with local and national artists, among them Bobby Vinton, the Coasters and Motown's legendary Four Tops. An offer to tour with The Four Tops took him on the road for the first time. He spent a year with the Tops and recorded three albums with them. With friends Steve Jordan, Hiram Bullock and Will Lee, Carter formed the 24th Street Band in 1978. He was one of the principal songwriters in the band, which made three records, played regularly in New York City clubs and embarked on a successful series of tours in Japan. In 1990, Carter began a long association with singer/songwriter James Taylor as a member of his touring and recording band. Carter's long-time friend and colleague Don Grolnick was keyboardist and musical director for the band at the time, and after playing a supportive role to Grolnick as the second keyboardist, Carter became the sole keyboardist when Grolnick tragically passed away in 1996. He remained in the band through 2001, playing acoustic piano and electronic keyboards. He worked on numerous Taylor releases, including the 1997 Grammy-award-winning Pop Album of the Year, Hourglass. Carter recorded Walkin' Into the Sun, his only solo recording to date, which was released in 1993 and described as "one of the most engaging surprises of the year" by Jazziz Magazine and "a showcase for the keyboardist's excellent musicianship" by Jazz Times. The CD, a jazz/pop hybrid, features Carter's vocal and instrumental songs with a top supporting cast of musicians including Steve Rodby, Will Lee, Mark Egan, Bob Sheppard, Luis Conte and producer-guitarist Tim Weston. A favorite of Late Night with David Letterman bandleader Paul Shaffer, he has often sat in with the band to accompany the show's guest artists, and he's subbed for Shaffer as well. He has accompanied a variety of artists on television programs ranging from The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Saturday Night Live, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, Regis and Kathy Lee, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The View to Rosie O'Donnell's 1999 Christmas special and VH1's Storytellers and Live By Request. Among these artists are Al Green, Jewel, Christina Aguilera, the Black Crowes, Smokey Robinson, the B-52's, Rufus Wainwright, the Temptations, Little Richard, BB King, Lyle Lovett, Cher, LeAnn Rimes, Vanessa Williams, Michael McDonald and many others. Carter has played at star-studded music events such as the 1985 reopening of the Apollo Theater ("Motown at the Apollo"), tributes to artists including Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and Chuck Berry at the Kennedy Center Honors, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Sting's Rainforest Benefit in New York City, and Oprah Winfrey's "A Bridge To Now" celebration honoring 25 legendary African-American women, the concert for the 1st Annual Gershwin Prize for Popular Song honoring Paul Simon, and Fashion Rocks at Radio City Music Hall. His keyboard work has contributed to numerous film scores including You've Got Mail, A Chorus Line, The Object of My Affection, The Muppets Take Manhattan, and the recent remake of Shaft. In 2006, Carter began working with legendary singer Art Garfunkel, and continues to perform regularly with him both at home and abroad. 2009 highlights include appearing at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cleveland with Little Anthony and the Imperials and Bobby Womack, touring the United States with Art Garfunkel, concerts with Betty Buckley, performances of "Too Hot to Handel" with The Colorado Symphony Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and recording a soon to be released CD with leader/drummer Chris Parker. Carter continues to participate in a variety of musical settings from clubs to concert halls around the world, to television appearances and recording sessions. All these of course are his hobby - his main job is to raise his three daughters with occasional time out to watch the river flow. NOTES: The music from this podcast is all from Clifford's album Walkin' Into the Sun. It's available here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/cliffordcarter Intro track: Hard to Get Back Outro Track: Nothin' Left to Do (From Walkin' Into the Sun) The Frank Morgan track that I spoke of in the intro is the last track of his album Mood Indigo. It can be found here: https://play.spotify.com/album/3AVInHsvmgrL129ei5Tvft?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open