Summer Listening: Terri Lyne Carrington

On Wayne Shorter's Joy Ryder and a bonus track with John Scofield.

This Friday, August 11th, Ember, the collaborative trio of myself, Caleb Wheeler Curtis on stritch and trumpet, Noah Garabedian on bass, releases our third album, August In March, on Orrin Evans’ Imani Records. This is our most complete album yet, the one that best shows what we do. You can check it out here.

We have a tie-in show that day at NuBlu. It’s a special night for us: it’s our first show in NYC since April, and we’ve got some special guests— Orrin Evans on Rhodes, and Steven Bernstein on trumpet. Both of these gentlemen embody what matters most to us: individuality, community building, constant growth, bridges between scenes, and a sense of humor. We’re honored that they’re joining us.

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Terri Lyne Carrington, photo by Lissa Wales.

There’s nothing in the world of music like the drumset. No other instrument is at once so ancient and so modern, so personal and universal. Drummers are the engineers of joy and social progress. If you’re listening to music with a drummer, and it makes you feel good, you’re listening to the drummer.

So it’s summertime, NYC is beautiful, the clubs are full, the music is sublime. I’m one lucky so-and-so. As I prep for my gig on Friday, and get ready for the fall, let’s do some listening and enjoy life together:

Wayne Shorter: Joy Ryder (Columbia, 1988).

I seem to love records made around this time. Four albums featuring Tim Berne, Joey Baron, Bill Frisell, and Hank Roberts, all recorded in 1988, are huge in my personal pantheon.

Mr. Shorter’s Joy Ryder is his third Columbia release from the Eighties, preceded by Atlantis (1985) and Phantom Navigator (1987). Post Weather Report, Wayne’s albums were poorly reviewed, and even now, on All Music, negative opinions of these albums abound. Thankfully, times change.

This record is focussed on Shorter’s expanding skill as a composer, and the band is great, with a core group of Shorter, Patrice Rushen on keyboards, Nathan East on bass, and on drums, the great Ms. Terri Lyne Carrington, who was 22 years old when Joy Ryder was recorded. The late Geri Allen guests on piano on a few tunes, though she’s not given a solo per se, while Herbie Hancock contributes some brief, lovely synth solos.

Joy Ryder’s sound is very Eighties: bright, lots of treble, heavy on synth and keyboard bass. Overall, its feel and texture call to mind the R&B and pop music of the day. Carrington said in an MD interview from 1989 that Wayne’s records were very controlled, with a focus on capturing the composition, which is some helpful context.

I’ve admired Carrington’s playing since hearing her live with Dianne Reeves in high school, and I love her playing on Joy Ryder. Terri Lyne’s great feel makes some tightly choreographed Wayne Shorter music more listenable. That, plus her understanding of the compositions and arrangements, makes her, for me, the MVP of the album.

“Joy Ryder”. Terri Lyne’s playing a relatively simple rock-funk beat, suggesting the Police and Prince, with some John Bonham swagger in there too. My ear goes straight to her bass drum, hi hat, and snare drum. After the initial theme and development, Shorter starts soloing, and Carrington opens up. Terri Lyne really gets to the bottom of the time— her beat seems miles deep.

“Cathay”. Wayne’s sound makes magic and creates surreality. Again, Carrington’s playing a straight-ahead beat, lighter than “Joy Ryder”, closer to Anita Baker than Peter Gabriel. Her brief nod towards Tony Williams during Wayne’s solo is inspired, reminding us that Williams is as much the author of this sound as Wayne, Herbie, Zawinul, etc.

“Over Shadow Hill Way”. This tune, like “Joy Ryder”, was in the repertoire of the Wayne Shorter Quartet with Perez, Patitucci, and Blade. Both tunes are featured on their 2005 release, Beyond The Sound Barrier, which led me to Joy Ryder.

Carrington’s four rim-clicks summon up Weather Report. She sticks to her part while subtly altering her bass drum, a brilliant choice. After Shorter’s solo, there’s a great moment of tension and release: Geri Allen begins dialoguing with Wayne, while the energy and anticipation build. At the perfect moment, Terri Lyne plays a fill, and we get the chorus. An easy effect to engineer, but this feels spontaneous.

“Anthem”. Carrington’s funky 16th notes on the hi hat during a brief Herbie Hancock synth solo grab my ear and pull me to the end of the song.

“Causeways”. This is an extended Shorter tone poem, very cinematic. Terri Lyne plays her part, serving the piece with the focus of a pop/R&B drummer and the precision of a classical percussionist. At times it’s so consistent that I wonder if I’m listening to a tape loop of Terri Lyne Carrington.

“Daredevil”. The looser feel is a relief after the previous track, and Terri Lyne is much freer. For the first time on the album, there’s a piano/bass/drums/percussion rhythm section accompanying a Shorter solo.

“Someplace Called Where”. Dianne Reeves guests, bringing an old school feel to some future music. This should have been a hit, a strange and haunting song which suggests theater and concert music—lieder, opera, Broadway— and singer/songwriters—Joni Mitchell, esperanza spalding, others. Carrington is perfect here: strong and singing the song from the drums.

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Terri Lyne Carrington Bonus Track:

John Scofield, “All The Things You Are” , from Flat Out (Gramavision, 1989). A trio of Scofield, Carrington, and Anthony Cox on bass, recorded December 1988, this is pure fire. Carrington effortlessly explodes and expands with Cox and Scofield. Check her out on the funky outro, as she synthesizes classic jazz drumming with something from fusion and other contemporary styles. This track should be better known.